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Palafox: Smarter urban planning needed for PHL to go first-world

Palafox Associates Managing Partner and Founder Felino A. Palafox, Jr. speaks to reporters during the firm's 36th anniversary celebration on July 22. — BEATRIZ MARIE D. CRUZ

THE PHILIPPINES needs to address inefficient land use, improve urban planning, and establish “smart” cities in the countryside to achieve first-world status by 2050, according to veteran architect and urban planner Felino A. Palafox, Jr.

“Looking at Metro Manila, [I noticed] that there are so many wrong land uses in the wrong places, and at the wrong time,” said Mr. Palafox, founder of architecture and urban planning firm Palafox Associates, during the company’s 36th anniversary event on Tuesday.

“Planning is about balance — a balance between jobs and housing, and between land use and transportation,” he said.

Mr. Palafox cited Goldman Sachs, which earlier projected that the Philippines will become the world’s 16th largest economy by 2050.

This also aligns with Palafox Associates’ “Philippines 2050: A First-World Country, A First-World Economy” campaign, which envisions the Philippines as a first-world nation by 2050.

By 2050, over 100 million Filipinos will live in cities, Mr. Palafox said. To accommodate this growing population, the country will need at least 100 new smart, inclusive, and resilient cities, he noted.

“We should encourage more development there [in the countryside], and to stop being Metro Manila-centric. Let’s make the Philippines polycentric,” he said.

Addressing the country’s recurring flooding issue is a key aspect of urban development, Mr. Palafox said, noting that progress has been limited by aging infrastructure and insufficient government response.

“We plan from ridge to reef — top of the mountain, highlands, midlands, lowlands. That’s where you address it before the floods come,” he said.

The country’s waterways have long been unable to accommodate high volumes of rainwater, Mr. Palafox also said.

He cited Super Typhoon Ondoy in 2009, during which over 4,600 cubic meters (m³) of water per second flowed down from the mountains. Since the Pasig River could handle only 600 m³ per second, the excess water — more than 4,000 m³ per second — flooded Metro Manila, causing widespread destruction and thousands of deaths.

To better manage stormwater, the country should consider investing in rainwater harvesting systems and SMART (stormwater management and road tunnel) tunnels.

A SMART tunnel, which has been adopted in countries like Malaysia, diverts floodwater caused by heavy rain into a bypass tunnel.

“During the worst flood, the whole SMART tunnel can be used as spillway,” Mr. Palafox said.

The Philippine government must also focus on solving corruption, criminality, poverty, and poor infrastructure, he added.

Extending the term of foreign leases to 99 years would also help open up the economy and entice more foreign expansion in real estate, Mr. Palafox also said.

He also attributed shortfalls in the country’s urban planning and infrastructure development to inconsistent governance, especially when a different public official is elected.

“We should have a continuous planning system where even if you have a different mayor or governor, the planning system is there,” he said. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

Bonnets, speech bubbles and ‘cheeky easter eggs’: A graphic biography of Jane Austen is subtly sophisticated

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HACHETTE.COM.AU

THIS YEAR is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth and she hasn’t aged a bit as the cultural touchstone of classy romance. Her Pride and Prejudice anti-hero, Mr. Darcy, perennially pops up in his breeches in Instagram memes, while Regency feminist, Elizabeth Bennet has been brought to life by a host of contemporary actors.

Along with new screen versions of Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (starring Daisy Edgar-Jones) and a Netflix version of P & P, there have been adaptations of her classics Persuasion, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park. And, there are numerous biographies and biopics including a TV drama about Jane’s sister, Cassandra, who burnt most of Jane’s letters.

Now, there is also a graphic biography: The Novel Life of Jane Austen, written by Janine Barchas and illustrated by Isabel Greenberg.

Together, they have co-created a storyboard for the domestic life that framed Austen’s writing, encompassing her closeness to both Cassandra and her brother Frank, who joined the navy and liked to sew.

Unlike a “cradle to grave” biography, Barchas begins with a teenage Jane in London with Frank touring an exhibition about Shakespeare and his work. We then follow her, in illustrative comic boxes and speech bubbles, through her publishing rejections, her breakthrough debut Sense and Sensibility, and her rise to become one of most beloved writers in the canon of English literature.

The book ends beyond the grave, flashing forward to the present, in a scene where contemporary fans – Janeites – visit Jane Austen’s House, the cottage in Hampshire where Austen lived when she revised and published her six novels.

It’s also a sign of subtle structural polish. Now Jane Austen is as deserving of her own gallery as Shakespeare was when we first met Jane as a young, unpublished author.

THINKING IN PINK
Barchas – an “Austenite,” as Austen scholars are called – is the author of The Lost Books of Jane Austen, a study of the mass market editions of Austen’s work. (The Novel Life touches on Austen’s posthumous appeal with a scene where readers buy Austen books for one shilling at a railway station after her death, aged 41.)

Barchas also wrote Matters of Fact in Jane Austen: History, Location and Celebrity, which links Austen’s characters to well-known locations and figures in her era.

