Year: 2013

By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld THE CAMPAIGN to rid the country of the pork barrel system has brought to the fore, like the proverbial worms in the woodwork, the many forms of this abomination, not just the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and its immediate predecessor, the Countryside Development Fund (CDF), collectively dubbed “Congressional…

By LUIS V. TEODORO Vantage Point | BusinessWorld THE Dec. 16 Metro Manila bus disaster in which 22 people lost their lives and 20 more were injured was far from unique. On the same day, in Badian, Cebu, a drunken bus driver lost control of his vehicle while negotiating a curve and killed several people,…

By Satur C. Ocampo At Ground Level | The Philippine Star A week before Christmas, news reports on the country’s economic prospects — coming from the government, the Bangko Sentral, and two international credit-rating agencies — are uniformly upbeat: the economy will not only stay within growth targets, but the Philippines will “outperform” its Southeast…

By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat Perspective The Aquino government is using every opportunity to hard sell the increasing presence of US troops in the country. Right after Typhoon Yolanda caused massive devastation in central Visayas provinces and US troops were sent to help in relief efforts, Foreign Affairs Sec. Albert del Rosario was quoted in news…