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Showing posts with the label science

Pax Silica Could've Been Better Discussed Under a Parliamentary System

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No gossip, no hearsay, face-to-face debates, liars are slapped in the parliamentary system! Right now, it's best to look at both sides of the equation. We don't want to automatically say, "No to Pax Silica!" or "Yes to Pax Silica!" without understanding that, "Can we have Pax Silica with these adjustments?" I was thinking about how being for or against Pax Silica isn't purely black and white . I discourage thinking in black and white thinking, like how Makabayan Bloc deals with Pax Silica. I would like to write this post to show why the Philippines needs to go for the parliamentary system instead of the usual status quo.  And also a warning to those who keep insisting that " But Marcos Years were parliamentary! " need to try telling that to the real parliamentary countries like Singapore and Malaysia!  Unfortunately, under the presidential system , the very thing that Rep. Atty. Jose Manuel "Chel" Diokno has said about Pax S...

A Sensible Middle Road on My Stance with Pax Silica?

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Britanica The Pax Silica deal can set out many false dichotomies . We can think about dichotomies like pro-AI vs. anti-AI. Filipino Pride vs. Colonial Mentality, etc. However, it's possible that a person can be for FDI, for AI, and oppose Pax Silica on other grounds . For example, I found some people who actually comment on Facebook like: "Yes to FDI but let's be careful about what we allow." "We can allow 100% FDI, but I don't think the Philippines is fit for Pax Silica." "I'm for AI, but let's face it, we need to think about nature first."  It's a good thing that I'm reading some who oppose Pax Silica aren't raising alarmism like Kabataan Partylist is apparently doing . Right now, I can't really say if I'm for Pax Silica or against Pax Silica. It's because I'm for FDI,  but I'm not for FDI without  reasonable restrictions. What I want to do now is to do some analysis on the situation. Why I definitely w...

Does Kabataan Partylist Really Understand Economics in Opposing Pax Silica?

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Right now, I reserve the right to be critical of Kabataan Partylist. Kabataan Partylist is part of the Makabayan Bloc. I often get insults on Facebook, like saying, "Where's your mass base like Kabataan Partylist?" or "Have you rallied enough like Kabataan Partylist?" That's the "You Too Fallacy". As always, it becomes Makabayan Bloc's mindset to stick to what I call "Vietnam War Economics". The late Lee Kuan Yew would call their mentality a third-world mindset . Here's a post by Kabataan Partylist on their Facebook page: KABATAAN: Marcos Continues to Submit to Washington; Down with the Pax Silica Framework! House Assistant Minority Leader and Kabataan Partylist Rep. Atty. Renee Co expressed fierce condemnation today over the impending November finalization of the predatory Pax Silica framework, calling it an “outright declaration of economic warfare and imperial exploitation against the Filipino people.” With the Philippine gove...

Do My Fellow Filipinos Understand the ECONOMIC WHY Behind High Electricity Rates?

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Yes, it's official, and it's sad. Recently, the Philippines has had  the highest electricity rate in Asia. Right now, I feel like that, even as a casual blogger, I still feel the need to react to current events. After all, this is a business and economics perspective blog . Now, going back to the topic, the Philippine Star (the blatant source of the picture above addresses the issue.  The blow was even felt in the Visayas, with Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative recording the highest on-grid residential rate at P16.57 per kilowatt hours (kWh), 32 percent up from a month ago’s P12.53 per kWh. Manila Electric Co., the country’s biggest power distribution utility that serves Metro Manila and nearby provinces, was also among the top distribution utilities with high rates. In June, its residential rate reached P14.48 per kWh. It's annoying, but social media comments can show downright economic ignorance  As always, I will not directly shame people, but their comments . In fa...

The Deepfake Doctors Social Media Pandemic

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WeLiveSecurity It's crazy how I scroll Instagram to see my friends, then I see Dr. Deepfakes. I remember some images were of an old man, an old woman, and some of them used real doctors to promote quack advice. It also promotes "natural health treatments" that are "too good to be true". I was victimized by a scam in 2012 . Until now, I have  never recovered the money. I couldn't risk taking these blatant scams that says with statements like: "This is what your doctor is never going to tell you." "Only I know this miracle cure." "The big pharma industry doesn't want this or they'd all be shut down ." "The big pharma and hospitals are only after your money, not your health. It's all after money, unlike me." The basic accounting will tell you why hospitals actually need that huge sum of money  Let's refresh back to basic accounting . There's a big difference between the revenues (the money the hospital...

Yes to Electrical Subsidy, Not to FDIs Supplying Filipinos with More Electricity?

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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...

No Lechon is Better Than Bad Lechon

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Lechon may look fresh but it's really bad | Credits to: DVMF It's May and Fiesta Months are here too. Fiesta tends to have lechon in mind. I was thinking about the near-inescapable tradition of, "Must have lechon." A recent incident in Cebu City was reported by the Cebu Daily News with this frightening report: In a report, the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) said two lechons weighing 15 kilos and 42 kilos were confiscated in Barangay Apas. The pigs used for the lechons were reportedly slaughtered in the cities of Talisay and Mandaue. The third lechon, weighing 30 kilos, was found being sold in Barangay Lahug. Investigators found that the pig had been slaughtered in the mountain barangay of Bonbon in Cebu City. The DVMF, in coordination with the Cebu City Police Office, conducted the “hot meat” operation on Sunday as part of the city government’s campaign against unregulated slaughtering and the sale of undocumented meat products that may pose p...

New Study Confirms Oil Degulation Law is Bad, Oil Nationalization is Better

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Yes, you found that right. Did you know that the Filipino First Policy caused the Philippines to succeed and Carlos P. Garcia was the best president ever? Today, because of the Iranian War crisis, we need to talk about a new important discovery. What I realized is that the oil deregulation policy is bad . Do you want the oil prices to fall under control? Then read this new blog to find out.  A new audit was revealed in the world's greatest economic forum. The Trust Me Bro School of Economics invited the trustworthy IBON Foundation to speak at Intrigador Financials . I was so wrong not to notice the genius behind the likes of Makabayan Bloc.  What have I done compared to the youths  of Kabataan Partylist ? I even discovered that  the IBON Foundation is the most credible economic think tank . As I realized that  Filipinos should only listen to Filipino economists ,  I have found that there are literally  tons of studies  from the famous Trust Me Br...

The Good Old Days when Gasoline was Cheaper Under the Late Noynoy Aquino

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Millennials' Voice I would like to clarify first and foremost that this post isn't an attempt to say that the late Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III's legacy was all bad. Some good things happened. However, let me be clear that it's stupid to say, " We don't need economic cha-cha because of the late Noynoy. " However, let me clear that I decided to write this because of a Facebook post called Millennials' Voice , which wrote this: Did you know that during President Noynoy Aquino's time, the price of oil in the world market was high, between $100 and $110 per barrel. But even with those high prices, gasoline and diesel at local pumps in the country were still relatively affordable.  Under President Duterte, world oil prices went up and down, from a low of $41 to a high of $101 per barrel. The big jump to $101 in 2022 happened because of the war between Russia and Ukraine.   Now, under the current president, world oil prices have gone up again to around $...