Barchas is the co-creator of the interactive digital exhibition, What Jane Saw, which invites us to visit two art exhibitions witnessed by Jane Austen: the Sir Joshua Reynolds retrospective in 1813 or the Shakespeare Gallery as it looked in 1796. The Novel Life, however, is a more definitive life story. It’s also best read in print (although it is available as an e-book) to appreciate Greenberg’s illustrations and graphic format.

The Novel Life is a gentler, less dramatic style than traditional comics with six-pack superheroes or Japanese manga, similar to Greenberg’s previous literary graphic biography foray, Glass Town, about the Brontë sisters.

For the Novel Life, Greenberg has drawn a world in which Austen is whimsical, with expressive eyes looming under her signature bangs. She and her sister Cassandra appear in bright yellow or blue empire line dresses.

Most scenes are illustrated in a muted palette of yellow, blue, and grey. This palette, Barchas reflects in the preface, represents “the relative quiet of her (Austen’s) life.”

When Jane is thinking or writing however, the pages transform into vivid shades of pink to symbolize her imagination and inspiration. In these pages, The Novel Life is at its best, showing graphic biography can be both captivating and deceptively sophisticated.

ARCHIVAL NODS
Is a graphic biography really a biography in the conventional understanding of the genre? It can upset the perceived rules. Anticipating this, in the preface, Barchas reminds us: “Any biography of Austen, and there are many, exists at the intersection of speculation and research.”

This book is at this intersection. While the dialogue is largely invented, it is grounded in Barchas’ expertise and there is a glossary of sources at the end.

Throughout, there are also nods to the archive. Barchas begins with a scene of Jane in 1796 writing a letter to Cassandra at a desk while staying in London – one of the few not burnt.

A speech bubble quotes an extract from it: “Here I am once more in this scene of dissipation and vice, and I begin already to find my morals corrupted.”

There are also Post-it style notes, separate from the bubbles, offering extra biographical context for readers less familiar with the intricacies of Austen’s story. A key scene happens when Jane, 22, receives her first rejection by a publisher for her manuscript First Impressions and is comforted by the loyal Cassandra. The note reads: “Jane would carry out more than a decade and a half of revisions before she dared to offer the manuscript to another publisher, who released it in 1813 as Pride and Prejudice.”

Because of their visual casualness, importantly the notes don’t interfere with the intimate, engaging tone of the story.

‘EASTER EGGS’
For Austen’s committed “Janeite” fan base, Barchas promises “cheeky easter eggs” in the preface. Janeites can delight in well-quoted lines from the novels that appear as dialogue or a character’s thoughts.

Look, for instance, for Jane reading at a dinner party from P & P: “It’s a truth universally acknowledged […]” and “she is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me […].”

It’s a truth universally acknowledged, too, that graphic biography can be confused with the graphic novel, now the third most popular literary genre in sales after general fiction and romance.

But, dear reader, there’s a tradition of life writing in the medium. The Pulitzer Prize winning graphic biography/memoir, The Complete Maus, told Art Spiegelman’s father’s story of the Holocaust to his son, (Art) who struggled to understand his father. Maus portrayed Jewish people anthropomorphically as mice and Nazis as cats. It was described by The New Yorker “as the first masterpiece of comic book history.”

Other high points in graphic biography include Peter Bagge’s Woman Rebel, the story of birth control campaigner Margaret Sanger, published in 2013.

Not everyone will appreciate a work diverging so dramatically from the expectations of a traditional biography. And those who will most appreciate or scrutinize The Novel Life are, yes, the Janeites and Austenites.

Regardless, Austen comes to graphic life in the mind and hands of Barchas and Greenberg. More generally, for those of us who like our biographies in vivid color – literally – and enjoy experiments in nonfiction storytelling, it’s a delightful reading experience, just like Jane Austen.

 

Kerrie Davies is a senior lecturer at the School of the Arts & Media, UNSW Sydney.

Following the footsteps of Vietnam

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Jcomp from Freepik

(Part 1)

A Philippine delegation of 42 agribusiness entrepreneurs and academics traveled to Ho Chi Minh from June 24 to 27 to observe best practices in farming, logistics, manufacturing, and retailing related to food security. To illustrate how successful Vietnam has been in the agribusiness sector, in 2024, it exported a total of $62 billion in agricultural and aquacultural products (especially rice, coffee, cashew, durian, and seafood) as compared to our measly $7.74 billion (coconuts, bananas, and pineapple). Its total exports of goods in the same year were $424 billion compared to our $73 billion. There is much we can learn from the Vietnamese in bringing our economy to higher level of per capita income, as well as a much lower level of poverty incidence (2% in the case of Vietnam compared to our 16%).

It was only in 2020 that Vietnam surpassed us in per capita income. The last time I visited Vietnam was 15 years ago when it was very much a low-income economy and we were already a low middle-income one. Today, Vietnam is ahead of us in attaining the status of high middle-income country.

As of 2024, Vietnam was still classified by the World Bank as a lower middle-income economy. To qualify as high middle-income, a country must have a per capita income of between $4,516 to $14,005. Vietnam’s per capita income is still $4,490. (To be considered high-income, per capita income should be $14,005 or higher.) The Philippine per capita income is slightly behind that of Vietnam at $4,150. It is expected that Vietnam will become a high middle-income economy this current year 2025, while the Philippines will follow in 2026.

