The Oikonomos Nexus June 2016 - March 2017

V O L . 1 N O. 3

J UN E 20 16 - MA R CH 20 17

METAMORPHOSIS

D E PAR TM EN T O F EC O N OM IC S C OLLEGE OF SOC IA L SC IENC ES A ND D EV ELOPMENT Eas t Wing, A . Mabini C ampus Polytechni c U ni ver s ity of the Phi lippines Sta. Mes a, Manila

T H E O IK O NOM OS NE X US is the official newsletter of the Department of Economics (DE). Oikonomos is a Greek word which means the management of the affairs of group, community and establishment to ensure its maintenance of productiveness while Nexus means connection or tie.

The former newsletter of the Department, “Salikbuhay”, was launched on December 17, 2001 with a new name, The Oikonomos (strictly Economics). It is said to be the informant in a sense that it gives economic students the best information about what is happening within the four corners of the classroom, in the department, the college, inside and outside the campus. Moreover, it informs them on what is happening in the global economy.

L-R: HR OFFICER ARIANNE SANTOS, NEXUS ADVISER PROFESSOR ALYSSA AHORRO, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY YNARA APOSTOL, FORMER NEXUS ADVISER PROFESSOR NICETAS SISON, DE CHAIRPERSON PROFESSOR NORIE MANIEGO AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR MARIANICK VILLEGAS DURING THE 30TH FOUNDING WEEK ANNIVERSARY OF DE.

Co ve r P ho t o by M A R I A N I C K VI L L E G A S P rint e d by F C A P R I N T H O U S E

TH E M A TER I A LS , I N FO R M A TI O N A ND O P I N IO N S IN C LU D ED A N D / O R EX P R ES S ED I N TH I S I S S U E A R E FR O M TH E C O N TEN T P R O V I D ER S A N D N O T N EC ES S A R I LY O F TH O S E O F TH E O I K O N O M O S N EX U S A N D FC A P R I N TH O U S E.

CON N E CT WIT H US the_oikonomosnexus@gmail.com The Oikonomos Nexus @oikonomosnexus @The_oikonomosnexus

A .Y. 2016 - 2 0 1 7 M ET AM OR P HO SIS : C ONTINU ITY A ND C H A NGE

EXEC U TIV E TEA M

MA NA GING ED ITOR J A V IE R , JO HN C E DR IC

C ONTRIBU TING WRITE RS

V IL L E GA S , M A R IA N ICK

A QU IN O , MAR JO R IE

E X EC UT I VE E D ITOR

A S AS , J ON IE L B A ÑA S , A L V IN DA N IE L

G A RC IA , AB IG A IL LOU I S E

SEC TION ED ITORS

B E R TO L DO , J ER O E D E L A C RU Z , B IA NC A Y L L AN A

D EP UT Y EX E CU T IV E E D I T OR F O R TU NO , VE R N ID E TH V EN Z E L

G A BR IE L , N E IBE L YN

A P OS TO L , YN A RA

ID J A O , K IN NE T H

L A RA , J OH N R YA N

E X EC UT I VE SE CRET AR Y

M A M A C LA Y , V IC TO R IA M A R IE L L E

MO L D EZ , P R INC E SS J AS MIN MO R A L , G L AD YS N AV E L GA S , ER IC A

S A NT OS , A R IA NN E RO SE H R AN D DE VE LOPM EN T O FF I CER

LA YOU T & D ESIGN

N IÑ O , CH R IST IN E Y VO NNE O CO N ER , DA R L EN E E MER A L D

G A BR IE L , P AU L YN A NG E LA C OM M UN I C AT IO N OF F IC E R

B A S ILA N , P ET E R V IC H E A D CAR TOO N IST

P A GU LA Y AN , P RE C IOU S JO Y P A IT , F E RN AN DO JR .

R IV E RA , J E RA L DY N

G A M IT , C HR I S T IAN RA C E P O L ICA R P IO , C HA R LE N E N E S L EA

T A M E S IS , J ID D IO ME L C A RTO ON IST

PH OTOJOU RNA LISTS

F IN AN CE OFF I CERS T R IL L IA N ES , V INC E NT S U AR E Z , A B IGA IL

L A YO UT & DES IGN SP EC IALIST

B A DU R IA , K EN V ER

MO R AN T E , AL Y SS A T R IA M AR KE T ING OF FI C ERS

B U NY I, Z AR AH

C A BA YA , P R EC IOU S A NN

H E A D P HOT OJO UR NA L IST

L O P EZ , A NG E L ICA D E RO M A , M A . KR IS T E LA E X TERN AL A FF A IRS O FF I CER

M A N IE GO , J IR E H

B A GU H IN , J E SS AR E T H

S A LA Z AR , G LY C E AN N

C A BR E RA , J OY C E J AZ Z E L MA E

L A YO UT SPE C IA L ISTS

J A RD IN IC O , JU L IA EL I Z Z E L IM, X E N A N IC O LE

A L BA N , AY A A L ISA F E L IC IL D A , H E R M I J U N IOR O FF I CERS

PROF. NORIE L. MANIEGO

PROF. ALYSSA DALE AHORRO

CHAIRPERSON, DE

ADVISER

CO NTENTS

CAMPUS

NATIONAL ECONOMY

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THREE DECADES AND COUNTING

FO R TH E D EP A R TM EN T O F EC O N O M I C S | Ec on We e k 2016 – 2017

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N EX U S P A R TN ER S W I TH U S T

EC O N O M I S TS FO R I N FR A S TR U C T U R E | Yo un g E co no m ist s’ S umm it at US T

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JPES’S QUIZ CONTEST AND DEBATE

TOURNAMENT FOR LUZON | T h e ‘C lash o f T he E co nom ist s’ an d ‘M ot ion s in Mo t io n’

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TR I U M P H OVER WEST PHILIP-

P I N E S EA D I S P U TE | T h e Ph ilip p ines’ case o n t he islan ds c laim e d b y Ch in a

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K TO 1 2 N O W FU LLY IMPLE-

M EN TED | T he Ph ilip p in e s up gr ade s it s e duc at ion al sy ste m to be at p ar with t he wo r ld.

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TH E S I C K M A N O F A S I A R E-

B O R N A S A R I SI N G TI G ER | T he Ph ilip p ine e co nom y aft er A quin o adm in ist r at io n

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CHANGE IS COMING: THE OATH

OF DUTERTE’S REGIME | A glim p se o f the

INDUSTRY

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A TH EO R Y TH A T W O R K S FO R

Y O U | Th e co nt r ac t th eor y win s th e Nob e l Pr ize fo r E con om ic s.

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C O U TU R E O N S TER O I D S | A

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B E FU LLY I N FO R M ED ; 8 NEW

LA W S FO R FI LI P I N O S | N at ion al bills t h at h ave b ee n lap se d in to laws

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TAX: ECONOMIC ENGINE | How

glim p se o f th e fast fash io n indust ry

im po rt ant ar e th e se go ve rn me nt fe e s?

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FILM ADAPTATION OF LITERARY

N O V ELS | T h e t re nd o f p ro je ct in g t he wr it te n wor d to th e b ig sc re en

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n e wly e le ct e d p r e side nt ’ s p lan s

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NEWS FOR SALE: THE CHR ONI-

C LES O F M ED I A C O R R U P TI O N | T he sc o re o f be in g a jo urn alist or a re po rt er

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INTERCONNECTIVITY FOR THE

ARCHIPELAGO | L o c al in for m at ion an d c om m un ic at ion s t ec hno lo gy ac ce ss in th is A ge o f I nfor m at ion

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C A LL O F A C TI O N A G AIN S T

M I N IN G | A pe r so n al t ake o n t he lo c al m in in g in dustr y

B I R D ’ S EY E V I EW O N C LI -

M A TE C H A N G E | Th e pr e se nc e o f E l N iño an d L a N iñ a sh ake s t h e sc ale o f b alan c e on E arth .

