The Cost of Blind Liberalization: How Low Tariffs and Weak Incentives Are Killing Philippine Industries

Posted by Karl Garcia on November 4, 2025 · 101 Comments 

By Karl Garcia I. Introduction The Philippine economy today stands at a crossroads between open-market liberalization and national economic resilience. For decades, the country has pursued low or zero tariffs, minimal industrial protection, and inconsistent investment incentives — policies rooted in the promise that free trade and market competition would drive prosperity. Instead, this experiment … Continue reading →

Category Economy, Education, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Governance, Philippine Government

How to pick JoeAm’s brain

Posted by JoeAm on October 27, 2025 · 8 Comments 

Analysis and Opinion By Joe America The Society of Honor blog by Joe America has produced 1,880 articles, most about Philippine affairs. It has generated over 180,000 comments that provide additional depth and insights. These are all open for examination by AI tools such as Gemini or ChatGPT. What can you explore? Any political name, … Continue reading →

Category Blogging/Journalism, Culture and Arts, Education, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government

Dear President Marcos, kindly don’t kiss America’s patootie

Posted by JoeAm on October 23, 2025 · 68 Comments 

Analysis and Opinion By Joe America I was highly disturbed last week by news videos showing the acting American ambassador to Manila visiting an ICI meeting. The video showed Filipinos treating this acting guy as a movie star, and the movie star enjoying his role. He should not have been there. Philippine justice is a … Continue reading →

Category China, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Governance, Philippine Government, Philippine Politics, USA/Americans

A Filipino uprising

Posted by JoeAm on October 9, 2025 · 31 Comments 

Analysis and Opinion By Joe America I have a great weather app, Windy.com. It allows me to see and project storms with very high accuracy. It’s well worth the $20 annual fee for premium that has so many measurements from smog to lightning strikes that I can project the camel population in Egypt based on … Continue reading →

Category Citizenship/Patriotism, Crime/Corruption, Governance, Philippine Government, Philippine Politics

How Filipinos botch competency

Posted by JoeAm on October 6, 2025 · 69 Comments 

Analysis and Opinion By Joe America As the father of a teenage son, I have to find ways to explain the fundamentals of life to him in ways that are short and memorable. Lately I’ve been explaining the basics of competency to him because he often displays the opposite, lol. A whole lot of Filipinos … Continue reading →

Category Education, Family/Parenting/Children, Life, Philippine Government