On the Philippines’ GDP growth rates, the good news is that from 2010 to 2018, the Philippines has been growing above 6% yearly except in 2011. High growth was experienced in 2010 with 7.6% (recovery from 2008-2009 global financial turmoil) and 2013 (election year) with 7.1%.

President Gloria Arroyo was prohibited by law to run for reelection in 2010. But in her lust for power, even if only a fraction of what she wielded as president, she decided to run for representative of the 2^nd District of Pampanga. Her son Mikey, then the representative of the district, had to give way to his Mom as the candidate for the position.

When I’m asked what I think of President Duterte’s performance in office so far, I say that he has evolved in a positive way and that he’s is evolving further but he still has plenty of shortcomings.

Let’s not talk about Maria Ressa. What if she was arrested for “cyber libel” at the Rappler office by the National Bureau of Investigation day before Valentine’s Day, just before 5 p.m., the cutoff time for courts to process bail payments? Harassment? What’s “cyber libel,” anyway? We are becoming inured to all sorts of fake news and bad language on social media, as we are numbed to virulent cursing and swearing, public shaming and outright accusations on national mass media.

Many may not realize it but the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) is arguably the most powerful government agency in the country, one bestowed with one of the largest budget allocations.

IF JANUARY developments are any to go by, 2019 looks to be a year of heightened volatility with risk themes across rates, trade, and general economic growth continuing to ebb and flow in the global financial markets. But rather than playing it safe, the availability of choices will be the bond market’s new best friend in this fluid environment.

IN CHANGI Airport in Singapore, the toilets have a small touch screen by the entrance with emoji symbols for users to rate the quality of the facility -- from grouchy to jubilant in a scale of five to one. The customer just presses the appropriate symbol to register his rating. He is assured that the screen is regularly cleaned to be properly hygienic, considering what the fingers have just been up to before the voting. This instant feedback, tracked digitally, serves to evaluate customer feedback.

On July 23, 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order No. 2 mandating public access to information held by the agencies and offices of the executive branch. The nongovernmental organizations that had been campaigning for a freedom of information (FOI) act for decades welcomed it with cautious optimism. The Executive Order (EO) encouraged the legislature and judiciary to do the same, but the FOI advocates nevertheless pointed out the need for a law that would cover all three branches of government.

I attended a Philippine-US relations forum in Makati last week. During one Q&A, the discussion drifted on the rise of so-called “authoritarian” regimes worldwide, particularly Asia.

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” -- Leonardo da Vinci (Italian polymath, 1452 -- 1519)

THERE’S an old Polish saying that when two people quarrel, a third will benefit. And so global investors are now looking for the country best positioned to gain from the US-China trade war.

PRESIDENT TRUMP has nominated David Malpass, a senior Treasury official and former Wall Street economist, to succeed Jim Yong Kim as next leader of the World Bank. Rather than rubber-stamp the US nomination, as the bank’s other member governments are generally inclined to do, they should ask whether Malpass is the best available candidate -- and, even more important, start an open discussion about what the job should entail.