Because Vietnam’s GDP growth may slow down this year as a result of the tariffs on its exports that are being imposed by the Trump Administration, the gap between Vietnam and the Philippines in per capita income may narrow this year. The low export-to-GDP ratio of the Philippines, usually a weakness in normal times, becomes an advantage during recessionary times.

Vietnam and the Philippines may look like non-identical twins as regards per capita income. But Vietnam is in a much better position as regards the more equitable distribution of income and the level of food security. That is why it would be wise for our leaders to examine very closely how Vietnam has reached its present position in order to learn some very important lessons in both economic policy formulation and implementation.

In general, Vietnam overtook us in economic development (especially as regards reducing mass poverty) for the same reasons that the so-called “tiger economies” (Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea) and later our ASEAN peers (Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia) left us behind during the last century.

From the start of our efforts to develop in the 1950s, we adopted an inward-looking, protectionist, capital-intensive, and import-substitution strategy for almost half a century. In contrast, our more successful neighbors followed an outward-looking, export-oriented and labor-intensive strategy.

Second, we failed to provide our economy with efficient infrastructure, especially farm-to-market roads and low-cost energy, spending a trivial 2% to 3% of GDP on infrastructure for decades while our neighbors were lavishing their respective economies with public works, spending at six or more percent of their GDP.

In the case of Vietnam, another explanation for their rapid growth and eradication of poverty was their willingness, from the very start of their reconstruction process, to allow foreigners to own 100% equity in major industrial and infrastructure projects while our leaders enshrined in our Constitution, under a mistaken notion of patriotism, a provision prohibiting foreigners from owning more than 40% in any domestic enterprise.

In addition to investing heavily in countryside infrastructure, the Vietnamese Government spared no effort in helping their small farmers with agricultural extension services, credit facilities, cooperatives development, and access to markets. It is no wonder that the poverty incidence in Vietnam was 2% in 2024, compared to our 16%.

The macroeconomic data about the phenomenal economic success of Vietnam can be complemented by certain personal observations. Let me start with my own.

My very first trip to Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi was in 1985, 10 years after the US armed forces fled Saigon. I still saw much of the devastating destruction wrought by the war. At that time, according to World Bank data, the per capita incomes of the Philippines and Vietnam were $686 and $231, respectively. Vietnam was without doubt a Third World country then and the Philippines, with almost three times more in per capita income, was an emerging low middle-income economy.

There were very few cars then, with bicycles dominating the road.

What I saw during my last trip to Ho Chi Minh was a truly high middle-income economy, with first-class infrastructure, tens of millions of cars, and more than a hundred million motorcycles all over the country. Whereas in 1985, Ho Chi Minh could be compared to a rural city like General Santos City is today, now it can hold its own against our Makati and Bonifacio Global City in terms of the number of skyscrapers.

The witness of one of the speakers in our roadshow was even more dramatic and awe-inspiring.

We had invited the owner and CEO of Lionheart Farms, an integrated coconut farm in Rizal, Palawan, to address the roadshow participants — some 40 Philippine and 20 Vietnamese “agripreneurs.” Christian Eyde Moeller, a Dane married to a Filipina, is getting to be well known in Philippine agribusiness for his very innovative approach to large-scale coconut farming. He delivered a paper in our roadshow entitled “Vietnam’s Agricultural Dominance: A Blueprint for the Philippines.” If there is a sector in Vietnam which we should closely follow the footsteps it had taken in the last 20 to 30 years, it is agriculture and all its allied fields (post-harvest, cold storage, logistics, supply chain, processing, and retailing). What happened in Vietnam in the “agribusiness sector” over the last 20 years is nothing short of a miracle.

As a young modern farmer from Denmark, Christian Moeller went to Vietnam in 1988. He landed in Ho Chi Minh City and witnessed at close range the famous Doi Moi politico-economic reforms inspired by the entrepreneurship, hard work, and adaptability of the Vietnamese people. They applied to the battle of fighting poverty the same indefatigable and resolute spirit that enabled them to win the wars against the French, the Americans, and the Chinese. He participated in the beginning stages of Vietnam’s economic development by establishing a container shipping company and leading trail-blazing investment.

Fortunately for us Filipinos, in 2015, Mr. Moeller began a trail-blazing project in Rizal, Palawan when he co-founded Lionheart Farms. He had seen the potential in improving the productivity of the Philippine coconut industry, primarily by fighting infrastructure challenges and the traditional mindset of farming in the Philippines. He has a very ambitious goal of leading the sustainable transformation of coconut farming. The end result of his efforts will be to unlock the true potentials of Philippine agriculture (inspired by what he witnessed in Vietnam); bring forward the next generation of farmers; and help the Philippines narrow the gap represented by the total agricultural exports of Vietnam ($62 billion) and those of the Philippines ($7.8 billion in 2024).

Mr. Moeller saw with his own eyes the dramatic transformation of Vietnam’s agricultural sector over a 37-year period. In 1988, Vietnam’s rice yield was 2.5 tons per hectare; 70% of its work force was in agriculture and its total agricultural exports was less than $20 million. Today, its rice yield has catapulted to nine tons per hectare, making Vietnam the second largest exporter of rice in the world. As already mentioned above, its total agricultural exports are a mind-boggling $62.4 billion.

