IF IT TAKES a cheap phonetic pun to drive home the point, so be it. Last year, the Munich Security Conference, the world’s leading forum on international relations, warned of “Westlessness.” Everything since that report has borne out the danger, because the rate at which the world is becoming Westless — and, therefore, restless — keeps accelerating.

It may be a sign of the times but isn’t it strange that those who say “I may not agree with what you say but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it” are more apt to actually prevent you from saying what you want to say?

Though this article is slated for publication on Thursday, Sept. 23, I am reflecting on the day that I am writing this, September 21st, a day where we extend rethinking the capital markets towards re-examining major issues in our country and in the world in general.

Determining the official retirement age for government workers should be seen more as a pension issue rather than a labor supply issue.

Almost 50 years after Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law, those of us who were around at that time continue to denounce it as part of a grand design to extend the Marcos rule indefinitely.

MESSAGING via SMS or online chat has become the normal form of communication, even for masked couples physically in the same place — “When I am dead, my dearest, sing no sad songs for me.” This can be met with an emoticon of surprise.

As discussed in Part 1 of this series, the Philippines will transition into an upper-middle income economy in the next three or four years.

HONG KONG has had its first taste of the remodeled electoral system that China designed for the city. As an exercise in competitive politics, Sunday’s vote had all the suspense and spontaneity of a Soviet military parade, though with fewer people. All the same, Beijing has reason to be satisfied with the outcome.

FOR ANYONE who wasn’t paying attention, China is serious about its common prosperity drive. Aiming to rein in billionaires and reduce income inequality, regulators have cracked down on tech giants and mainland real estate developers alike, costing shareholders over $1 trillion along the way. Last week, officials set their eyes on the territory of Macau, the world’s biggest gambling hub. Can Hong Kong’s property tycoons remain unscathed much longer?

No person shall be deprived of his life, liberty, or property without due process of law.1 This was guaranteed by no less than the Constitution — our fundamental law, in its mission to find a striking balance between the immense powers of the State on one hand, and an individual’s right to being on the other. Necessarily, and rightfully so, due process has been defined as the “sporting idea of fair play”2 considering as it does limit official acts within the bounds of reason.

After backtracking from its initial decision, the National Government recently announced that it will push through with the implementation of granular lockdowns. This is being piloted in the National Capital Region until Sept. 30.

Never before in the last 50 years has there been any disruption in the school system as compelling and life-changing! As a result of the pandemic, schools were closed and face-to-face classes prohibited. The traditional academic fundamentals as well as the business of running a school ceased, and school leaders had to grapple with a new reality.