GLOBAL ECONOMY

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THE AWKWARD PARTNER QUITS

EU | B r ex it

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THE AMERICAN AND HIS DREAM

| Th e 45t h Pre siden t o f t he US

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PROTECTIONISM: OPPORTUNITIES

AND OBSTACLES | Pr o te ct ion ist po lic ie s fr om po p ulist s ar e be co m in g a glo b al tr end.

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28 I N CASE OTHER COUNTRIES PLAN TO LEAVE THE EU S OURCE : F OX

INDEX OF FREEDOM | A measure

o f t he e c ono m ic we lfar e in b ased o n o ur r igh t s

NEWS

| tumblr.com

I n a span of twelve months, the human race managed to turn the world upside down. It brought the word change to a whole new level. The events that transpired in those months directed society’s course of action from the moment it began. People began to adapt accordingly. Working on one’s self wasn’t only for his or her future; it meant working for the community, the country and the world.

There are negative effects in choosing change. Not everything is going to turn out the way we planned. The hunger for change has brought us populists, Presidents Duterte and Trump. It made the UK leave EU. It chose to impeach the first female president of Korea.

However, these events are political noise. Economists must learn to tune out the noise and filter the economic aspects of these events.

We have included various topics in this issue to depict the nations’ economic changes and struggle for sustenance. The patterns of change began with the industries. Nations face the same issues as society aims to remove the destructive methods and traditional aspects employed in certain industries. The collective modernization of these industries would improve the economy as a whole. The Philippines is steadily heading towards the realization of its economic goals as the public and private sectors work hand in hand to apply the changes the citizens have been clamoring for. All the while, the global economy are faced with the new challenges as some countries choose protectionist policies to safeguard their economic development.

It was a challenge for this issue to showcase the team’s aspirations and endeavor.

There were lots of stories on economic struggles to consider. The team was also struggling as it entered the growth stage. Last year’s introduction of Nexus to the Department was a success. The next stage entailed maintaining the good work that has been laid out and growing using the ground work. The growth stage meant differentiating Nexus from its competitors and differentiating each of member from ourselves so we may identify our weak spots to strengthen our resolve. It is still early to be at ease with our little victory. We have yet to establish our publication to our peers before withdrawing from the journey of economic journalism.

Everything in this issue would not be possible without the support of the Department. This is for all Ekonomistas who gave their best this year, for the members of Nexus who has stuck till the end and to the professors who challenged us to go for the extra mile. I would like to acknowledge Prof. Norie Maniego, Prof. Nicetas Sison, alumni Nazer Sanggalang and Alyssa Ahorro for the guidance and encouragement. To the buddies I have made along the way, I am forever grateful. It was a long and bumpy ride but we have made it.

Congratulations and job well done, Nexus Team!

MA R IA N ICK V IL L E GA S E XEC UT IVE E D ITOR

CAMP US

T HREE D ECADES

AND

C OUNTING

FOR THE

T EXT Aya Alisa Alban

D EPARTMENT

OF

E CONOMICS

P HOTO Zarah Bunyi

T

he Department of Economics (DE) celebrated its 30 th Founding Week Anniversary on January 30 to February 4, 2017. Ekonomistas of all kinds, from the undergraduates, alumni to the faculty members, gathered and participated in this year's theme, “3 Decades of Integrating the Culture of Excellence, Leadership and Nationalism ”.

Two student organizations, Economics Research Society (EconReS) and The Oikonomos Nexus, collaborated in hosting different activities to bring excitement for the week. The week was opened with a parade and a ceremony; where Prof. Norie L. Maniego, the DE Chairperson, noted the competitiveness reflected by the students after the yells were performed and the costumes were flaunted.

The week, better known as “Econ Week", will not be successful without other activities showcasing the talents and creativity of Ekonomistas. Each section battled it out during Acoustic Night while it was all brains and hauling of stocked knowledge on the second day's academic contests. The building interest of the youth in performance poetry or 'spoken word' gave rise to a similar version of Slam Night. The former and current Executive Editors, Kenneth Fadrilan and Marianick Villegas, were chosen as evaluators of spoken poetry entries. The floor was opened for all who wanted to express themselves and share their own masterpieces.

Sports included basketball, badminton and volleyball, where each section aspired the top rank. More adrenaline was unleashed on the fourth day's Fellowship Games. The TV game show, Family Feud, was added in this year's lineup. The opening was facilitated by Nexus members from the surveillance for each questions to game operation.

The most awaited Amazing Race was not found in the lineup. Another attention -drawing event was the pageant, Mr. and Ms. Econ 2017. Ekonomistas were able to showcase their appreciation for beauty and diversity.

Econ week was indeed a success, ending with the Optima Night at the Communication Foundation for Asia (CFA), Santa Mesa, Manila.

Each section presented their video clips and performed a special number for Talentonomiks. First semester President’s and Dean’s Lists for S.Y. 2016 to 2017 were also recognized that night. The overall champion for the 30 th Economics Week was BSE 4-1.

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TALENTONOMIKS

is the last competition for Econ Week. Sections showcase their non-academic talents by showing a per formance according to the theme.

Talentonomiks bears the highest points among the activities scoring system.

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#WIN TER H AS C OME FOR THE H OUSE OF S TARK

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C HAIRPERSON P ROF . N ORIE M ANIEGO GIVING HER SUPPORT TO THE D EPARTMENT

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E KONOMISTAS AREN ’ T ALL WORK . C AREFREE UNDERGRADS ENJOYING THE FIRST DAY

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N EXUS : T EAM M ETAMORPHOSIS

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4-1 B OYS G OING FOR G OLD

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F ELLOWSHIP G AMES ON THE F OURTH D AY

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CAMP US

JPES’ S Q UIZ C ONTEST

AND

D EBATE T OURNAMENT

T EXT John Ryan Lara

FOR

L UZON

P HOTO JPES

Philippine Economics Society, in partnership with Far Eastern University - Economics Society (FEUJ unior EcoSoc) and FEU IABF, held its annual Clash of the Economists and Motions in Motion Eliminations and Finals for universities in National Capital Region (NCR) and Luzon at Far Eastern University last 17 th of February.

The Clash of the Economists, a quiz bee which covers various Economics subjects, included 21 pairs of students from NCR and 12 pairs from regions across Luzon. On the other hand, Motions in Motion which is a debate on current events was participated by 9 pairs of students from NCR and 3 pairs from Luzon.

At the end of the day, the Clash of Economists was dubbed a success with its proclaimed winners. Motions in Motion was not able to proceed to the final round due to time constraints and was postponed to take place on February 26 at University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman.

The winners shall represent NCR and Luzon and compete against the teams from Visayas and Mindanao region on March 25, 2017 at UP Diliman—School of Economics.

C LASH OF THE E CONOMISTS W INNERS

M OTIONS IN M OTION W INNERS

NCR UP ETC Jannico Cabañero Regie Jabagat UST E CONOMICS S OCIETY Joshua Simon Kiarestel Lleno

NCR UP ETC Christian Gonzales Ejie Bonzo Carlo Cabaero Reini Evangelista S AN B EDA E CO S OC Julian Fariñas Ace Cortes

L UZON UP L OS B AÑOS E CO S OC Jonas Alan Oblefias Joshua Casimiro Gerome Carl Retamal

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L UZON B ULACAN S TATE U NIVERSITY - M ANAGEMENT E CON S OC Rowell Cruz Harvey Saldaña

N EXUS P ARTNERS

WITH

UST E CONOMISTS

T EXT Bianca Yllana Dela Cruz

FOR I NFRASTRUCTURE

P HOTO Zarah Bunyi

Economists’ Summit (YES), launched by The University of Santo Tomas Artlets Economics Society (UST Y oung AES) and UST Economics Society, is in its 2nd year with the theme “The Beginning of the Golden Age of Philippine Infrastructure”.

The conference in partnership with The Oikonomos Nexus was held on March 7, 2017 at the Benavides Auditorium, UST. Students from different colleges and universities were exposed to the current administration’s plans on improving the Philippines’ infrastructure and its impact to the economy. The summit has three segments; the Infrastructure Roadmap presented by National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), presentation of the Planned Interagency Infrastructure Projects, and the effects of infrastructure on private developments and the Philippine economy.

