The iconic historian, writer, author, diplomat Carmen Guerrero Nakpil wrote in her autobiographical trilogy Myself, Elsewhere about how she learned to read.

First, POGO stands for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators. Regardless of any acronym or euphemism, it is into making money from a vice. The economic effects are easily seen in the higher rental rates, higher salaries, and higher fees for support service providers. These are to be expected from a business with high margins.

We are now living in the age of Data Science and Big Data, as the ubiquity and availability of large amounts of data plus advances in technology to store, process, and analyze such data have revolutionized ways of thinking about things and of doing business. If you take a look at your social media accounts and wonder how these outfits are able to anticipate the kind of content you like to consume, the answer is that data science and big data analytics are being harnessed to try to guess exactly that, and with very good results. Want to buy a book from your favorite online merchant and out pop some other suggested books that you never even thought about, but you buy them anyway thanks to the prompt? You guessed it, data science and data analytics had a hand in this as well.

About a couple of years ago, a big parking lot was put up at the corner of Yakal St. and Chino Roces Ave. in Brgy. San Antonio, Makati City. At the start, very few cars could be seen parked there. But now, it is usually full. The lot appears privately owned, and the parking privately managed. But the benefit is to the public, particularly the San Antonio community.

The Philippines’ public health sector is not a “deprived” sector in terms of annual budget to fulfill various agencies’ functions and mandates. There are three reasons why.

A FEW YEARS ago, I had the honor of interviewing the Director of Application Services of Hewlett Packard, Philippines, Noel Mendoza, and though the subject of our discussions was information technology and its growing impact on the world, there was something he said outside of the interview that got velcroed to my heart and I share that thought with you here today.

THESE ARE fraught times for Asia-Pacific nations caught in the crossfire of the intensifying US-China rivalry. I recently wrote about how one longtime US ally, the Philippines, is repositioning itself between Washington and Beijing. But Manila is hardly alone in trying to protect itself as the geopolitical giants clash.

In a global world where cross-border transactions are commonplace, disputes inevitably arise. Considering the difference in the substantive laws and procedures in different jurisdictions, the resolution of these disputes requires multilateral agreement and cooperation between and among states. Thus, one of the keys issues in this field of human enterprise is the recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions. On this score, the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) adopted on July 2, the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters or the Judgments Convention. The Judgments Convention seeks “to promote effective access to justice for all and to facilitate rule-based multilateral trade and investment, and mobility, through judicial co-operation.” This is intended to fill in the gap in cross-border litigation, particularly the uncertainty of recognition and enforcement of a court decisions in another jurisdiction and seeks to serve as a mechanism similar to the New York Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards which has been widely ratified by a number of states.

In the recent Technology and Innovation Summit entitled, “Innovative Philippines: Transforming Barriers to Productivity, Transparency and Inclusive Growth,” organized by the Stratbase Group, thought leaders from government, and the information and communications technology (ICT) sector came together to discuss the challenges faced by the industry, as well as the policy directions and strategies to cope with and succeed in the changing landscape of the digital economy.

Having recently launched my book, Confusions of a Communications Man (recounting my experiences in over half a century as a communications practitioner), I was invited to speak before students of Mass Communications at St. Scholastica College in Manila. Before my talk, the students shared their perceptions of the media and communications profession. Their comments were liberally sprinkled with allusions to fake news. On the other hand, they all exuded idealism and missionary zeal in the way they plan to pursue their prospective careers.

PERIODICALLY, the media report the latest survey on the approval rating of the leader and other public servants on prime time and on the front pages. The quarterly exercise by two survey companies is intended to rate government’s performance, as perceived by the governed. A high approval rating is presumed to indicate wide popular support for the accomplishments and programs of the ratee.

CALL IT THE Greta Thunberg effect, democracy against the establishment, or simply an issue whose time has come.