IF I WERE THE NEXT PRESIDENT (Part 10 of a series)

By BEN R. PUNONGBAYAN

Founder, Buklod National Political Party

Investments, and in the case of the Philippines, foreign investments, is a big factor in driving economic growth. Unfortunately, for the past many years, the country has been behind most of our neighboring countries in attracting foreign investments. This low performance is a major reason why the Philippines has lagged behind most of the ASEAN countries in historical economic growth. We simply have not been competitive.

There are several reasons why we have not been competitive. The major one, I believe, is that the costs of doing business in the country is comparatively higher. I have discussed the more significant of these higher costs in Part 9 of this Commentary Series (this current Part is a continuation of Part 9). These are: the cost effects of the business interruptions and…

In 1978, the administration Kilusang Bagong Lipunan party fielded Imelda as a candidate in the Philippine parliamentary elections of 1978. Because most opposition candidates were either in jail or had limited mobility due to Martial Law, Imelda Marcos easily won a seat as a member of the Interim Batasang Pambansa (National Congress) representing Calabarzon.

On August 7, 1982, Marcos appointed Imelda to his executive council. He assigned presidential powers to the executive council in the event of his death.

Imelda, who shared his delusions of grandeur, contemplated the commissioning of a panoramic mural of the country’s history in which every face would be a Marcos family resemblance. Consonant with all this, Marcos dreamed of founding a royal dynasty. His feckless son, Ferdinand junior, known as Bong Bong, whom he named Governor…

IF I WERE THE NEXT PRESIDENT (Part 9 of a series)

By BEN R. PUNONGBAYAN

Founder,Buklod National Political Party

Since about five decades ago, the Philippine economy has gone what appears to be an irreversible downward spiral in comparison with our now 9 ASEAN neighbors. As shown in a World Bank report, in 2020, the Philippines ranked No. 6 in per capita income (gross domestic product) at almost US$3,000. Vietnam appears to be catching up on us soon, making us No. 7 and just ahead of Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. We used to be No. 1.

We have been overtaken by Indonesia, which now has about one-a-half times our per capita income; Thailand, a little bit more than double; and Malaysia by almost four times, not to mention Singapore which is way, way up, and Brunei which is also quite high.

This continuing cascade certainly gives the Filipino a…

Playing cards to pass the time

War can be hell… and war can be absolute boredom.  There are few better ways to pass the time than by playing cards.  They’re easy to carry: small and lightweight, they fit into a rucksack, duffel bag or Alice pack without having to sacrifice any piece of essential gear.

Plus – they’re cheap!

Wartime decks have been used to help soldiers in the field learn about their enemies and allies, to identify aircraft and even teach American history.  In the 2003 invasion of Iraq, American forces used playing cards to identify the most wanted members of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

The U.S. Army and the United States Playing Card Company cooperation goes way back.  But it was their brand Bicycle that took it to a whole new level.

During WWII, Allied Intelligence officers contacted the card company to produce the most clandestine deck of cards…

Imelda Romualdez Marcos isa Filipina politician and convicted criminal. She married Marcos in 1954 and became the First Lady of the Philippines when Ferdinand Marcos became President of the Philippines in 1965 until they were deposed in 1986. While in power for21 years, Imelda and her husband stole billions from the Filipino people, and that the amount they stole could have paid off the entirety of the Philippine foreign debt. By 2018, the Philippine government had recovered about $3.6 billion of this ill-gotten wealth through compromise deals or sequestration cases.

Upon becoming First Lady, Imelda often asked members of the Blue Ladies to accompany her on her trips out of the country. Imelda’s Blue Ladies, specifically Maria Luisa, a daughter of the wealthy Madrigal family and Daniel Vazquez’s wife, contributed…

IF I WERE THE NEXT PRESIDENT (Part 8 of a series)

By BEN R. PUNONGBAYAN

Founder, Buklod National Political Party

Improving Philippine agriculture, which includes fishery and forestry products, has been a persistent major issue since much of the 20th century. Unfortunately, we still continue to struggle to come to grips with it.

So many official and academic studies as well as private commentaries and opinions abound on how to deal with this extraordinarily important issue. I chose as reference for this commentary a recent study issued by the World Bank in June 2020, “Transforming Philippine Agriculture During COVID-19 and Beyond”. This report provides a high level analysis of the present state of Philippine agriculture and a discussion of policy options to transform Philippine agriculture. Accordingly, unless otherwise specified, the data cited in this commentary come from this source.

Based on data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)…

Ferdinand Marcos changed parties to run against Diosdado Macapagal and was elected president in 1965. While running for the presidency, Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda Romualdez, sang campaign duets as part of his strategy to win votes. Marcos came to power as a nationalistic social reformer with a broad electoral mandate to deal with the country’s chronic problems.

During his first term of office, he achieved considerable improvement in initiating infrastructure programs and increasing rice production. The country was ranked second in Asia in terms of economic standings.

At the beginning of his term, Imelda was all charm. Then in Sept. 1966, she made her international debut on an official trip with Marcos to the United States. She entranced Lyndon Johnson…

By Rosalinda Morgan

A sepal, a petal, and a thorn

Upon a common summer’s morn-

A flash of Dew – A Bee or two –

A Breeze – a caper in the trees –

And I’m a Rose!

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

I’ve been growing roses since 1971 and joined the American Rose Society the following year when they were still in Columbus, Ohio. I started with five modern roses because that was the only thing I knew about roses. But as I began to love the history of anything and everything, I read about Old Garden Roses and began to explore its fascinating history. I started to plant some old garden roses after I moved to our third home in the ‘80s. I still had some modern roses in the garden because it seemed like everyone who visited my garden was looking for hybrid teas. But Old Garden Roses have…

IF I WERE THE NEXT PRESIDENT (Part 7 of a series)

By BEN R. PUNONGBAYAN

Founder, Buklod National Political Party

The Philippines is one of the probably very few countries in the world that do not speak a primary language on a national scale. This situation, unfortunately, has grave disadvantages, more directly in political and educational developments and, hence, ultimately in economic development.

By primary, I mean the language that is commonly used in speaking and writing in practically all situations such as, in government, business, schools and even at home and other informal occasions. A primary language becomes necessary in uniting the people when there is a concurrent presence and use of several languages in a country. Call it “lingua franca”, if you will.

Geographically, at present, the regional languages predominate in day-to-day conversation—at home and in informal gatherings. But these languages are rarely used in public writing, except…