To solve Manila’s traffic, start with facts and goals, not the well-being of interest groups

Posted by JoeAm on September 16, 2019 · 92 Comments 

By JoeAm The Philippines is a nation run by interest groups, not ideas. So solutions are seldom found. Interest groups get in the way. Well, we need to crack through that barrier with a 10 pound sledge hammer. Here is my solution to Manila traffic, starting with a few facts . . . which are … Continue reading →

Category Ecology/Global Warming, Economy, Philippine Government

“Senator Poe gets it”

Posted by JoeAm on September 9, 2019 · 108 Comments 

By JoeAm I was surprised to read of Senator Poe’s remarks at a Business World conference this morning. She actually made sense and drilled right to the point (rather than talking out of both sides of her mouth seeking to appeal to everyone). So as a regular critic of her mamby pamby populist safe zone … Continue reading →

Category Economy, Philippine Government, Philippine Politics, Technology/Internet

Self-dealing defeats humanity

Posted by JoeAm on September 2, 2019 · 51 Comments 

By JoeAm Democracy has proved to be rough going. It is a political process. Politics is agenda pushing, agenda-pushing becomes self-dealing, and self-dealing defeats democratic values. Human rights then get in the way. We see it in the US and UK. We are living it in the Philippines. Actually, the Philippines has had a self-dealing … Continue reading →

Category China, Citizenship/Patriotism, Crime/Corruption, Culture and Arts, Ecology/Global Warming, Economy, Philippine Government

Rubba dub dub, three men in a tub: Albayalde, Lorenzana, and Locsin

Posted by JoeAm on August 26, 2019 · 81 Comments 

By JoeAm There are any number of secretaries I could pick for this little lesson, I suppose. But I chose three whose characters and acts help frame the discussion. There are three forces that define the men and women of government high offices: (1) the people and institutions that shaped them as younger people, (2) … Continue reading →

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

‘We Must Focus on Leni’—Trillanes

Posted by Wilfredo G. Villanueva on August 22, 2019 · 165 Comments 

by Wilfredo G. Villanueva In jail, he repurposed himself. From someone fighting the system by force of arms calling bloody Katipunan to mind, he ventured into democratic discourse, softening his image, turning sword to ploughshare. He won a Senate seat campaigning from prison with his relaunched brand—dead-center message delivery almost in martial cadence, swoonworthy to … Continue reading →

Category Citizenship/Patriotism, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government, Philippine Politics, Religion