(To be continued.)

 

Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is professor emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a visiting professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia

Tariff-driven uncertainties could weaken credit demand in Asian emerging markets

REUTERS

CREDIT DEMAND in emerging Asia could be dampened by trade uncertainties, S&P Global Ratings said, but bank lending in the Philippines has remained resilient despite these headwinds.

“There are signs of a softening momentum in the private sector’s demand across the region. For a few months now, credit growth across several emerging market (EM) Asian economies has been slowing,” the credit rater said in its Emerging Markets Monthly Highlights report dated July 16.

“The Philippines and Vietnam are notable exceptions where credit growth has picked up,” it added.

Bank lending rose by 11.3% year on year to P13.37 trillion as of May from P12.02 trillion, faster than the 11.2% expansion in April, latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

S&P Global said the slower demand for credit in the region seen early this year was largely due to central banks keeping a tighter monetary policy since 2024.

“Now with inflation low and stable in EM Asia, central banks have been lowering policy rates this year with an eye on weaker private sector’s growth momentum,” it said.

“This should help mitigate the credit growth slowdown during the second half of the year.”

The BSP’s policy-setting Monetary Board has brought down benchmark interest rates by a cumulative 125 basis points (bps) since it started its easing cycle in August last year. Last month, it delivered a second straight 25-bp cut that brought the policy rate to 5.25%.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. has signaled the possibility of two more rate cuts this year.

The debt watcher flagged several risks that could affect credit appetite in emerging Asia.

“We expect credit conditions in EMs to continue to face significant headwinds, especially as the indirect effects of tariffs, namely slower investment and global growth, become more evident,” S&P Global said.

A risk chart showed that increasing protectionism disrupting trade flows is a “very high” risk for EMs.

“Exposure to the higher proposed US tariffs varies across the major EMs — it is the highest in Mexico and Asia. In most of the rest of the EMs, the impact of US tariffs will be felt indirectly in the form of uncertainty on investment and a potential weakening in global demand,” it added.

Other headwinds such as escalating geopolitical conflicts, volatile market conditions, and slowing exports were tagged as “high” risks.

It also cited elevated structural risks, such as climate change and frequent natural disasters, as well as the rising threat of cyberattacks.

“Biggest downside risks are uncertainty about US trade policy, further escalation in geopolitical risk, rising long-term government yields, and fiscal challenges across several EMs,” it said. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

PSE still ironing out GPDR rules

PSE President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ramon S. Monzon — PRESIDENTIAL PHOTOJOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION (PPA) POOL YUMMIE DINGDING

THE PHILIPPINE Stock Exchange (PSE) is still finalizing rules and regulations for its planned global Philippine depositary receipts (GPDRs), delaying the product’s launch.

PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon said the exchange is working with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to address comments on its initial draft of the GPDR trading rules.

“We submitted our initial proposed rules for the trading of the GPDRs. We received comments from the SEC at the end of May, and (we are) working to address those comments. It’s still an ongoing process to finish the rules to govern the GPDRs,” he said during a recent virtual briefing.

The PSE was initially scheduled to launch GPDRs in the first quarter of this year. GPDRs are peso-denominated instruments that represent an economic interest, but not voting rights, in an underlying security listed on an overseas exchange.

Aside from GPDRs, Mr. Monzon said the PSE is also still working on the launch of derivative offerings, including PSE index futures.

The PSE is targeting to launch its derivative products by the first quarter of 2026.

The derivatives market consists of instruments whose values are derived from other underlying assets. Derivatives include options and futures contracts.

“We are working together with other exchanges who have very extensive experience in derivatives to help us in our journey here. But that’s something we planned for 2026,” Mr. Monzon said.

Mr. Monzon also said that Republic Act No. 12214, or the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA), has expanded the definition of securities, removing ambiguity around products such as GPDRs and derivatives.

“The CMEPA has introduced a very specific provision expanding the definition of securities to include other securities in addition to stocks. Depositary receipts and derivatives should be covered by that. That ambiguity has been addressed by the CMEPA,” he said.

On its proposed index policy revisions, Mr. Monzon said the PSE is in the process of reviewing comments it received from market players.

“We’ve received the comments. We are in the process now of going over them and getting clarification. It’s in the process,” he said.

Last month, the PSE sought comments from select fund managers, as well as local and foreign brokers, on its proposed index policy revisions.

One of the proposed changes is the lowering of the free float requirement to 15% from the current 20% for companies with a market capitalization of over P120 billion.

Meanwhile, Mr. Monzon said he is expecting more partnerships with universities and other academic institutions to boost capital market education in the country.

He said this as the PSE recently partnered with San Beda University’s (SBU) College of Arts and Sciences – Departments of Accountancy, Economics & Public Policy, and Financial Management to push capital market education.

SBU is the PSE’s first partner school for integrating investor education into the academic program of its target departments.

The initiative will consist of seminars, workshops, and other relevant engagements to promote and strengthen financial and stock market literacy among SBU students.

The two groups will also organize an internship program and explore offering the PSE’s Certified Securities Specialist Course through SBU.

