Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno and National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Ernesto Pernia keynoted the Arangkada 2017 Forum on Sept. 14, when the Joint...

President Duterte got it right when he said that Imperial Manila is the cause of many of the nation’s problems.

As this is being written (hours before the State of the Nation Address), a massive protest rally is being mounted to denounce President Rodrigo Duterte for failing to fulfill his campaign promise to put an end to contractualization and “endo.”

Since the promulgation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations for the Data Privacy Act (DPA) on Aug. 24, 2016, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) has always emphasized that one of the guiding principles of the DPA is the empowerment of individuals to have reasonable control over the flow of their personal data.

About eight years ago, the Research Center for Responsible Consumption and Production based in the Wuppertal Institut asked us to organize a forum on jobs of the future, among other “futuristic” challenges and scenarios. We did not know what jobs there would be because we had just started Industry 4.0 then.

The New Year’s Eve extravaganza of screaming fireworks and whistling firecrackers bursting in the dark sky competed with the boisterous exuberance of family and...

IN MARCH, many governments around the world imposed strict controls on human meetings and movement — “lockdowns” — to slow the spread of coronavirus. The pandemic’s curves were soon “flattened,” sparing health services from being overrun. Now, in China, Europe, the US, and elsewhere, authorities are cautiously relaxing the rules. Lockdowns have been costly, but they helped us avoid a far worse catastrophe.

“Quick and Easy Online Loan,” “Fast, Easy, Loan Online,” “Quick Cash Online” — these are only a few of the marketing and advertising slogans of online lending companies which have emerged among the online community. Oblivious of the consequences, these online loans became popular among the mass of Filipino people who, in some way or other, needed the “quick and easy” cash.

I have just filled out my ballot as an overseas Filipino qualified to vote in the May 13, 2019 midterm elections. While we are outside the Philippines, dual citizens like me are entitled to vote for party-list contenders and for national officials -- in this case, senatorial candidates.

I’VE LONG wondered what might be the most typical place in the world, and I believe I now have an answer. It is Cebu, the second largest city in the Philippines, from which I have just returned.

Although both the old and Revised Corporation Codes are derived from the American common law system, nevertheless, it has been long held by our Supreme Court (SC) that the so-called “common law crimes” known in the United States and England as the body of principles, usages and rules of action, which do not rest for their authority upon any express and positive declaration of the will of the legislature, are not recognized in Philippine Criminal Law.

Last week I saw a video circulating on Facebook of a bicycle shop owner giving a teary-eyed street vendor his dream bicycle after noticing that the man had been coming into the shop week after week just to ask about it. Last month, I read about a public-private sector initiative called Taskforce T3 that’s working with hospital groups to increase the country’s much needed COVID-19 testing capacity. A few months ago, there was also Project Ugnayan, a partnership of the country’s biggest businesses that raised over P1.7 billion to give grocery vouchers to millions of poor Filipino families affected by the lockdown. At the beginning of the lockdown, several public utility companies, like Meralco, also announced that they would continue to provide their services while also extending payment deadlines to help affected users.