Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

Foreign Trade University I opened my mobile phone and found an article from the Inquirer  that said the Philippines must adopt Southeast Asian models. Not surprisingly, the IBON Foundation was highlighted as among those who made the case. This is an excerpt from the Inquirer article: For Ibon Foundation, “the government should be able to control local oil prices and should not have to pass the burden of rising global prices on to consumers, as shown by other Southeast Asian countries with stronger state intervention.” It cited Vietnam, where oil prices are capped and the Price Stabilization Fund is tapped . It should be crazy that IBON should mention Vietnam. However, IBON continues to promote a flawed view on Foreign Direct Investment . Months ago, IBON (via its executive director, Jose Enrique "Sonny" Africa) even gave a flawed proposal in Follow the Money . Sure, Vietnam has these policies on capping and a price stabilization fund.  What has allowed Vietnam to successfull...

News Feed 360 A few days ago, I wrote an article where I talked about whether or not the best source for anti-reform Filipinos is well— chismis ?  This time, with the news from Business World  that Taiwan plans to build a $1-B plant in Clark City, I felt the need to write a "follow-up" to my article on the best source being chismis.  THE Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said company is building a $1-billion manufacturing facility in New Clark City (NCC), Tarlac. The agreement has been signed and an advance payment was made, BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua M. Bingcang told reporters last week. He said the facility will be located within Filinvest Innovation Park in New Clark City, Tarlac, making it one of the biggest locators in the estate . Mr. Bingcang said the facility will specialize in technology-related manufacturing, without providing details or identifying the company. However, this article will not focus on the business opportuni...

Everest Electrical I remember that for the past few weeks, electricity in Cebu City has been unstable. Rotational brownouts were happening. I decided to tackle the IBON Foundation yet again after some time. A recent post from IBON said this, in which it criticized President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. for opting for "easy power relief". Here's an excerpt that I'd like to share from that same post, as I'm critiquing IBON: “The small relief that the removal of VAT on system loss charges brings to consumers should not be exaggerated as if this were the solution to expensive electricity,” said IBON Executive Director Sonny Africa. “ The real problem lies in the privatization and profit-driven operation of the power sector itself under the Electricity and Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA Law which oligarchs are profiting from .” Looking into the fallacies by IBON Even more, I feel another post from IBON that I'd like to bring up is how it blame...

Some time ago, I wrote a blog entry where I explained that many Filipinos misunderstand what FDI means . Right now, it's time to answer another misconception. It's the misconception that 100% FDI ownership (often just called 100% FDI, which I believe can be a misleading term) means that Filipino businesses will be put out of business . I was thinking about the concept because it's highly misleading .  For one, we're talking about share ownership, not a foreign takeover This comment I read on Facebook is epic levels of foolishness . I decided to translate it into English and avoid naming the person: Do all types of businesses have to be 100% foreign-owned? Even selling *banana cue*? Are eateries, market stalls, barber shops, vape shops, *sari-sari* stores, locksmiths, welding shops, photocopy and printing shops, etc., all going to be 100% foreign-owned?   The question asked by someone I'll just label as Pirate Flag here is downright stupid! It's now time to reall...

China Mike Today is Sergio Osmeña Day, but it is also Mao Zedong's death anniversary. Mao made his most important contribution to history--he finally died . However, Mao's ideas still live on, and he was a propagator of several foolish ideas. The man had military knowledge but may have lacked fundamental economic knowledge. August may be over, meaning Buwan ng Wika (Month of the Language) is over, but Pinoy Pride Economics, aka Filipino First Policy, knows no season . In fact, I want to talk about one of Mao Zedong's incredibly stupid ideas, namely the Great Leap Forward. As I was navigating Facebook, it's easy to see some people (some are probably stubborn boomers ) who still believe that the Philippines must "self-industrialize" through ideas like this on Facebook , of all places: Instead na umasa sa foreign investments bakit di gumawa ng sariling trabaho na atin (Instead of relying on foreign investment, why don't we make our own jobs)?  Let's start...

Daily Tribune Just looking at this picture of Atty. Renee M. Co of Kabataan Partylist  using a MacBook makes me laugh. Honestly? I thought about how I'm often berated that, "What have you done compared to Kabataan Partylist?" I remembered writing an article about the irony of using imported equipment to type information against FDI . Honestly, it gets super funny . After all, Kabataan Partylist is part of the Makabayan Bloc . Groups like Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Bayan Muna, Gabriela, and League of Filipino Students all fall under the  Makabayan Bloc . Their stance has still been a stone-age understanding of what FDI is all about.  The possibility that Kabataan Partylist members have been telling people that a wage increase, not FDI, is key to long-term growth, using a MacBook, is there In fact, one of the craziest things that Kabataan Partylist said (and probably still stands by) is this idea. They believe that wage hike is what's needed, not more FDI. Do they ...

BluPrint It's the Chinese Ghost Month, which starts on the first day of the seventh Lunar Month. This year, Ghost Month started on August 13, 2026, and it will end on September 10, 2026. Today is called the peak of the Ghost Month. For the sake of a post, I want to write about this Chinoy Ghost Story that I remember from the 1990s. This was when our Grade 2 Chinese siansi (I don't know where she is anymore, but I remember her as being very strict, and the next year, Grade 3, was even stricter ) would use the statement that she said, "If you can't speak Chinese, you will have a hard time finding a job." She even mentioned a peer who baliwala (took for granted) his Chinese studies and ended up as a motorcycle driver in their community. However, I often suspect that white lie was made out of desperation because grades mattered that much.   The threat, however, proved ineffective because the students were in Cebu City. Chances are, several huan-a students ( a word use...

Some people might say that Benigno Simeon A. Aquino Jr. said something concerning about "developing ourselves". However, his speech in Los Angeles in 1981 reveals another crucial detail about what he actually thought about FDI during the first Marcos administration. That was a time when the Filipino First Policy festered into an economic crisis. Q: If you will become the next president of the Philippines, what will you do with the U.S. investments or big foreign investments in the Philippines?   A: That’s a very very good question because there is a misconception that if the opposition wins in the Philippines, we will kick out all American/foreign investments. But why should we do that? Foreign investments are in the Philippines to give employment to our people. We should watch against predatory foreign investments who are exploitative of the Filipino people. But I cannot accept that all foreign investments are exploitative. There are many foreign investments that are helpfu...