Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

Back in 2022, I wrote about why it's deadly to believe someone is rich based on their lifestyle . During my childhood to teenage years, I used to think someone was wealthier because of reasons like: Their parents spoil them with generous allowances.  They're driving a luxury car everywhere they go. They have expensive parties every year.  They have a lot of luxury brands. The children have so many toys.  The list can go on and on , and I believe I might type too many words from there. I grew up with people bragging about  how rich they are, even if the claims are preposterous. It's common among children to brag about what they don't have . Unfortunately, some never outgrow that dangerous habit and grow up with a fake rich lifestyle. This is the lifestyle where one wants others to think they're rich, even if they're not rich. The rule of fake rich reverses the advice above. Instead, the fake rich lifestyle says, "Buy a USD 500.00 bag never mind you have noth...

It can be easy for some Filipino social media influencers to rejoice that Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan has taken over Senator Robin Padilla. I confess I never voted for Padilla because I don't like voting for celebrities. However, Padilla has been more active in reforming the constitution than most lawyers. It's easy to talk about Padilla's bad-boy image in the 1990s. However, Padilla was right in some areas where lawmakers could be wrong.  Right now, I want to present this post, not to derail Pangilinan, but to give some constructive criticism, as a taxpayer. Just because I'm a nobody doesn't mean that I should just shut up and never talk. Unfortunately, is it me or do many Filipino youngsters, yesterday and today, have been taking the national heroes for granted ? Talk about voting for the late Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C. Aquino III, without thinking that his father, Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" A. Aquino Jr., actually risked his neck t...

Lawrence Wong's Facebook Page Happy 60th anniversary to Singapore. I could remember the first time I went to Singapore. It was when I experienced a city far better than Cebu City. It was a fine city because you get fined  a lot if you refuse to keep the place, clean and orderly. It's that fine that makes Singapore a fine city. As Singapore hits 60, it reminds me that Singapore was once an impoverished country , as documented in the late Lee Kuan Yew's book From Third World to First . What truly sickens me, though, is how often LKY's words on the Marcoses are held high, all the while his useful economic advice is often ignored (read here ). In fact, we have stubborn Filipino boomers who can quote LKY in one moment, then they would choose to listen to Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. instead of the  more proven Kishore Mahbubani (read here ). The Philippines' obsession with symptoms (short-term) I was thinking about the logic of Facebook pages like Silent No More PH . Do t...

I rewatched the Jose Rizal (1998) film on Netflix, because it's Buwan Ng Wika or Month of the Language. However, it's become more of National History Month instead. Back then, I remember the image of a fat priest known as Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda. I Googled his name and exclaimed, "Socrates Villegas, is that you?"  Although Villegas no longer sits as the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines as its president, one may not be able to deny how the CBCP still runs with Padre Damaso-style  economics. Padre Damaso was often pictured in Noli Me Tangere as a person who is overly resistant to change . Damaso was known to be overly close-minded, evidenced by talking too much. In fact, Damaso also turned out to be Maria Clara's biological father, as Captain Tiago was actually  sterile , for some reason. Sure, the Spanish colonization days are over. Now, Chinese Filipinos can enter and exit Intramuros without facing discrimination legally. Chinese Filipino...

Learning the Standard Chinese language (华语, Huáyǔ) can be tough. Indeed, Pinyin has already become the standard over Zhuyin in the international market . Taiwan uses Zhuyin simply as part of its cultural identity, treating it with the same value as the Hindi alphabet. However, I'm still in favor of Taiwan abolishing Zhuyin entirely, because the Chinese Communist Party  didn't  invent Pinyin. Instead, Pinyin was invented by a  critic  of the CCP! After trying to learn Pinyin, one thing that can be overlooked is that, after reciting the Bopomofo table (as an easier way to recall Pinyin), we're getting into Chinese  homophones . Here's an example of homophones. It can be confusing. I was practicing typing in Chinese (using Pinyin) and remembered that inputs can have multiple meanings. It wasn't enough to learn how to pronounce the tones. One must deal with Chinese characters that have the exact same Pinyin and tone. Transliterating Zhuyin had made it easi...

Bombo Radyo Cebu  It doesn't take a doctorate in economics at (insert prestigious university) to understand that Makabayan Bloc is a bad joke . For example,  Kabataan Partylist  has a real lack of knowledge of economics. That's why I wrote that Kabataan Partylist will need to learn economics from the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union . Just thinking about what Makabayan bloc wants irritates me to no end. Come on, Atty. Renee M. Co is a lawyer,  and Raoul Daniel A. Manuel is a mathematics major. Raoul is a mathematics major but how could he promote the idea of increasing salaries while reducing prices at the same time?  This is a proposal made by Kabataan Partylist some time ago. I could just imagine what the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, aka the Vietnam Youth Union, would have to say about that. If Makabayan bloc members understood basic accounting and economics, they wouldn't be saying such stupid stuff (read here ). It's because a wage increase is only be...

Perdana Leadership Foundation Last time, I wrote a post on whether Filipinos should listen to (a) Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr., or (b) former Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad . Both of them know the law, but we can still tell who made a significant difference to the nation. I thought about what Mahathir said, that education is a lifelong process . One can graduate with honors but fail in real life when one stops learning (read here ). It's a far cry from Davide's stubborn attitude, where he refuses to even amend the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, to fit with the times! Mahathir's quote on entrepreneurship explores why some long-time successful businesses either fail in the present or continue to succeed. Nokia could've still remained relevant in the mobile phone market if it had taken such advice to heart . Nokia's lack of vision caused the crash and loss of dominance after decades of success. For businesses, the need to evolve is always there (read ...