The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), in its website (http://bagong.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/information/climate-change-in-the-philippines), does not seem alarmed about climate change, although it recognizes its presence.

Reacting to my piece, “Cost of living and cost of dying,” which listed the Philippines as among the inexpensive countries to live in -- even to die in -- my friend Gelly Aganon gave me a gentle reality check. Gelly is a prominent Filipino-American community leader and was publisher-editor of a business magazine in Southern California. She lived for several years in Makati with her husband, Titong Aganon, but decided to relocate to Los Angeles after he passed away. She posted the following on social media:

I spoke last week at a summit for campus safety, security, and disaster resilience. I called for a broad alliance of school stakeholders (administrators, faculty, staff, employees, safety/security officers and students) and partners (military, police, media, local officials, emergency response organizations), to ensure readiness, mitigate risk, rapidly respond to emergencies, and skillfully manage crises.

Security Sector, according to the United Nations, is a broad term often used to describe the structures, institutions, and personnel responsible for the management, provision and oversight of security in a country. Security institutions include defense, law enforcement, corrections, intelligence services, border management, customs, elements of the judicial sector, management and oversight bodies, and other non-state actors and civil society groups.

Lately, the Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) has been the subject of comprehensive Senate inquiries. The problems and issues unearthed are so complex that they are beyond comprehension. It is very evident that management has been remiss in the exercise of the decision-making process. If one does not act immediately due to indecision, the opportunity vanishes unless a radical change is undertaken.

“CARP has instead effected a massive de-formalization of agriculture! Time to allow agriculture to march out of the informal into the formal sector. It is time, in other words, to stop redistributing poverty!” -- Dr. Raul Fabella, “CARP: Time to Let Go,” UPSE Discussion Paper 2014
February 02, 2014

IN OUR status culture that reflect wealth, power, and celebrityhood (entertainers and sports figures), claimed associations with icons is an indirect way to achieve instant status. So, knowing somebody, even tangentially, is a bid for reflected glory, a sort of “gilt by association.”

IN MY last article I wrote about the importance of learning to learn. Yes, nothing in life helps us evolve better than learning to learn. And, one of the fundamentals of learning to learn is being innately curious about things and then using questions and the process of inquiry to satiate that curiosity.

THE NATIONAL issue of “endo” (short for end-of-contract or the termination of a worker’s fixed short-term employment) has been in the limelight for some time now, but has not seen its conclusion yet.

Congratulations are due to House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Ways and Means Chair Joey Salceda on the swift passage of the Corporate Income Tax and Incentive Rationalization Act and Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act in the House of Representatives. Memorably tagged CITIRA and PIFITA by Congresman Joey, it is now being heard in the Senate Ways and Means Committee which is most ably chaired by lawyer and economist Senator Pia Cayetano.

The prolonged trade war between the US and China, the world’s two largest economies, is hurting both countries and it is thus seen as a threat to the global economy. Yet for developing countries, especially in Southeast Asia, the ugly trade war is an opportunity, for this economic war translates into a redirection of trade and investments. Indeed, having been affected by the trade war, many companies with global value chains based in China have moved out or are seriously considering their exit.

The entire Hong Kong subway network -- which carries some four million passengers a day -- was suspended on Friday night, leaving protesters, locals, and tourists stranded. “Shopping malls were closed, supermarket chains said they would not open and many mainland Chinese banks, which were targeted in Friday night’s violence, stayed shuttered, their façades sprayed with graffiti. In some locations, long lines formed at supermarkets as residents stocked up, fearing further clashes,” Agence France Presse News (AFP) reported.