Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

It's really hot right now, isn't it? El Niño is approaching, yet haven't Filipinos learned anything? Back in 2024, I actually wrote an essay asking if one would rather die from heatstroke or thirst, in the name of Pinoy Pride economics . I could be getting more aggressive than usual right now. It was El Niño when I wrote the post I previously linked. Now, it's time to think about the call to subsidize electricity for the lower class. As good as it might sound on paper , however, the big problem is that the middle class and above aren't an endless wallet.  Why increasing tax rates to subsidize electricity may be a short-term solution I was even thinking if critics of the TRAIN law aren't complaining about excise taxes but the lower tax rates . Did people like those in the Makabayan Bloc and those who support them complain that by lowering tax rates, there's not enough taxes to support the electrical subsidy? Unfortunately, the Philippines' electrical sect...

Here's a video from Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong enjoying Filipino shaved ice,  aka halo halo. This is a short video where Wong says, "Halo halo!" during the ASEAN. For some reason, he also sets the video to the song "Salamin, Salamin" by the Filipino girl band BINI. Salamin means mirror. The short video also has him greeting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Vietnamese official Lê Minh Hưng, and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. I can only imagine Flor Contemplacion Crybabies  may be overreacting on social media when this came out. Migrante International is still stuck with its narrative that FDI is bad . It's presumably born from the Flor Contemplacion crybaby narrative. They can cry all they want, but the facts remain as facts. Flor was guilty. The movie, The Flor Contemplacion Story,  remains a problematic film .  Ironically, some Filipinos may actually be...

Philippine Star Some time ago, I wrote about how many Filipinos don't understand what 100% FDI shares ownership means . As of now, I need to make my stance clear on my version of the economic charter change. Economist Andrew James Masigan pointed out in the Philippine Star  the following: Imbedded in the Constitution are industries in which foreigners are precluded. These include agriculture, public utilities, transportation, retail, construction, media, education, among others. Further, the Constitution limits foreigners from owning more than 40 percent equity in corporations. Foreigners are barred from owning land too. These provisions caused us to lose out on many investments which would have generated jobs, exports and taxes . Not too long ago, we lost a multibillion-dollar investment from an American auto manufacturing company that chose to invest in Thailand instead. We lost a multi-billion smartphone plant by Samsung, who located in Vietnam. Masigan seems to be for foreigner...

Bongbong Marcos' Facebook Page The ASEAN Philippines 2026 was taking place in Cebu City. It's the 48th Asian summit. Last time, I wrote an article in 2023 where I talked about the great ASEAN opportunity . That post was a critique last 2023. I was writing how the Philippines has potential but it's held back by Pinoy Pride Economics . What has Pinoy Pride Economics done anyway? As I read the late Lee Kuan Yew's book From Third World to First , there was a stinging rebuke not just about the Marcoses but also about the sad state of OFWs: Mrs. Aquino's successor, Fidel Ramos, whom she backed, was more practical and established greater stability . In November 1992, I visited him. In a speech at the 18th Philippine Business Conference, I said,  "I do not believe that democracy necessarily leads to development. I believe what a country needs to develop is discipline more than democracy."  In private, President Ramos said he agreed with me that  a British parliame...

Manila Bulletin Today is Labor Day, and it's a non-working holiday . Since it's May 1, it's easy for me to think of the Kilusang Mayo Uno movement. The same slogan still shows up almost every rally, "Raise the national wage to PHP 1,200.00 per day." It "doesn't help" that I do get the  Tu Quoque argument or "You too!" fallacy. It may look like "I haven't done much" compared to KMU , but I would like to address truths that would never change. It's all about that one fact, " Economics doesn't care about how many times you insult it. It never bends just to silence the insults. " However, it looks like KMU thinks that if they insult economics enough, economics will bend to their whims. However, history has proven them wrong and will still prove them wrong . This time, I'm going to raise an extreme example . KMU is in the situation of, "You may want it when you don't get it. You may no longer want it ...

Foreign Trade University It's time for another Jollibee-related post. I first wrote an article about Jollibee's success in the world market in 2022 . I "followed up" the post I just shared with an article talking about hypocritically rejoing that Jollibee is rising worldwide, while still opposing FDI . My recent focus has been on Jollibee World's success in Vietnam . I'd like to share an excerpt from this ABS-CBN News report by Arthur Fuentes: Since debuting in Ho Chi Minh City in 2005, the chain has expanded to over 250 outlets across 50 provinces. Jollibee said its strategy has relied on "local relevance," tailoring its flagship fried chicken and spaghetti to Vietnamese palates while aggressively targeting the youth demographic .  “ Vietnam is a highly dynamic and competitive market, and our progress reflects our focus on understanding local consumers and executing well on the fundamentals ,” said Ernesto Tanmantiong, Global President and CEO of J...

Behind Asia I wrote a post on whether or not Behind Asia gets what causes a lack of FDI in the Philippines . Granted, Behind Asia could be composed of several people and not just one person running the entire page. Right now, this is a post that hopefully has Behind Asia getting the root cause: The 1987 Constitution contains a deeply emotional economic rule : The 60/40 provision. It dictates that critical public utilities (like telecom, water, and transport) must be at least 60% owned by Filipinos. It was written out of a genuine, historical trauma to protect us from foreign colonial exploitation. But look at the unintended macroeconomic consequence: It created the worst local monopolies in Asia . 🇵🇭📉 Because massive foreign telecommunications companies and global infrastructure firms were legally banned from owning majority stakes in the Philippines, they simply didn't invest here. Who benefited from this? The local Filipino billionaires . Because foreign competitors were lega...