Ms. Criselle S. Santos, Chief Economic Development Specialist and Infrastructure Staff – Transportation Division of NEDA, presented a video about the on-going infrastructure and transportation projects of the current administration. She stressed out the economic infrastructure plan targeted to solve the imminent problems of Metro Manila by looking forward to the Greater Manila in the coming years.

President Vivencio “Vince” B. Dizon of Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) highlighted the on-going and future projects, such as the North Luzon and South Luzon Expressway (NLEX -SLEX) Connector Road, Philippine Sports City and the Clark Green City, which aims to lessen the congestion and pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR) by diverting opportunities in the northern part of Luzon.

Kash Salvador of Santos Knight Frank Inc. discussed the Real Estate Cycle and how business districts like the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) which has reached its successful development. He also gave his views on turning the Philippines from a monocentric to a polycentric country that will provide people from all over the country a convenient access to Metro Manila.

These developments are expected to give the economy a boost, faster public, and private transportation, and upgrade the quality of living. The government and private sector work hand in hand in taking actions to improve the current state of infrastructure in our country.

THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

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IN DUS TRY

L: BENGT HOLSTRÖM

R: OLIVER HART

A T HEORY T HAT W ORKS F OR Y OU T EXT Victoria Marielle Mamaclay

John Cedric Javier P HOTO Bryce Vickmark | news.mit.edu (L)

Associated Press (R)

B

engt Holmström and Oliver Hart had received the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economics Sciences at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden last October 10. The esteemed professors were recognized for their contributions in contract theory.

Finnish economist Holmström had been contributing to the development of the field since the 1970s. His informativeness principle explained how a principal should design the contract for an agent’s pay based on performance-relevant factors. A teacher, for example, would not be paid based on the students’ test scores, but on factors such as creativity and independent thinking. However, payments for industries with a high risk should be leaning towards a fixed salary. The principle would be creating the optimal contract for the agent. He showed how optimal contract carefully weighs risks against incentives and generalized the results to become realistic.

On the other hand, Hart is an expert on contract theory, the theory of the firm, the law of economics, and corporate finance. He studied the case of incomplete contracts that would help in optimal allocations of control rights in the 1980s.

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The parties should spell out who has the right to decide or who owns the innovation. His study had been particularly helpful in determining “which companies should merge and when institutions, i.e. schools, should be privately or publicly-owned”.

Today’s contractual relationships entail conflicts of interest between shareholders and stakeholders.

To ensure that parties take mutual benefits, contracts must be properly developed. The Laureates developed a comprehensive framework for analyzing wide issues on contract designing like performance-based pay for top executives, deductibles and co-pays in insurance, and the privatization of public-sector activities.

Holmström and Hart will split eight (8) million Kronor ($924,000) as prize money.

References: Fortune.com/2016/10/10/nobel-prize-economics-2016 www.nobelprize.org/nobel-prizes/economic-sciences/ laureates/2016/press

C OUTURE T EXT

W

AND

ON

S TEROIDS

P HOTO Marianick Villegas

ho made your clothes?

The person who made that shirt you are wearing now may be one of the 1,134 factory workers killed in the Rana Plaza Complex, when it collapsed. The eight-story building was home to five garment factories for global fashion brands where 2,500 workers were injured.

Where was it dyed, cut and stitched to perfection?

Most of fast fashion’s products are made in developing countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia and Laos.

cess, demanding factories to produce more in a short amount of time. To minimize costs, production is outsourced. Bangladesh is one of the countries preyed by global fashion brands for its low wages. The minimum wage of a factory worker is 68 USD per month, a far cry from the 332 USD living wage.

The fast fashion industry also cheated on the quality of the products. To combat the delivery issues about their branches scattered around the world, planned obsolescence was created. Well known brands admitted their products will endure only up to 10 washes before losing its quality.

The incident in Bangladesh presented the Killer fashion importance of is not always the su p pl y on the runway. chain, most Fast fashion is significantly the unsustainable prevalent conand environditions inside mentally disasthose factories. trous.

The Bangladesh is collapse of the world’s Rana Plaza second largest showed the exporter of unglamorous ready-made backstage of garments th e gl ob al (RMG) in the f a s h i o n world.

The brands and garment indusits industry. try generated 4 Human life million jobs should not be and made sacrificed and eighty percent undervalued (80%) of the for a pair of country’s exripped jeans ports. The risT ODAY ’ S T REASURES WILL BE T OMORROW ’ S T RASH that is why ing demand of Fashion RevGarments were designed to last a limited duration so it becomes the fast fasholution, a ion industry is obsolete and no longer fashionable. non-profit responsible for organization that.

Global dedicated to awareness and education of the fashfashion brands, such as Forever 21, H&M, Uniqlo ion industry, started a movement called and Zara to name a few, which are highly sought for #whomademyclothes on social media. It was their affordable fashion renews their stocks almost launched last year and successfully engaged thouevery week in order to be updated of trends and sands of people into the movement. There are now satiate the desires of their consumers. However, the eighty countries taking part in the revolution and process of creating each garment carried by these to commemorate the lives lost in the name of fashstores are not as appealing as the aesthetic they sell. ion, April 24 was dubbed as Fashion Revolution The stores constantly need to change what is Day. hanging on their racks bearing in mind the cost it entails. Economies of scale is employed in the proThe article was originally written by alumna Divina Gonzalez.

THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

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IN DUS TRY F ILM A DAPTATIONS

OF L ITERARY

N OVELS T EXT

AND

P HOTO Victoria Marielle Mamaclay

T

he film industry has always used books as sources and references for fresh movie ideas. Unfortunately, the adaptation is not always close from what we expected it to be.

Movies can expose us to things we have never seen before and transport us to worlds we have never imagined. However, most of the experiences were already provided by books. Literary pieces like the classic work of William Shakespeare were performed on stage, then later adapted into movies at the beginning of burgeoning film industry.

Books-to-movie adaptations followed suit after a number of adaptations produced profits over the course of their screening. Twelve of the Top 20 Highest Grossing Films in the world were adapted from literature.

Eight of on the list came from novels and their sequels, while four were adapted from comic book series. The success of these films is largely based on the well established fan base from the book or the comic series.

The familiarity from the book or comics has helped adapted works become some of the highest-grossing films of all time, the Harry Potter series grossed $ 7,723,431,572 in eight films; the Marvel Cinematic Universe grossed $ 7,160,192 in 10 films; and “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” films grossed $ 5,880,462,582 in seven films.

10 BOOKS TO SCREEN ADAPTATIONS HAVE BEEN RANKED AND COLOR - CODED ON THIS SCALE . T HE POINTS ON THE RIGHT SHOW THE RANKING OF THE BOOK AND THE HIGHER UP A POINT IS , THE BETTER MOVIE IT IS . (C AROLYN D UFF / T HE D E P AULIA )

Thrones” and “The Casual Vacancy” have both been adapted from highly successful books.

Although some books appear to be written to be made into films, like the trend-following book series “Divergent” and “The Maze Runner” which are part of the dystopian trend in young-adult literature, Professor Rebecca Johns-Trissler pointed it as a bad way to write a book.

A successful marketing campaign would further expand the audience engagement. The hype of the adaptations also generate interest for both the books and the film releases. The Academy Awards has a category for adapted works, the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, to celebrate the writers who have taken a novel, play or even other films and have made them their own.

“Writing trends is the kiss of death—you always want to be the first person to create the trend; everyone else seems to like pale imitation afterward,” the DePaul English professor stated. Sequel adaptations can become boring repetitions of their predecessor if they continue to stick to the same format as their book counterparts. It limits the creative liberty of film directors. For as long as cinema has existed, books have been sources to adapt A more recent medium in which adaptations have from, but it’s exciting to see the creativity that filmmakers been based is television. HBO series such as “Game of use to create a work of their own.