“We hope to develop money management skills among students and help them understand the value of investing so they are equipped to handle their finances even before joining the workforce or starting their own business,” Mr. Monzon said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Pompeii welcomes home erotic mosaic looted by Nazi officer

MUSEUM STAFF install an ancient Roman mosaic showing a half-naked couple, recently returned to Pompeii more than 80 years after it was stolen by a Nazi officer during World War II, at the Pompeii Archaeological Park in Italy, July 15. — REUTERS

ROME — An ancient Roman erotic mosaic depicting a half-naked couple has returned to Pompeii more than 80 years after it was stolen by a Nazi officer during World War II, Italy’s cultural heritage police said on Tuesday.

The intimate artwork, featuring a man reclining in bed with his female partner standing in front of him, was handed back by Germany following a diplomatic effort, the police said in a statement.

Set on a slab of travertine, the mosaic panel dates to between the late 1st century BC and the 1st century AD.

It was taken from the area around Pompeii, near Naples, during the war by a German Nazi army captain assigned to military logistics in Italy.

The German officer gifted the piece to a civilian, who kept it until his death. His heirs, realizing its origin, contacted the Italian authorities to arrange its return.

Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the German-born director of the Pompeii archaeological park, described the mosaic as part of a cultural turning point where everyday intimacy became a subject in Roman art, as opposed to the heroic myths of earlier centuries.

“Here we see a new theme, the routine of domestic love,” he said, noting that the male figure’s expression “seems almost a little bored.”

The mosaic will now be put on display at Pompeii alongside the hundreds of other items and archaeological remains at the site of the ancient city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. — Reuters

Expectation and reality: Aiming for perceptible, lasting public good

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

It may look as though the average Filipino is preoccupied with purely political issues, those that are happening to the country’s top officials, their clashing interests, and very public fights. As we write, there is still uncertainty on whether the impeachment trial of Vice-President Sara Duterte will even push through, given how much it has already been delayed.

Some senator-judges appear more guided by partisan instincts than by the demands of impartial adjudication. Their public declarations hint at conclusions reached well before the Senate, acting as an impeachment court, has had the opportunity to weigh the evidence.

These dynamics matter — not just as political spectacle, but as indicators of how governance and the rule of law are treated in practice. Whether it’s the sympathy stirred by the former president’s detention in The Hague, or the wave of propaganda and disinformation shaping public sentiment, the stakes are high. At the core is a longstanding crisis of accountability, especially around the misuse of public funds — a pattern of corruption that continues to stall the country’s progress.

In the end, however, the average Filipino’s most urgent national concerns are economic in nature.

The latest Pulse Asia survey, conducted from June 26 to 30, showed that 62% of Filipinos believe that controlling inflation is the most urgent concern. Fifty-one percent are concerned with increasing workers’ pay. Other pressing concerns include reducing poverty (26%), creating more jobs (25%), and fighting graft and corruption in government (24%).

It is not surprising, then, that the Consumer Expectations Survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) — which captures the economic outlook of consumers as an indication of the country’s future economic conditions — showed that consumer sentiment also weakened during the second quarter of this year. The overall consumer confidence index dropped to -14% from -13% in the previous quarter. This more pessimistic outlook was driven by concerns over rising inflation, declining household income, fewer job opportunities, and uncertainties in the delivery of government services amid increasing political tensions.

Meanwhile, the BSP’s Business Expectations Survey generates indications of overall business sentiment and prospects/outlook. This figure also reflected a decline in confidence during the second quarter. The confidence index (CI) fell to 28.8% from 31.2% in the first quarter.

Businesses cited factors such as the potential economic impact of a temporarily paused 17% reciprocal tariff on Philippine exports to the US — now reverted to 10% — as well as anticipated lower demand following the midterm elections and the sugar milling off-season.

We take note of these figures just days before the State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. As he speaks in front of his national constituency, the President must be all too aware that the urgency of these economic concerns trump other issues for the common Filipino. With three years behind him and another three years to go before the end of his term, President Marcos must focus on the more daunting task at hand — to address inflation, low wages, poverty, and unemployment, but also without losing sight of efforts to curb corruption which funnels precious public funds that could be used for the people.

A recent Pulse Asia survey would help assure the administration that it is on the right path, as it reveals significant improvements in public approval of the national administration’s handling of key issues. Approval ratings rose notably in areas such as job creation (+18%), fighting criminality (+15%), and addressing hunger (+13%). Even on the continuing issue of inflation control, approval increased by 15%, suggesting progress on public perception in managing price stability.

These gains affirm the effectiveness of the Marcos Jr. administration’s initiatives in prioritizing the improvement of the Filipino people’s lives by ensuring that their top concerns are addressed. The upward trend in approval across multiple sectors reflects growing recognition of government efforts to improve economic and social conditions — crucial as the administration navigates its remaining years in office.

But what these gains highlight, most of all, is that it takes time before any real action on various aspects of the economy can be felt by businesses and consumers alike. Thus, the administration must ensure that its efforts are sustained and consistent, unhampered by any fleeting political headwinds that may come. It will take time before any meaningful reform is truly felt and before it can inspire confidence that better times are coming despite challenges.

