People are rational, at least in general. There is a reason for action, or inaction.

THERE are many titles and versions of this fable and the author also is unknown. Inspired by the paradigms of Appreciative Inquiry, a research and a process facilitation method, let’s call this version of the story as, “Our Words Influence Our Worlds.”

In a September 2017 paper, “Implementing the 10-point Socio-Economic Agenda,” the Arangkada Philippines Project (TAPP) made 22 recommendations for the power sector, among which are: (1) Support and approve the massive energy investments, (2) Increase the system reserve requirement to 25% of peak demand vs the current 17%, and (3) Formulate an energy road map (generation portfolio mix) with power supply quality, reliability and affordability as key objectives.

Poor Nic Gabunada. He is being crucified for being good at what he does. Gabunada, a former ABS-CBN research specialist, is credited with harnessing social media to help President Rodrigo Duterte win in the 2016 elections.

The election spirit is in the air!

CAN AN ECONOMIC BRIEFING be complete without introducing such political topics as the impact of China’s growing influence, the stalled infrastructure program, the short-lived water shortage, or the impact of the coming elections, even if this is just a mid-term one? Are politics and economics intertwined like two snakes doing the tango?

April 15 is the deadline for the most important type of tax payment -- the annual filing of income tax returns (ITRs). Almost all registered taxpayers are required to pay this tax, with only a few exceptions. For the government, the income tax is where the bulk of the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) collections come from.

Three years after his election on May 9, 2016, the Philippine midterm elections this year will serve as a litmus test of President Rodrigo Duterte’s actions, including his decisions to recalibrate Philippine treaty relations with the US and pivot to China. In 2016, Duterte downplayed the ITCLOS arbitral award and entered into a policy of economic rapprochement with China. Three years thereafter, how do we assess Duterte’s foreign policy choices? Here, I seek to explain the hedging strategies of the Duterte government towards China by examining relevant literature on weak states’ hedging strategies and Great Power competition. It is also my objective to frame Duterte’s foreign policy as an outcome of the uncertain post-cold war unipolar environment, and of the interplay of domestic and state preferences in foreign policy.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is arguably the most inefficient agency under the Duterte administration. It is certainly among those that deliver the least service to the Filipino people.

During episodes of DZMM’s series on senatorial candidates, the station’s field reporters asked ordinary folks in the streets who they would vote for senator. Many said they would vote for candidates who can provide jobs or access to housing while many others said they would choose candidates who can enforce the law. A few said they would choose candidates who can “fix” things if and when they find themselves in conflict with the law.

THE NEW autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), would have been inaugurated by the time this commentary gets into print. I am happy about this development, and I hope it will usher in a much more successful autonomous Muslim region than its predecessor had been. The entire country needs and, I am sure, wants it to be so.

THE leadership and the management of Manila Water squarely took responsibility for inability to provide 24-7 service in many parts of its concession area. And voluntarily waived fees in the several hundreds of millions, despite the absence of any such obligation under its concession agreement. Such act of corporate governance and responsibility is exemplary, and from my recall, unprecedented in the Philippines. Especially since, in the view of many, the fundamental shortcoming is not theirs, but government’s. More precisely, that of the MWSS in the last administration. Despite repeated warnings of the two concessionaires at that time, MWSS abysmally failed to develop a single water source, not a single stone was turned or a shovel lifted, even as they barred the concessionaires from developing such. The “original sin.”