R ANK

F ILM T ITLE

3 4 6

J ur as s ic Wor ld M a rve l’s The Ave n gers A ven ge rs : A ge o f Ult ron H a r ry Po tte r an d the De athly H allow s P ar t 2 Iro n M an 3 T r ans for mer s : D ark o f the Moo n T he Lo rd of the Rin gs : The Re tu rn o f the Kin g Sky f all T r ans for mer s : A ge of Ext inct ion T he Dark Kn igh t R ise s J ur as s ic P ark A l i ce in t he Wo n der lan d ( 2010)

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G ROSS W ORLDWIDE ( in m illio ns ) $ 1, 623.10 $ 1, 519.60 $ 1, 401.30 $ 1, 341.50 $ 1, 215.40 $ 1, 123.80 $ 1, 119.90 $ $ $ $ $

1, 1, 1, 1, 1,

108.60 104.00 084.40 029.20 025.50

N EWS

FOR

T HE C HRONICLES

S ALE : OF

M EDIA

C ORRUPTION T EXT Vernideth Venzel Fortuno I LLUSTRATION Jid Diomel Tamesis

M

edia corruption has been an issue for the past decade, but it is not for journalistic investigation. What is really happening behind the scenes? Is the factuality of news being monopolized or manipulated? Who are accountable for producing such news? Who sets the standard of being a journalist or a reporter?

It is easy to assume journalists and reporters relay the truth but a challenge to spot the real deal.

Their job descriptions are often misconstrued by the general population. Reporting on air only allows one and a half minute of news presentation, which is not enough to cover the pressing issues. To add to the irony, segments are accompanied by background music stingers to add drama and emphasis. A one and a half minute news presentation is not enough by international standards. According to British Broadcasting Channel (BBC), at least 2 and a half minutes is required to discuss each prime time news item.

The products of technology – user-friendly smartphones with powerful cameras encouraged the live coverage of an event by its users. The idea of “pictures/videos or it did not happen” gives the netizens the power to be part of the journalistic process. Nowadays, reporters and content providers would rely on the next big thing circulating on various social media circles. However, the content from

the user may be just a part of a whole. A recording may be cut and a photo may be manipulated subject to criticism, like an open-ended question. This may lead to cliff hangers and confusion because opinions based on media content can be easily formulated without having to read the written content. It is paramount to present the facts relevant to the featured content instead of relying on the raw, one-sided coverage of the event spanning for a few minutes. Besides the media and written content, the title and the plot of the news presented are used as basis to validate the accuracy of the event.

Typical netizens and critics tend to jump to conclusions based on misleading titles and handpicked details of the news. Fallacies and erroneous statements spread like wildfire, as locals have a habit of incessant chatter.

The state of the media in the Philippines can be examined during elections. Media coverage of elections are equated to a horserace or a cockfight. The news content focuses on the ends of the spectrum – the loser (dehado) and the winner (llamado). The inclination of media is to focus on each candidates’ personalities rather than social issues and campaign platforms. The personal lives of the candidates are dug during debates, only to be shoved down the population’s subconsciousness to give favor to the politician or political party. At the same time, the showbiz industry is packaged like a commodity. Celebrities are made to twinkle under the limelight each time

they release a new film, commercial and a publicity stunt. The media glorifies the insignificant details of the celebrities’ personal lives, packaged as gold and sold like a palatable dish at a food stand, where people thoughtlessly and excitedly snoop around. The packaging tends to be more significant than the substance of the news.

Unfortunately, news programs have prioritized their ratings and news stations have relied on higher profit earnings. They no longer stick to their mission of providing quality news content. Emphasis has been on crime and entertainment. There is nothing wrong with the idea of focusing on those genres, as long as the presentation and reporting isn’t biased. It is important for the news to not be biased as it gives the majority the position to make reasonable decisions and criticisms regarding the topic. A biased reporting would receive negative reaction. Many would not buy newspapers, stop listening and watching programs they think or believe is working and reporting in a biased fashion.

As possible remedies to the problem of media, aspiring journalists should receive proper training and commit to achieving excellence in their field. A public broadcasting system shall be set up to verify the vague statements and loose ends presented by commercial media. Media has to continue its role as watchdog of society and government, a fighter for greater access of information and upholding professionalism in all fields.

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12

IN DUS TRY

B IRD ’ S E YE V IEW

ON

C LIMATE C HANGE

T EXT Erica Jane Navelgas P HOTO Julia Elizze Jardinico

Marianick Villegas

the edge of the vast sphere lay a primeval A tnightmare that lingers at the time of humanity —a dark depth of primitive man’s collective unconsciousness. The extreme usage and burning of fossil fuels by man and the rise of the Industrial Revolution doubled carbon dioxide emission by 20%. This amount of carbon dioxide, which is one of the most components of greenhouse gases (GHG), has remained in the atmosphere for thousands of years. It has mixed with air and trapped heat within the atmosphere, leaving to terrible effects and threats to humankind. These effects are now referred to as climate change.

Through the lenses of technology, scientists made it possible to gather data and be able to have enough knowledge on the issues of climate change whilst improving the information available for the world’s analysts and policymakers to make appropriate plan of action for climate change. The advancements provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on the Earth’s climate system and its mechanisms showed the possibility for the ocean’s rate of absorbing carbon to change as ocean temperatures rise and the

13 THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

phytoplankton communities to evolve. Forest and land ecosystem is also changing in response to the warming world.

The above-average sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean has caused the warm water layer that is normally piled up around Australia and Indonesia to thin intensely, while the normally cool surface waters of the eastern tropical Pacific were covered with a thick layer of warm water. The massive redistribution of heat causes ocean temperature to rise from the central Pacific to the Americas. This reduced rainfall over Indonesia and led to the occurrences of massive wildfires that have blanketed the region in smoke. The delayed monsoon rains, Pacific Island sea level drops, widespread coral bleaching that gives dangers to coral reefs, drought in South Africa, flooding South America and a record-breaking hurricane period in eastern tropical Pacific, and Indian heat waves were all associated with El Niño phenomenon. The counterpart of El Niño, the cooling of surface ocean waters along the tropical west coast of South America is known as La Niña. It is caused by a

build-up of cooler-than-normal waters located in the tropical Pacific.

It sometimes occurs after El Niño at irregular intervals of two to seven years.

Scientists use the Oceanic Nino Index in measuring the deviations of normal sea-surface temperatures that El Niño and La Niña produce in the east-central Pacific Ocean.

El Niño and La Niña’s presence cause innumerable losses of agricultural products in Southeast Asia. Dry weather has hit the palm oil production in Indonesia and Malaysia, where palm trees are grown the most. The excess supply from the previous harvest maintained palm oil prices. Vietnam’s supply of Robusta coffee tends to diminish during dry season, which pushes the prices up. If the Arabica coffee crops in Brazil and Central America are affected by the season as well, coffee prices as a whole could escalate. Shawn Hackett, president of Hackett Financial Advisors in Florida, commented on the fragility of rice supply.

“

E L N IÑO IS SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO MONITOR CONSTANTLY .

I T DOESN ’ T TELL YOU WHERE IT ’ S AIMING BUT KNOWING HOW TO REACT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT CAN CAUSE SEVERE PRICE PRESSURE .

“

Commodity and Stock Trader M IKE C ICCARELLI

Conversely, US grain market on La Niña faces a threat in crop production as El Niño weakens. La Niña weather patterns correspond with drier, warmer conditions for the Midwest Plains which where the wheat, corn, and soybeans are grown. La Niña is terrible for the US crops; it tends to kill the grains, causing the market to take off.

Producing scenarios of future economic development is one of the responses of policymakers to climate change. Future economic developments requires estimates of future population levels, economic activity, structure of governance, social values, and patterns of technological change. Economic and energy modeling are used to analyze and quantify the effects of such factors. To project the future GHG emissions and economic projections, it is necessary to combine it with other projections that affect emissions. Scenarios are developed using different assumptions of future development patterns that could project a wide range of future emissions level since future changes are uncertain. The uncertainty analysis tries to estimate the probability of future changes in emission level. The cost -benefit analysis requires the valuation of costs and benefits using the willingness to pay or willingness to accept compensation where climate change impacts are aggregated into a monetary value. The benefit of the climate policy shall outweigh the costs. The cost-effectiveness analysis is not based on the on the economic assessment of the benefit side.