As the administration begins the second half of its term, consistent policy direction, timely implementation of government programs, and enhanced support for key sectors are non-negotiable steps to take. Our leaders need to ensure that mitigation efforts are in place to cushion potential economic headwinds, including contingency measures to support affected sectors, sustain employment, and maintain overall market stability.

All these are vital to maintaining investor interest, stimulating economic activity, and ensuring that benefits and changes are not only recorded on paper but felt by ordinary Filipinos.

If the administration does not lose sight of these goals for the remainder of its term, reality would align more with people’s expectations, and Filipinos would get the quality of life that they deserve.

 

Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit is the president of the Stratbase ADR Institute.

Next Bank of Thailand chief champions rate cuts to revive growth

REUTERS

BANGKOK — Vitai Ratanakorn, the incoming governor of the Bank of Thailand, by his own admission, will start his new job in October at a difficult time.

Growth in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy has stalled, tense negotiations with the United States over trade tariffs continue, industrial sentiment is tepid and critical sectors, including tourism and manufacturing, aren’t firing.

“We must accept that the Thai economy is not doing so well,” Vitai, who has been approved by the cabinet as the next central bank chief but awaits royal endorsement, told reporters last week.

“And what is worrying is the sluggishness that may be prolonged.”

The 54-year-old, who currently serves as president and chief executive of the Government Savings Bank, Thailand’s largest state-owned lender, has a prescription: more rate cuts.

The central bank late last month left the key interest rate unchanged, underlining the need to save some policy ammunition, after cuts in October, February and April. Those reductions brought the one-day repurchase rate to 1.75%, the lowest in more than two years.

“Proactive easing is important,” Vitai told Thai financial daily Krungthep Turakij on June 20, when he was locked in the race for the top job with central bank insider Roong Mallikamas.

“It’s not just another one or two cuts. We may have to reduce them for a long time and more deeply. So, from 1.75%, if you ask me personally, I think it can go down much further.”

Thailand’s ruling Pheu Thai party, which took power in 2023, has been at loggerheads with current Bank of Thailand chief Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput for not cutting rates enough to support a sluggish economy.

In May last year, before she became prime minister, Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the central bank’s independence was an “obstacle” in resolving economic problems, underlining the scale of the friction.

Vitai’s stance will likely tone down some of that conflict, but it has also raised questions about his own ability to lead the central bank without succumbing to pressure from the ruling party — an issue he has publicly addressed.

“I am confident that I can make decisions independently, based on principles and prioritizing the nation’s interests, free from the influence of any groups,” Vitai wrote on his Facebook page on July 8.

Vitai studied economics and law at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn and Thammasat universities, and finance at Drexel University in the United States, and entered the Thai private sector, where he worked at Charoen Pokphand Group and budget carrier Nok Air.

A former colleague, who worked alongside Vitai at a private firm, described him as a team player who preferred to work with consensus.

“He is more of a practicalist than a theorist, focusing on getting the job done,” he said, asking not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to media.

In 2018, Vitai was appointed the Secretary-General of the Government Pension Fund, which manages assets worth about 1.4 trillion baht ($43 billion), and two years later became the head of the Government Savings Bank.

Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala, a former Thai finance minister, said Vitai’s long experience as a government banker should help him manage relationships with senior finance ministry leadership.

“However, his lack of work experience and zero exposure to high level macro public policy is a cause for concern,” Thirachai told Reuters. — Reuters

GrabPay adds crypto to cash-in options

GRAB PHILIPPINES

RIDE-HAILING app Grab Philippines has partnered with payments provider Triple-A and wealth platform PDAX to enable flexible online payments by allowing cryptocurrency top-ups for GrabPay wallets.

“Integrating cryptocurrency as a cash-in option for GrabPay reflects our commitment to advancing financial inclusion in the Philippines,” Grab Philippines Vice-President and Head of Financial Group CJ Lacsican said in a media release on Tuesday.

Currently, Grab Philippines offers several GrabPay cash-in methods, including e-wallets, online banking via InstaPay, linked bank accounts, debit and credit cards, and select convenience stores and business centers.

Through this partnership, users can now top up their GrabPay wallets with cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), US dollar-backed stablecoin USDC, and USDT.

This agreement allows safe and secure crypto transactions in line with the growing demand for mobility and delivery services, PDAX said in a statement.

PDAX, a digital assets platform, provides users with access to various digital assets and allows them to buy and sell major cryptocurrencies and invest in tokenized bonds; while Triple-A is a global payment institution licensed in the US, Europe, and Singapore, allowing users to pay and get paid in both local and digital currencies.

“The Philippines has one of the largest crypto user bases globally. Through this partnership, we’re thrilled to offer accessible use cases that will both support the existing crypto community and drive greater adoption of cryptocurrency,” said PDAX Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nichel Merlimichael O. Gaba.

According to Triple-A CEO Eric Barbier, the company is now eyeing further expansion of its services in the Philippines as the country’s market is deemed ready for digital currencies.

“This is a big step in making digital currencies easier to use in everyday life across Southeast Asia,” Mr. Barbier said.

