Global warming, the end game for humanity, and the Philippines
By JoeAm I wonder how many Filipinos consider that their children who are now in school will have to deal with drastic, life-threatening impacts of climate change before they are middle-aged. Storms will be horrifying. Not just typhoons, but freak events like raging floods or killer lightning storms. Droughts. Heat. And even man-made disasters like … Continue reading
The Philippines as an Upper Middle Income Country: hoax or doable?
By JoeAm I was shocked to hear Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Earnesto Pernia make the claim recently that the Philippines will be an upper-middle-income country by 2019. It clashed with my knowledge of the rampant poverty in the nation and how my neighbors struggle with food, transportation, and health. When I think of upper-middle income, I … Continue reading
Who’s really in charge of the economy?
By Andrew Lim How is economic policy made in the Duterte regime? It’s a legitimate question to ask in these times of deteriorating economic indicators and the weak, unorganized responses we get from the economic managers. Who’s really in charge, and how is economic policy formed in this government? We’ve discussed in previous blog posts … Continue reading
How Duterte’s ‘change’ brought gross incompetence to the Philippines
By JoeAm You can’t build competence on the back of deceit, bluster, and favors. What are the elements of competence? Competence requires objectivity and its brother transparency to correctly recognize, state, and size the issue at hand, whether it be the availability of rice or the best Supreme Court Chief Justice. Along with objectivity, competence requires … Continue reading
Federalism Deal Killers
By JoeAm This blog article will be revised from time to time as new information comes forth. The goal is to track the progress on development of the Federalism Constitution and build our understanding of the document being written. A constitution is a contract between the people and government. As such, the development of a … Continue reading