Rather, it uses decision analysis to arrive at the optimal choice. Mitigation of climate change intends to limit the amount of long -term climate change. It may be achieved through the reduction of GHG emissions or through the enhancement of sinks that absorb GHGs. Several reports had been produced by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) where economics literature were assessed in producing reports.

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14

N ATION AL ECON OMY

T RIUMPH O VER W EST P HILIPPINE S EA D ISPUTE T EXT Joniel Asas P HOTO National Public Radio | npr.org

United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration (UN-PCA) finally decided in favor of the Philippines in its T hemaritime case against China over its claim to West Philippine Sea. According to the Hague-based United Nations Arbitral Tribunal, the Philippines has a sovereign right over West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and that China’s “nine -dash line” claim over West Philippine Sea is invalid.

China’s claims to historic rights, or other sovereign rights or jurisdiction, with respect to the maritime areas of the South China Sea encompassed by the relevant part of the ‘nine -dash line’ are contrary to the Convention. There was no legal basis for China's "historic rights". The tribunal asserted that China violated the sovereign rights of the Philippines on its exclusive economic zone by interfering with Philippine fishing activities and petroleum exploration by constructing artificial island in the exclusive economic zone.

The PCA also stated that by China’s restricting access at the Scarborough Shoal interfered the rights of Filipino fishermen. Chinese fishermen engaged in fishing methods that inflicted severe damage to the surrounding marine life in South China Sea. Chinese authorities are guilty of using a blind eye on fishermen who harvested endangered sea turtles, corals, and giant clams. There was no evidence for China to exercise exclusive control over the disputed waters and its resources.

The arbitration case was filed on January 2013 under the administration of former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III. The Palace will continue to assert its sovereignty over disputed territory in the South China Sea and foster relationship with China for both country's economic goals.

15 THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

N ATION AL ECON OMY

K

TO

12 N OW F ULLY I MPLEMENTED

T EXT Christine Yvonne NiĂąo

T

he Department of Education (DepEd) has now fully implemented the K-12 program three years after the former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III signed the law mandating the adoption of the program in the Philippines.

The full implementation of K to 12 program and the launching of Grade 11 was started last June 13, 2016. The enhanced basic education or K to 12 program covers the following key stages; (1) Kindergarten to Grade 3, (2) Grade 4 to 6, (3) Grade 7 to 10 - Junior High School, (4) Grades 11 and 12- Senior High School.

The program aims to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, and entrepreneurship. Some subjects were removed from the revised general college curriculum by transferring them to the Senior High School curriculum.

Although Aquino signed into law Republic Act No. 10533 or "Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013" only on May 15, 2013, the K to 12 program was already in progress since 2011, when universal kindergarten was offered.

P HOTO Joyce Jazzel Mae Cabrera

C OV E RA G E O F T H E K - 1 2 C U RR IC U LU M Kindergarten has been institutionalized as part of the basic education and a pre-requisite for admission to Grade 1 on the Republic Act No. 10157 the Kindergarten Education Act. Senior High School (SHS) covers the last two years of the K to 12 program, which includes Grades 11 and 12. In SHS, students will go through a core curriculum and subjects under a track of their choice.

Students underwent assessments to determine their strengths and interests. They had an aptitude test, a career assessment exam, and an occupational interest inventory for high schools. Career advocacy activities were also conducted to help guide students in choosing their specialization or track. Specializations or tracks to be offered by schools were distributed according to the resources available in the area, the needs and interests of most students, and the opportunities and demands of the community. Eight learning areas are part of its core curriculum.

As part of the K to 12 Basic Curriculum, SHS was developed in line with the curriculum of the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) – the governing body for college and university education in the Philippines. SHS prepares the students with the

THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

16

N ATION AL ECON OMY

TR ACKS AR E SP ECI FI ED AN D SIMI L AR TO CO LL EG E CO URS ES. THEY AR E B AS ED ON FO UR DIS CIP LIN ES :

(1)

A CADEMIC

includes Business, Science & Engineering, Humanities & Social Science, and a General Academic strand

(2)

T ECHNICAL -V OCATIONAL -L IVELIHOOD highly specialized subjects with TESDA qualifications

(3) S PORTS (4) A RTS & D ESIGN

standard knowledge, skills, and competences needed to Learning materials are being produced for go to college. elementary to junior high while textbooks for Senior High School (which has specialized subjects) are being bid out.

PREPARATION FOR K TO 12 The K to 12 curricula is standard and competence-based. It is inclusive and built around the needs of the learners and the community. The curriculum is available on the DepEd website, the first time in history that the entire curriculum is digitized and made accessible to the public.

According to DepEd, the Philippines is the last country in Asia and one of only three countries worldwide with a 10-year pre-university cycle before it was fully implemented. DepEd has been building classrooms, hiring teachers, providing textbooks, revising On the other hand, the program remains highthe curriculum to prepare for the full implementation of K-12. ly contested, especially by youth and student groups.

They said that the program posed financial problems DepEd has built 66,813 classrooms from 2010 to low-income families. According to the law, SHS to 2013. There are 33,608 classrooms completed and is necessary and you must go through Grades 11 and undergoing construction in 2014. DepEd is planning to 12 to graduate from High School. establish 5,899 Senior High Schools nationwide. As of June 22, 2015, DepEd has issued provisional permits to DepEd Secretary Leonor M. Briones said 2,847 private schools set to offer Senior High School in that she understands the opposition on the K-12 2016.

Program by families who consider it as an additional burden but recognized the preparations done by the From 2010-2014, DepEd has filled 128,105 new current administration since the law was passed in teacher items. DepEd is targeting two kinds of teach- 2013. President Rodrigo Duterte was previously ers: those who will teach the core subjects, and those opposed to the program and now he had a change of who will teach the specialized subjects per track. De- heart and he now believes that the change in the pEd will hire 37,000 teachers for Senior High School educational curriculum would benefit students. for 2016 alone.

17 THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

N ATION AL ECON OMY

T HE S ICK M AN

OF

A SIA R EBORN

A S A R ISING T IGER T EXT Jeraldyn Rivera

Paulyn Angela Gabriel P HOTO Jessareth Baguhin

Zarah Bunyi

T

he Aquino administration worked rigorously to achieve the macroeconomic fundamentals that has led the country to be acknowledged as the fastest growing economy in Asia.

Towards the end of the term, the Philippines’ inclusive growth was at 6.9%, followed by China’s 6.7% and Vietnam at 5.5%. The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had a 6.6% growth in the year 2016. However, there are still gaps and shortcomings to be filled for a sustainable economic development.

The Philippines is now under the leadership of President Rodrigo Duterte. His term began with thriving consumer spending from the hype of the election. Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HCFE) was at 7.0% during the 1 st quarter of the year 2016 and closed at 6.3% during the 4 th quarter.

However, his notorious public statements and the continuous drug war may not complement the increased spending; foreign investors are wary of putting their money in the country. Growth is still fueled by strong domestic demand because of the young and vibrant population of the middle class. Consumer spending growth will be sustained as the government pushes for tax reform. As consumption continues to grow, imports are expected to rise as well.

T HESE THREE RISKS INCLUDE THE RISING POPULARITY OF PROTECTIONIS T POLIC IES AND RETREAT TO GLOBAL TRADE RELATIONS ; THE UNCERTAIN TY CAUSED BY THE ANTICIPATION OF THE U NITED S TATES F EDERAL R ESERVE ’ S INTEREST - RATE NORMALIZ ATION ; LOCAL DISRUPTIONS IN THE FORM OF NEW GOVERNMENT REFORMS AND WEATHE R DISTURBANCES .

Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has identified three foreseen risks that would stir turmoil for the economy. These three risks include the rising popularity of protectionist policies and retreat to global trade relations; the uncertainty caused by the anticipation of the United States Federal Reserve’s interest

-rate normalization; and local disruptions in the form of new government reforms and weather disturbances. The Fed hinted numerous rise in its rates for the year 2017.

“If the Fed veers from this, volatility in both the global and domestic foreign-exchange and fixed-income markets could rise,” BSP Governor Amado Tetangco argued. The Peso touched the 50-territory in 2016 as investors were concerned over local and international politics and the shifting monetary policy in the world’s largest economy. The flexible exchange rate policy in the Philippines combats external cycles while the adequate reserves and sustained current account surplus aid the country’s external position. Meanwhile, the continuous pressure on consumption and government spending will take its toll on prices. Inflation for the first month of 2017 was 2.3. It may take a while before BSP decides to relax its policy rates.

THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

18

N ATION AL ECON OMY

Conversely, foreign direct investments (FDI) are foreseen to drop as the US President Trump introduces new economic policies for the US. The US is the greatest FDI contributor of the Philippines. The BPO sector might also slowdown as it is the second highest dollar earner industry. President Duterte is eyeing new agreements with international markets, such as China, Russia and Japan.

Japanese are already looking to invest into electronics, manufacturing, agribusiness, infrastructure, logistics and tourism services. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been conducting a feasibility study for the construction of a subway system that would link Makati, Pasay and Taguig. Chief Representative Susumu Ito expressed the agency’s interest on funding the project. The $1.99 billion loan for the North South Commuter Railway was also provided by JICA. Japanese firms, such as Tsuneishi Shipbuilding and Ichijo Co. Ltd., have invested a total of P25 billion to expand their operations in the country. The firms are estimated to provide 27,000 jobs once their projects are finished.

If the administration succeeds with its plans to improve the country’s infrastructure, it won’t take long before the manufacturing sector booms like its Asian counterparts. The Philippines has been lagging behind Malaysia and Thailand whose economic growth were triggered by their “manufacturing prowess” as stated by Frederic Neumann, HSBC Holdings Plc in Hong Kong.

The Duterte administration will not shy away from infrastructure spending as included in the 10-point socioeconomic agenda. The president plans to raise government spending from 2.4% of GDP to 5.4%.

Spending is targeted to reach 7% - 8% of GDP by the end of his term. There will be a lot of publicprivate partnerships as more infrastructure projects are being worked on. National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the private sector are actively working together to build more railways, bridges, roads and cities; improve the mass transport system, air and seaports.

19 THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

C HANGE T HE O ATH

OF

IS

C OMING

D UTERTE ’ S R EGIME

T EXT Gladys Moral

Princess Jasmine Moldez P HOTO google.com

T

he Philippines elected a president in his seventies, yet still vigorous with his strong character.

Rodrigo Roa Duterte, known by his nickname “Digong”, was a native of Davao City and served as its Mayor for 22 years. He is the first elected president from the Mindanao region.

President Duterte delivered his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 25th of 2016, where he unveiled his blueprint and showed-off the country’s road map under his administration. He delivered his speech in a simple way; direct to the point, it doesn't go out of the way, and it was directed towards the nation and its citizens. He pointed out his policy pronouncements where he expressed his loathe, declaring a war against illegal drugs, criminality, and corruption.

He laid out a policy for the poor to sympathize with the demolition of their informal settlement.

Demolition will not come into effect in case of relocation. According to him, the gates of Malacañan Palace will be opened to hear the complaints of the public. He wanted to protect his people and to protect the women's rights by ordering a full implementation of Magna Carta for Women. He wanted to raise and improve everyone's standard of living by reducing personal income tax rates that will lead to a substantial effect on the consumption of the people.

S EVENTEEN INFRASTRUCTUR E PROJECTS INCLUDE 6 AIRPORT PROJECTS , 2 LIGHT RA IL TRANSIT LINES , A TRAIL WAY PROJECT , AMONG OTHER TOLL ROADS AND OTHER INFRASTRUCT URE .

Small, medium and large scale projects were also presented. Infrastructure projects were aimed in building, reconstructing and modernizing highways, bridges, ports, and airports. The president has given his Go-Ahead to implement economic managers plan to do 24/7 construction on an infrastructure project, alongside the faster roll out of Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Although the plan is costly, the Department of Budget and Management would rely on the presence of advanced technologies to minimize costs.

NEDA Board reviews 5 PPP deals; The Ninoy Aquino International Airport Development, The Pride's Bypass Toll Road, The Batangas-Manila Natural Gas Pipeline, The Philippine Travel Center Complex and The New Nayong Pilipino and Entertainment City.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III pointed out that the country has a lot of catching up in terms of infrastructure development, especially amid robust vehicle sales despite the lack of roads and highways. National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board has approved major infrastructure projects, including those to be bid out through Public - Private Partneship (PPP), that will be undertaken by the government.

The President wanted to end the war against rebels and the Philippine government, so he came with the idea to build a federal government for the Mindanao region. National industrialization and land reform shall generate employment and better means of livelihood from small and medium enterprises in rural areas. People in rural areas will be included in the development of the economy.

All the controversies and political noise aside, “In the middle of this year, 17 PPP projects the president has shown to punish those who deworth a total of P 580 B are in the pipeline”, NEDA served to be punished. President Duterte is the face Director-General Ernesto Pernia stated. of change and change has certainly come.

THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

20

N ATION AL ECON OMY B E F ULLY I NFORMED 8 N EW L AWS

FOR

F ILIPINOS

T EXT John Ryan Lara

A

rticle 6 of the 1987 constitution states, “The President shall communicate his veto of any bill to the House where it originated within 30 days after the date of receipt thereof; otherwise it shall become law as if he had signed it.”

Thirty-six out of 40 national bills passed by the 16 th Congress were lapsed into law from July 17 to 22, 2016 after former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and current President Rodrigo Duterte neither signed nor vetoed these bills. Eight new laws have captured the citizens.

REPUBLIC ACT (R.A.) 10883: THE NEW ANTI-CARNAPPING LAW OF THE PHILIPPINES | Car napping is an offense

punishable by law and non-bailable.

This new law requires the Land Transportation Office to keep record of all registered vehicles along with the owners from all over the archipelago. RA 10883 prolonged the imprisonment time to 20 to 30 years from the previous 17 years and four months of imprisonment.

If a perpetrator performs any violent acts, the sentence would be extended to 30 years and one day, up to 40 years. A perpetrator faces life-time imprisonment for additional crimes such as rape and murder, and those who conceals the crime would be imprisoned from 6 to 12 years in conjunction with a fine.

R.A. 10905: THE LAW ON MANDATORY SUBTITLES | Franchise holders,

operators of television stations, as well as producers of television programs are required to air their programs with closed caption option.

All TV stations should provide subtitles for the deaf community.

However, it would exempt those franchise holders or TV station operators and program producers

21 THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

who release public service announcements lasting for 10 minutes, and if providing such text caption was proven to be economically burdensome. It also exempts programs aired between 1 am to 6 am or already textual in nature.

Failure to follow will either be fined with at least PHP 50,000 not exceeding PHP 100,000 or jailed for at least six to twelve months.

License or permit to operate may also be revoked.

R.A. 10906: ANTI-MAIL ORDER SPOUSE ACT | Anybody engaged in

the business of exploiting Filipino women by offering them to foreigners for marriage will be punished with 15 years of imprisonment and a fine of P500 thousand to P1 million. Accomplices are also subject to suffer the same penalty.

Those who operate in groups of more than two people will spend 20 years of jail time and will pay a fine between P2 million and P5 million.

Further, the government will deport foreign offenders to their home country.

R.A. 10909 | The act prohibits busi-

ness establishments from giving insufficient or no change to consumers, which charges those violating business establishments with penalties. This law includes rules for prices, which requires establishments to stick price tags on the commodities with the exact price the consumer needs to pay. Moreover, the first offense incurs P 500 or 3% of gross sales while the second offense incurs P 5000 or 5% of gross sales or 7%. A three-month suspension of operations has been incurred for the third offense, and a fine of P 25,000 and deprivation from business operations of the violating establishment for the final offense.

|

This law amends Section 11 of Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act (R.A. 3019). The statute of limitations, which include the prescriptive period of imprisonment, was changed from 15 years into 20 years.