Crypto top-ups for Grab e-wallets were first introduced in Singapore last year, PDAX said. It added that the rollout in the Philippines depends on the success of the integration, which has allowed businesses to accept payments in digital currencies. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Cosby Show star Malcolm-Jamal Warner dies by drowning at 54

Malcolm-Jamal Warner in Who Will You Be? (2021) — IMDB

LOS ANGELES/SAN JOSE — American actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Bill Cosby’s son Theo on the groundbreaking 1980s television hit The Cosby Show, died at age 54 on Monday by drowning, a law enforcement source confirmed to Reuters.

Mr. Warner was vacationing in Costa Rica with his family, media reported. The Central American nation’s judicial investigation department (OIJ) confirmed that a US citizen with the last name Warner had drowned after being pulled out to sea by a rip current.

He was declared lifeless at the scene by Red Cross lifeguards, the department said.

Representatives for Mr. Warner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) posted a photo of the late actor on Instagram along with a caption.

“#RestinPower, to NAACP Image Award winning actor, Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Your talent and spirit touched many lives, and your legacy will continue to inspire,” the caption said.

Mr. Warner won the outstanding actor in a comedy series award from the NAACP for the series Reed Between the Lines in 2012.

Fox Entertainment also issued a statement on Monday about Mr. Warner’s passing.

“Everyone at FOX is heartbroken by the tragic loss of our friend and colleague, the extraordinary Malcolm-Jamal Warner… his iconic roles – from comedic to dramatic – are unforgettable and timeless,” the statement said. Mr. Warner played Dr. AJ Austin on the Fox medical drama series The Resident.

The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992, was one of the earliest portrayals of a successful, stable, and wholesome Black American family on television, which challenged negative stereotypes. Mr. Cosby portrayed a doctor, and Mr. Warner played his only son.

Mr. Warner, who was born on Aug. 18, 1970, grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his mother, Pamela, who eventually became his acting manager. He was named after civil rights leader Malcolm X and jazz musician Ahmad Jamal.

At an early age, Mr. Warner found he was interested in acting, which launched his career as a child performer and set him on the path to attend The Professional Children’s School in New York.

While he had some small television roles early in his career, playing Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show served as Mr. Warner’s breakout role.

The actor received an Emmy nomination in 1986 for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for his role on the NBC series. Mr. Warner won a Grammy award in 2015 for best traditional R&B performance for the song “Jesus Children.”

The 54-year-old actor also had roles in The Cosby Show spin-off series A Different World, Jeremiah, Sons of Anarchy, Suits, and hosted Saturday Night Live in 1986.

He has a wife and daughter but never publicly disclosed their names. — Reuters

Trump can’t put the Epstein genie back in the bottle he helped open

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Macrovector from Freepik

By Timothy L. O’Brien

CONSPIRACY THEORIES, particularly those that involve and seem to implicate the rich and powerful, are hard — maybe impossible — to contain. They’re predicated on the assumption that elites are orchestrating cover-ups to manipulate the great unwashed or to mask wrongdoing. No amount of disclosure fully stems the suspicions that fuel conspiracy theories because those theories, by their very nature, assume that ruses are designed to be perpetual. The truth may never be known. Something will always be hidden. The man is out to get you.

So we’ve had generations of speculation and conspiracies about the Kennedy assassination and Area 51. So we now have the Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy.

There are enough uncomfortable or unsettled aspects of this trio of examples to give them conspiratorial lift. It didn’t make sense that Jack Ruby got that close to Lee Harvey Oswald or that Oswald managed to shoot Kennedy all by himself. If there were no aliens or UFOs at Area 51, why was the military conducting expensive UFO studies, and what explained the odd goings-on in Nevada? How did it come to pass that Epstein was found hanging in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019, and what about the “secret list” of powerful enablers who may have helped the sexual predator and trafficker roam freely for so long?

President Donald Trump is a veteran shapeshifter who has deployed conspiracy theories with so much enthusiasm and for so long that he might as well swap his red MAGA cap for a tinfoil hat. Yet insulating himself and his political prospects from his relationship with Epstein and the fallout arising from federal investigations of the disgraced financier has become an acute and intractable problem. He finds himself on the downward, slippery slope of a conspiracy theory he helped set in motion with no obvious barriers emerging to break his fall.

It has always been thus when scandal and Washington intersect, but this moment is vividly wacky, thoroughly Trumpy, quite ungovernable, and oozing with karma.

Trump and his supporters made ample hay over the years out of right-wing conspiracy yarns that placed Democrats at the center of pedophilia and trafficking rings. Hillary Clinton and Pizzagate evolved into QAnon peddling the notion that a Democratic deep state supported child sex trafficking. Trump encouraged the notion among his most fervent supporters that he was here to bust up this stuff, so when Epstein died while being prosecuted on charges of sex trafficking minors, Trump — an old pal of Epstein — jumped into action.

“I know it’s under investigation by Attorney General Barr, and I’m sure he’s going to be handling it,” Trump promised in the wake of Epstein’s death in 2019. “I want a full investigation, and that’s what I absolutely am demanding.” (Barr eventually agreed with initial findings that Epstein’s death was a suicide.)

