Strengthen policies to help achieve total electrification
RECENTLY, the Department of Energy (DoE) called for comments on the draft Qualified Third Party (QTP) Service Contract and Eligibility Requirement as per Department Circular No. DC2019-11-0015 “Prescribing Revised Guidelines for Qualified Third Party.” These draft issuances are supplemental documents to support the QTP Revised Guideline Policy which the DoE released on November 2019. The QTP Guideline Policy is an initiative that was prescribed in Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, which shall assist the Distribution Utilities (DU) in ensuring and accelerating the total electrification of the country.
Human Rights post-COVID-19
By Luis V. Teodoro
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon headquarters of the US Department of Defense came the virtual reversal of the global trend towards liberalization and democratization that had characterized the last two decades of the 20th century.
Export or fall deeper into debt
By Andrew J. Masigan
The country can fall into a debt crisis if exports don’t pick up. Here’s why...
In harm’s way
By Marvin Tort
Uganda is now battling an outbreak of the Ebola virus, which causes a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and other mammals like monkeys. The latest outbreak was said to be caused by the “Sudan strain,” which reportedly has no approved vaccine or drug treatment, the New York Times (NYT) reported. Scientists are beginning clinical trials only now.
Where is the Philippines in Global Hunger in ASEAN?
By Rolando T. Dy
What is the score of global hunger in ASEAN?
Screening for colorectal cancer saves lives
By Teodoro B. Padilla
Colorectal cancer cases in East and Southeast Asian countries have significantly increased in recent decades, driven by rapid changes in socioeconomic and lifestyle habits,...
Congestion and corruption
By Marvin A. Tort
Four years ago, I raised a question in this column: “Where do we lose most: from corruption in government, from tax evasion, or from...
A game changer in attracting foreign investments
By Victor Andres C. Manhit
The Philippines has long languished behind its Southeast Asian neighbors in attracting foreign investments. Many factors have been cited for this including the state...
Decline and fall
By Luis V. Teodoro
President Rodrigo Duterte is supposedly considering five possible PDP-Laban candidates for President in 2022: Manila Mayor “Isko” Moreno, his confidant “Bong” Go, the boxer Manuel Pacquiao, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., and his daughter Sara.
Universities as truth-seeking institutions
By Anne Lan K. Candelaria, PhD
In this post-truth age, institutional autonomy is the most valuable attribute that universities vigorously defend. We see more and more cases around the world of how governments have directly and indirectly challenged academic freedom. From the dwindling support of politically sensitive research projects to the closing down of universities altogether, these threats make higher education’s responsibility to engage with and for society more difficult than ever.
No longer just the past
By Wilfredo G. Reyes
Every time I visit Mum to check on her, I find her seated in front of a television set or her laptop, her eyes...
Hope for 2025: Reform local, transform national
By Daffodil Santillan
We say transformation in Philippine politics is not elusive, yet looking at the current lineup of senatorial candidates, it’s hard not to feel disheartened....