R.A. 10910

R.A. 10911: ANTI-AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT | Em-

ployers are prohibited from withholding promotion or denying training opportunities, compensation and privileges for employees on the basis of age. Violation of the law incurs a fine of at least P50 thousand but not more than P500 thousand and/or 2 to 3 years imprisonment.

R.A. 10913: AN ACT DEFINING AND PENALIZING DISTRACTED DRIVING |

Any person caught using their mobile phones while driving for either work or non-emergency purposes will be charged with a fine of P 5,000 for the first offense, P 10,000 for the second offense, and P 15,000 and the suspension of license for 3 months for the third offense.

R.A. 10916: ROAD SPEED LIMITER ACT

| Mandates the installation of speed limiter on public utility and certain types of vehicles. Owners or operators of the vehicle without a speed limiter will be fined with P50 thousand and will not be permitted to register with the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

These are the new laws made for safety and welfare of Filipinos. Ignorance of the law does not exempt them from punishments associated to any forms of violation.

T AX : E CONOMIC E NGINE T EXT Angelica Lopez P HOTO Julia Elizze Jardinico

T

ax is an involuntary and unrequited fee levied on the nation’s citizens and entities. It is unrequited in a way because benefits given by the government to taxpayers are not proportional to what they pay.

There are different kinds of taxes in the Philippines, and they can be grouped into national taxes and local taxes. National taxes are payments to the government through the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). This taxation is based on National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 as amended by Republic Act (R.A.) No. 8424 known as the Tax Reform Act of 1997. The import and export tariffs levied by the Bureau of Customs under R.A. 1937, known as the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, can also

V ALUE - ADDED

TAX

(VAT)

BASE WILL BE EXPANDED BY LIMITING EXEMPTIONS

TO NECESSITIES SUCH AS RAW FOOD , EDUCATION , AND HEALTH PRODUCTS AND SERVICES .

be considered as national government taxes or duties.

On the other hand, local taxes are based on R.A.

national income. Inequalities in income and wealth can be

7160, amended by Local Government Code of 1991.

reduced. This leads to investment in productive sectors.

These are taxes, fees or charges imposed by the local

Tax may increase the consumption and reduce the savings

government units given power to impose such taxes

to increase the aggregate demand in times of depression. It

by the code.

is a tool to maintain price stability, a control mechanism to

Tax revenue, the money earned by the state through taxation, is said to be the bloodline of the

check inflation, and a protection for local, fragile industries from uneven competition in the market.

economy. It is crucial to sustainable development

The Comprehensive Tax Reform was filed on Janu-

because it gives the government the power to invest

ary 17, 2017 to the House of Ways and Means Committee

in the development of the nation, reduce poverty and

under House Bill (HB) 4774 entitled “Tax Reform for Ac-

deliver public services while increasing state capacity,

celeration and Inclusion” by Quirino Representative Dakila

accountability and responsiveness to their citizens.

Carlo A. Cua. The tax reform under HB 4774 will stipulate

Classical economists view taxation as a means of rais-

new tax brackets for personal income taxes (PIT) begin-

ing government revenue. Time, changes in circum-

ning the year 2018. Those earning an annual income of

stances and ideologies altered the role of taxes. Tax

P250 000 shall be exempted from paying taxes. Those

revenue funds government projects that help advance

earning above P250 000 but not over P400000 would pay

the underdeveloped areas of the country lacking in

20% (15% by the year 2020) of the income in excess of

private investments. It also finances public expendi-

P250 000. Annual income over P800 000 and above will be

tures such as the salaries of government workers and

pegged to a fixed tax amount. To offset revenue loss from

national defense through the police force, firefight-

PIT reform, excise tax rates on all petroleum products and

ers, armed forces, air and naval force.

automobile products will be increased and indexed to in-

Most countries have mixed economies at recent, it is essential to promote capital formation and investment in both private and public sectors. Fiscal policy can be directed to raise the ratio of savings to

flation annually. Estate and donor tax rates will also be reduced. The government will resort to borrowing when budget deficits incur. Taxation is the only effective instrument by which private consumption can be controlled to transfer resources to the state.

THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

22

N ATION AL ECON OMY

I NTERCONNECTIVITY T EXT Marjorie Aquino

C

ommunication in the past lacked quality and provided slow responses from communication channels to the receiver. The country still suffers from inefficient service of Internet connection and inadequate ICT infrastructure at this age of information.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is an umbrella term for communication devices and software applications.

ICT provides the means to transmit and exchange data in the form of sound, text, visual images, signals and other file formats, which can be any combination of those forms, through the use of digital technology. Interconnectivity for wider public access to government information and services is required for a seamless public data interchange.

However, the weak regulatory and administrative capacity on ICT development and the need for improvement of procurement policy

23 THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

FOR THE

A RCHIPELAGO

P HOTO Xena Nicole Lim

for ICT resources and services impedes ICT expansion.

Department of Technology and Communications (DITC) Secretary Rodolfo A. Salalima discussed the establishment of a National Government Portal and a National Broadband Plan (NBP) during the 13 th Cabinet Meeting last March 6 th, 2017. NBP aims to connect all government agencies, increase internet access, and engage individuals through their digital presence. The plan included providing infrastructure in “unserved or underserved areas”. Once approved, the NBP may be implemented in one up to 3 years and require P200 million. Telcos are willing to deliver services in small communities by renting the facilities.

According to New Growth Theory, the government must invest in knowledge – a factor not subject to diminishing returns. Allocating a portion of the national budget to

fund research endeavors in science and technology is a kick-start to develop ICT infrastructure. The government may also provide full scholarships to send students in countries with advance methods in research and technology (R&D).

These successful students shall employ their acquired skills and learnings in R&D. Technological advances may be acquired through international trade. Globalization empowered cooperation, thus established relations with a highly developed country would help the Philippines learn from its mechanisms to achieve technological development.

If the government and the private sector communicate and brainstorm for solutions, the discovery of our intelligence and talents to do more with an efficient ICT will be realized. We will be more productive and to become globally competitive in this Age of Information.

C ALL

A CTION A GAINST M INING

OF

T EXT Bianca Yllana Dela Cruz

T

he appointed Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Regina Lopez is known for her anti-mining campaign. The share prices of mining, as well as oil stocks, dropped by 4.09% when she started her office.

“If there is responsible mining why is it that wherever there is mining, there is poverty?” declared Lopez in an interview. The communities near the mining sites belong to the poorest communities. The Simara region, where production of coal occurs in the Ipanian Open Pit Mine, has been suffering from extreme poverty conditions. The land area for growing crops has been contaminated, leaving the inhabitants to suffer from malnutrition since they don’t have enough food to eat. The catastrophe in Baguio when waste from mining operations was dumped execrably.

It led to the pollution of the lower part of the Agno River that irrigates canals of Pangasinan plains.

Another incidence of irresponsible mining occurred 4 years ago when a mining firm operating in Sibuyan Island had contaminated the air and surrounding bodies of water with mercury. The residents had suffered from sickness because of the malpractice, so they stood a hard front to close and ban the mining firm from operating in the area.

“

B ECAUSE

IT LOOKS UGLY , IT GETS

BLAMED AS SOMETHING BAD

”

UP -NIGS P ro fe ssor A R CI LL A

On February 27 th, 2017, an article explaining the opposition of University of the Philippines’ (UP) students and professors to Sec. Lopez was published.

Professor Arcilla of National Institute of Geological Sciences (UP-NIGS) clarified, “3% of 30 million hectares of land were mining tenements. It is less than 1% of 30 million.” It is questionable to attribute the pollution and degradation of the environment to a meager percentage covered by mining operations. The professor also posed a question; “Are the areas poor because of mining, or even before the mines, they were already poor?” He pointed out crops weren’t suitable in heavy mineralized lands and mining companies offered scholarships to the community for them to take on other livelihood activities.