When Tucker Carlson accused Barr of covering up Epstein’s death in a 2023 interview with Trump, the former president didn’t push back. Instead, he used the moment to blame Barr further for not supporting another conspiracy theory (that the 2020 presidential election was stolen). While campaigning for president in 2024, he said he would release a supposed Epstein “client list” if one existed. After Trump was elected, he put Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, and Dan Bongino, three avid purveyors of Epstein flotsam, atop the nation’s law enforcement apparatus. Surely they would be dedicated to getting the truth out.

Dreams don’t always come true. After the FBI and the Justice Department issued a memorandum saying that Epstein died by his own hand and that no secret “client list” existed, the MAGAsphere melted down. Now Trump’s own supporters are calling on him to disgorge all known thought about Epstein, and Democrats are happily stoking the flames. Odd bedfellows, as my colleagues Nia-Malika Henderson and Matt Yglesias have pointed out, but there you have it.

Trump now finds himself in the unusual position of trying to stuff the Epstein genie back into a bottle that he helped uncork. He has labeled the onslaught a hoax initiated by Democrats. It wasn’t. He also said the media was to blame for his travails. It isn’t. Yet rather than backing down from listless excuses or weak lines of attack, Trump is upping the ante.

After the Wall Street Journal reported recently about a risqué birthday note bearing Trump’s name that was part of a gift compilation given to Epstein in 2003, Trump sued the publication’s reporters and its corporate parents, Dow Jones & Co. and News Corp., for libel. To win that case, he’ll have to demonstrate that a cautious and methodical media outlet published the information knowing it to be false or with reckless disregard for the truth. He’ll also have to endure reams of potentially embarrassing discovery about his relationship with Epstein if he stays the course. (In 2011, Trump lost a libel lawsuit he filed against me for a biography I wrote, TrumpNation.)

To make his burden heavier, Trump also promised to haul the Journal’s most prominent owner, Rupert Murdoch, onto the witness stand to testify about his “pile of garbage” newspaper. Murdoch, of course, also controls Fox, the broadcasting network Trump has traditionally relied on as a megaphone to a political base stoked for conspiracy theories. It’s all quite messy.

The Journal isn’t pursuing these stories alone, and Trump is likely to continue to have his hands full while the Epstein spotlight shines brightly. The New York Times reported on Sunday that a woman who provided information to the FBI about Epstein and Trump and her encounters with them may offer an example of some of the material lodged in unreleased federal investigative files.

Trump has directed Bondi, his attorney general, to release grand jury testimony taken during the federal investigation of Epstein that was going on when he hanged himself. It could be years before that is released, and chunks of it are likely to be redacted. Lots of other investigative material, akin possibly to what the Times reported, may remain under wraps.

Redacted grand jury testimony unveiled to the public years from now won’t satisfy Trump’s most loyal followers. They’re calling into right-wing podcasts and other shows voicing their outrage. Hosts of those shows know why.

“I am speaking for the base here, and that the base associates the Epstein files now with justice,” Liz Wheeler, a conservative podcaster, told the Washington Post. “People feel like there’s been something hidden from them, which triggers people and rightfully so.”

Trump, the conspiracy theorist nonpareil, also knows something: Whatever he releases won’t end the bleeding. “Nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request,” he observed in a Truth Social post on Saturday. “It will always be more, more, more. MAGA!”

The president is navigating a politically perilous path. And it’s entirely of his own making.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

RBA wary of cutting key rates too quickly

REUTERS

SYDNEY — Australia’s central bank judged lowering interest rates for a third time within four meetings was not consistent with its strategy of easing in a cautious and gradual manner, a reason that it shocked markets by holding steady this month.

Minutes of its July 7-8 policy meeting showed the majority of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) nine-member board judged rates at 3.85% were still modestly restrictive, but it was difficult to know how far they could be cut before becoming neutral.

“Some members observed that it might be prudent to lower interest rates cautiously as the required degree of policy restrictiveness declines,” the minutes showed.

The three members that argued for a rate cut judged there was already sufficient evidence that inflation was on track to be sustainably back to target, and there was less need to wait before easing policy further.

The RBA surprised markets by holding interest rates steady at the meeting in a rare split of six to three, saying the majority of the board wanted to wait for more information including quarterly price data to confirm inflation was slowing.

Traders had wagered heavily on a cut after a monthly inflation report had shown the closely watched trimmed mean measure hitting a 3-1/2-year low of 2.4% in May. The economy also barely grew in the first quarter as public demand sputtered.

In a nod to market pricing, the RBA said there had been instances in the past where markets had been very confident about the outcome of a policy meeting, but the central bank had acted a different other way.

The RBA said several data indicators had been in line with or even slightly stronger than forecasts, pointing to the benefit of waiting for a little longer.

It noted that even though economic growth was muted in the first quarter, a pickup in private demand was stronger than expected and the labor market had not eased as expected.

It noted monthly inflation could be volatile, and components like housing suggest June quarter inflation could be slightly stronger than expected.

On top of those reasons, the probability of the global economy evolving in line with the most severe downside scenario had declined, although the future state of US trade and other policies was unpredictable.

Markets now imply around a 91% chance the RBA will ease again at its next meeting on August 12, after a surprisingly soft jobs report raised concerns that the resilient labor market was finally showing some cracks.

Futures see rates bottoming around 3.10% by early next year. — Reuters

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