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President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to return to the government’s war on illegal drugs but in a supporting role, with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) keeping the lead overall in the campaign.
The drug enforcement agency took over the reins of the campaign in October amid growing public concern over drug-related killings during police operations.
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The Philippine government is looking to establish a community-based economic zone in Marawi City to help the war-torn city bounce back in terms of economic growth and job opportunities for returning residents, the Finance department said.
In a statement, the department said Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd briefly detailed the plan during a recent meeting with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC) officials led by group CEO and president, Takeshi Kunibe. A celebrated playwright and coincidentally one of the founders of London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), George Bernard Shaw once famously quipped “If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion.”
Speaking of disagreements, one concept that has been a frequent subject of passionate debate among economists is the implications of current account (CA) imbalances. This is a very timely issue for the Philippines as the country’s CA balance reversed to a deficit, after 13 years of consecutive surpluses. Naturally, this triggered concerns among policymakers and economists alike. But what does this really mean and should we really be worried? Republic Act 10952, which Duterte signed on Monday, October 2, reset the village polls to the second Monday of May next year from October 23, 2017, with the terms of office of the winners beginning on June 30.
“Subsequent synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections shall be held on the second Monday of May 2020 and every three years thereafter,” the law states. Incumbent village and youth council officials stay in office until a new set of officers is elected. The peso fell to P51 versus the dollar on Monday — a near 11-year low — and the currency is expected to remain the region’s worst-performing given growing economic imbalances.
Monday’s result coincided with the release of ANZ Research’s “Philippine Insights” report, which declared that an “intensifying build-up of imbalances” arising from strong economic growth was weighing down the peso. Already the region’s worst-performing currency, the peso is “likely to remain so in the remainder of the year,” it said. President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law the bill granting tuition-free education in all state universities and colleges (SUCs).
The bill, passed by Congress in May, will have automatically become a law on August 5 if the President did not act on it. Representatives Antonio Tinio and France Castro of Alliance of Concerned Teachers said Joint Circular 1 issued by the Civil Service Commission allows government agencies to hire personnel on Contracts of Service (COS) and Job Orders (JO) or contractual basis.
Since the CSC, Commission on Audit (COA) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) have no guidelines governing contracts of service and job orders, as of July 2016, there were 595,162 contractual workers in government, Tinio said. “The government is already the biggest user of contractual workers, and the CSC circular further allows government agencies to hire personnel on COSs and JOs until end of 2018,” the lawmaker added. The prices we consumers have to deal with is a by product of government policy on the oil industry. However, prices for all petroleum products rose by 535% since 1996.
Thus, it has been proven that oil companies change their prices along with the changes of the world market, even if the government deregulated the market. Given the unpredictable behavior of the world market, would oil prices in the Philippines ever be stabilized and reasonable? The market is likely to keep an eye on the Monetary Board policy meeting this week to look for clues on when the Philippine central bank will raise interest rates.
The policy meeting on June 22, Thursday, will be the final meeting chaired by Amando Tetangco Jr., who retires on July 2 after serving two consecutive six-year terms as Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor. On October 23, 1417, the "king of the eastern country," Paduka Batara was buried in Dezhou, Shandong Province, China. Paduka Batara, along with two other kings, Maharajah Kolamating of the "west country" and Paduka Prabhu, the "Cave King", registered in Ming China as a tribute mission from Sulu in 1417.
This year (2017) will be the 600th year since the mission of Paduka Batara to China. To commemorate, three balangay boats were built and launched from Sulu to go to China, tracing the same route once taken by Paduka Batara. While it can be seen as friendly reminder of Filipino-Chinese relations, one may wonder why a Philippine "king" like him would bother going to a tribute mission to China? It is known that the Chinese tributary system involved China being the "Middle Kingdom" or the center of the world, with the rest of the states as subordinates. While the Chinese did not regard them as colonies, and did not administer them directly, they have become planets which gravitated and began revolving around the Chinese sun. In a way, however, is it perhaps symbolic of the Filipino kowtow (bowing down) to Chinese supremacy? |
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EASTERN REGIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
National College of Public Administration and Governance University of the Philippines, Diliman 1101 Quezon City Philippines Telefax: (+632) 8 929 7789 |