You cannot separate the economic from the political (the return of the cowardly technocrats)

Posted by JoeAm on March 5, 2018 · 78 Comments 

By Andrew Lim During the presidential campaign of 2016, then candidate Duterte uttered a pledge to revive the country’s steel industry if elected. This blog, along with others were vocal and unanmious: it did not make economic sense at all, with global steel prices dropping. Not helping Duterte was the fact that one of his … Continue reading →

Category China, Economy, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government

Did Harry Roque just cancel the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and US?

Posted by JoeAm on February 20, 2018 · 111 Comments 

By Joe America Did Harry Roque misspeak at today’s press conference when he said the Philippines would not help defend US forces if the US and China entered into armed conflict in the West Philippine Sea? Or did he misspeak when he said the Philippines abides by all its agreements with the US, including the … Continue reading →

Category China, Citizenship/Patriotism, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Philippine Government, USA/Americans

The Philippine Mayor

Posted by JoeAm on February 12, 2018 · 72 Comments 

By Joe America President Duterte likes to call himself ‘just a mayor’. He does this to portray himself as a humble man, and to explain his decisions as the kinds of straightforward, no-nonsense, successful choices he has been making for decades. Unfortunately a nation is not a city. It’s laws are not just executional policies. … Continue reading →

Category China, Citizenship/Patriotism, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government

Nationalism, treason, complacency, and us

Posted by JoeAm on January 15, 2018 · 110 Comments 

By Joe America Nationalism fascinates me because I live in a nether world between the land of my birth and the land of my choice for raising a family and dying. Some Filipinos tell me to go back to America, some are quiet with their resentments that I intrude, some are kind with their thanks … Continue reading →

Category China, Citizenship/Patriotism, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government

Japan and the Philippines

Posted by JoeAm on November 15, 2017 · 81 Comments 

By Joe America Many believe that the US, by going inward and isolationist under President Trump, has ceded Southeast Asia to China. Rule of the seas, free trade agreements, financial control . . . all going to China. I’m not so sure. I believe the US has ceded her role to Japan, not China. The … Continue reading →

Category China, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Philippine Government