I had lunch with Gina. She was diagnosed 10 years ago at age 40 with breast cancer. Stage 3c, meaning advanced. Nineteen of the 25 lymph nodes the doctors found were malignant. She underwent surgery, six sessions of chemo, and 33 radiation sessions. Each chemo session left her sick and nauseous for a week. It left a metallic taste in her mouth, and she could not eat anything.

HOW OFTEN do you see a piece of economic or financial information revised upward by 45%? And how reliable would you regard a data set that’s subject to such adjustments?

We live, it seems, in particularly trying times of multiple and simultaneous “acts of God.” No sooner had the Angat Dam water level gone dangerously low causing water interruptions than the African Swine Fever decimated our hogs, the Taal volcano erupted, and the coronavirus pandemic exploded disrupting lives, livelihoods, and property. Acts of God happen but we can’t say exactly when and where. And when they come calling, they wantonly lay waste to everything along the way. As a society, we are forced to take draconian measures (lockdowns, evacuations, livestock culling) and to hope we can wait out their ravages. In those times, we draw upon the reserves we built in calmer times. These reserves serve as the ramparts that stand between us and extinction. Our “resilience” is, in other words, anchored on those fateful reserves.

The Research Institute of Credit Suisse paints a grim picture of wealth distribution in the Philippines. According its latest Global Wealth Report, the Philippines...

The recent survey on self-rated poverty done by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) piqued my curiosity. The Fourth Quarter of 2019 survey (conducted on Dec. 12-16, 2019) showed self-rated poverty spiking by 12 points compared to the previous quarter. It increased from 42% in September 2019 to 54% in December 2019. In the same vein, self-rated food poverty increased by six points in the same period, from 29% in September 2019 to 35% in December 2019.

The day before Valentine’s Day, red roses were selling briskly at P5,000 per dozen/per bouquet at a small flower stand in a Makati mall. What a waste, the dumpy old widow grumbled to herself -- whoever guy is giving that near-wilting bunch of flowers to his lady love would do better to give her the cash.

THE ATTENDANCE CHECK is routine in corporate culture. Scheduled events like the board of directors’ meeting makes presence (if not participation) obligatory. The secretary attests to the required attendance. (Madame Secretary, do we have a quorum?)

CENTRAL BANKERS from Sydney to Washington are confessing they don’t know how big the economic dent from the coronavirus will be. This is more encouraging than you might think.

He has made the police his security guards and the military his private army, while both remain cogs in the killing machine that keeps him and his ilk in power and things the way they are and have always been. He controls both houses of Congress and has the Supreme Court majority for accomplices. Unscrupulous judges and even worse lawyers have surrendered their independence to speak for him and do his bidding.

In literature and history, the heroes Othello and Antony were noble, brave, and ingenious. However, their virtues were the cause of envy among their colleagues. In modern times, the outstanding individuals who excel in the fields of science, art, business, law, academe, and public service trigger pinpricks or gnawing pangs of jealousy.

Today, of course, is Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, this year, it fell on a Friday, which by some sad coincidence is also payday. Hopefully, Carmaggedon won’t rear its ugly head.

PICTURES, now increasingly digital and posted in social media, record an event and who were there (if they did not leave the event too early). Being in a photo proves that one was at the event, not necessarily to lead it or even to influence what happened. The inclusion in the group shot is an opportunity to brag about connections -- is this why these are called photo opportunities (or photo ops)?