When tax audits become extortion: Why the Philippines must fix the LoA system now
ON NOV. 17, during the Senate plenary deliberations on the proposed 2026 national budget, Senate Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito sounded the alarm over the alleged “weaponization” of Letters of Authority (LoA) by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), saying the issuance of LoAs is now being used as a tool for corruption.
Understanding Philippine corruption and government finances
The hundreds of billions of pesos that were stolen from flood control projects have robbed the Philippine economy of protection and productivity.
Crooks incorporated: Distortions flood the budget cycle
By Nepomuceno Malaluan, Malou Mangahas and Jenina Joy Chavez
If the budget cycle is airtight with safeguards in place at each stage, why then are we seeing corruption at such a horrible scale and stretch today?
Shut up or shutdown
By Amelia H.c. Ylagan
“After 43 days, the latest (longest-ever) government shutdown ended on Nov. 12 with a funding measure that provides full-year Agriculture, Military Construction and Veterans...
Expired medicines: A public health and environmental issue we can solve together
By Teodoro B. Padilla
Every year, millions of Filipino households accumulate expired medicines such as forgotten pain relievers, half-used bottles of children’s vitamins, or leftover antibiotics. While these...
Still struggling, still groping in the dark
By Diwa C. Guinigundo
Across Southeast Asia, governments are pushing forward with difficult reforms, institutional upgrades, and long-term strategic investments. They are building their foundations for sustained resilience...
Europe and the Indo-Pacific: Partners for a resilient future
EUROPE and the Indo-Pacific region find their futures increasingly interlinked in a world marked by geopolitical shifts, economic uncertainty, and intensifying strategic competition.
A matter of kindness
By Maria Victoria Rufino
In the cyberage of materialism, speed, and convenience, the concept of spirituality is dismissed as irrelevant, obsolete, and archaic.
The Dalai Lama once described the...
Ending child exploitation means rethinking inclusion
By Anna Abelinde
MY SON talks to Alexa1. He consults ChatGPT on his phone, and has named and renamed the Meta AI according to themes...
The Vietnamese economy overtakes the Philippines: From economic strategies to governance and flood control
BEYOND TRADE, structural differences in demographics and education shape both countries’ long-term trajectories.
Idle school funds
By Marvin Tort
We have long known that public education needs both special attention and money. As early as 1968, Congress created the Special Education Fund (SEF)...
China’s trade model is built on keeping others poor
THE WORLD has, for the most part, welcomed the trade truce between the US and China. Exporters, in particular, are hoping for a period of quiet that will allow them to adjust to a new world with higher tariffs and more restrictions.