“

IF

THERE IS RESPONSIBLE MINING WHY IS

IT THAT WHEREVER THERE IS MINING , THERE IS POVERTY ?

”

DENR Sec re ta ry R E G I N A L O P EZ

As a supporter of the mining campaign, I suggest it to be rephrased to “Anti-Abusive and Irresponsible Mining Campaign”. Mining firms have turned into abusive firms by digging haphazardly to scour more minerals and lead to the fast degradation of natural resources. They are heavily invested in the hidden minerals they can get; not heeding any concern to the consequences of their desires. They should know how to optimize their production and operations for the present and future demand of the economy. If these businessmen cannot adhere to responsible mining practices, the national and local government must take measures to put the firms in their place.

Increasing regulations for mining firms is one way to settle the real score of the issue. Senior Trade Commissioner Elodie Journet has expressed Australia’s willingness to collaborate with the local government in achieving sustainable mining practices. Australia believes in the possibility of mining and sustainability can act together. The path to change should not only be placed in the hands of the government. Collective movement from the community is also needed to take action in banning mining operations. A mining company has planned to operate in Tablas, Romblon, but the people’s “No to Mining in Tablas” protest saved their community.

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GLOBAL ECONOMY

T HE A WKWARD P ARTNER Q UITS EU T EXT Jeroe Bertoldo

T

he world was taken aback at the sight of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union (EU) last June 24, 2016.

The first post-war labor governments negatively affected the country in the 1950s. It has often been more skeptical than committed unlike other European countries pursuing a closer relationship with the Union.

UK has kept its distance since, thus the title "EU's awkward partner".

Economists predicted negative repercussions on UK’s economy and consumer confidence as a result of the referendum. The pound was at its lowest value (£1 = $1.13) since 1985. These predictions haven't yet come to pass since economic growth has been faster than previous estimates by 0.6% between July and September 2016. Consumer confidence index rose at the end of 2016 by one point and the major purchase index by five points, higher than two previous years. Inflation has risen from 0.5% in June, with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) at 1.2% in November at its highest rate since October 2014. The Office for Budget Responsibility upgraded its growth forecast from 2.0% to 2.1% in 2016, but adjusted from 2.2% to 1.4% for 2017.

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P HOTO tumblr.com

Government finance forecasts the current period's budget to £122bn until 2021 which is worse off than what was forecasted in March. The Bank of England expects economic growth to be at 0.8%, to 1.4% for the next year, but cut expectations for 2018 from 1.8% to 1.5%. The bank has reduced interest rates from 0.5% to 0.25% in August. It also announced a huge extension of its quantitative easing program amounting to £70 billion, and a scheme of £100 billion allowing the low interest rate to be passed onto households and investors. Economists warned that labor markets had started to "cool off" since the Brexit vote in spite of unemployment falling slightly to 1.62 million three months after the referendum.

There will be changes in its immigration policies, consumer rights, border control and environmental policies. Prime Minister Theresa May, who replaced Cameron on July 13, 2016, has been bargaining European leaders to get the best deal possible out of leaving EU. She plans to finish the trade deal in two years. EU would liberate UK from the suffocating grip of the Union's red tape and political interference. However, leaving the single market would lessen its openness to EU member states. UK has been the 3 rd largest economy and net contributor for the

EU Budget in 2015, estimated to be £8.5 billion.

Stripping itself off the restrictions and perks of the EU trade is the heavy price for choosing the opportunity to trade with countries outside the EU. The economy will have to rely on foreign investment. The immigration policy will be designed more specifically for its migration policy. The goal is to attract highly skilled workers more than low skilled worker counterparts. The free trade agreement provided by the EU covered most of export costs, allowing half of all the goods and services exported at a minimal cost. It will now have to bear additional costs if they trade with countries outside the EU.

“ B REXIT MEANS BREXIT, BUT THERE IS STILL A LOT OF DEBATE ABOUT WHAT WILL MEAN IN PRACTICE ESPECIALLY ON THE TWO

B RITISH FIRMS DO BUSINESS IN THE E UROPEAN U NION

KEY ISSUES OF HOW

AND WHAT CURBS ARE BROUGHT IN ON THE RIGHTS OF

E UROPEAN U NION NATIONALS TO LIVE AND WORK IN THE

UK.

“

BBC News Reporters ALEX HUNT & BRIAN WHEELER

After the official announcement of the Brits leaving the EU, Philippine stocks declined and the Peso depreciated against the Dollar, losing 41.5 centavos from P46.535:$1 to P46.950:$1. An estimated 200,000 Filipino migrants will be repatriated if the UK plunges into a recession. Those reliant on remittances from Filipino migrants in the country will be heavily affected. It will possibly be difficult for the other countries to send workers in the UK and vice versa. Nevertheless, the effect of Brexit is not alarming to the Philippine economy. Through proper and continuous monitoring of the Central Bank of the Philippines by using monetary tools, it can swiftly take immediate actions to minimize the anticipated effects.

“The direct effect of Brexit does not seem substantial, even as we expect that domestic financial markets will experience volatility and huge swings in capital flows in the short term due to uncertainty.

Despite this knee-jerk reaction, the economy stands on solid footing given its strong macroeconomic fundamentals,” said Emmanuel F. Esguerra, NEDA's Socioeconomic Planning Secretary. The effect of the Brexit will not be experienced in short-run nor will it happen overnight, but in the long-run process. It will take several years to find out whether the UK's decision to leave the European Union for good is right or not.

REFERENCES: ECONOMIST.COM | G OVERNMENT P ROMISES T RULY G LOBAL B RITAIN A FTER B REXIT P LAUSIBLE T HERESA M AY O PTS BUSINESSMIRROR.COM.PH | UK’ S M AY H AS R EASONS T O W ORRY D ESPITE H ER B REXIT L AW V ICTORY

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GLOBAL ECONOMY

T HE A MERICAN

AND

H IS D REAM

T EXT Alvin Bañas P HOTO tumblr.com

T

he victory of Donald Trump (Republican), a businessman and television personality, against Hillary Clinton (Democrat), in the US Presidential Elections last November 8, 2016 brought devastation and shock to the world. Opinion polls predicted that Clinton will win by a landslide, but actual results showed Trump has won by 304 electoral votes over Clinton’s 232 votes.

Trump is the fifth in history to become the US president despite losing the popular vote by a margin of 2,868,520 against Clinton’s 65,823,625 votes. The Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution requires the president to be elected by the Electoral College.

Hence, Trump is now the 45 th President of the most powerful country in the world. The unfair treatment he received from the media may have helped him win despite being considered as unpopular, inexperienced, racist, and misogynistic.

The new president’s economic agenda revolves around his campaign slogan America First, which he mentioned during his inaugural address last January 20 th. This is similar to the “Make America Great Again” slogan he paraded during the campaign period. The America First policy emphasizes nationalism and isolated the country from international relations. He openly criticized trade deals during his

27 THE OIKONOMOS NEXUS

campaign and has expressed patronage to bilateral agreements. He pulled out the US from the TransPacific Partnership, which was already in its final stages of ratifying, and pursued individual trade deals with the countries. He advocated to simplify the tax code; reduce corporate tax rate and lower the tax bracket to bolster the American economy and create millions of jobs. He had signed 26 executive orders in his two months of office, ranging from illegal immigration to financial system regulation.

Trump’s actions might have negative effect on international economies as the reforms slowly settle in.

The US dollar and Philippine peso exchange rate has reached to $1 = P50.23, in spite of the Philippines’ steady economic growth and remarkable performance.

The United States is considered as the Philippines’ largest investor and the US Government’s actions certainly affect the local industry growth, most notably the business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry which is considered the fastest growing industry in the country.

T W O OU T OF 2 6 R E GU L A T IO NS H E S IG NE D : JANUARY 3 0 TH | E X E CUT I VE O RDE R O N RE DUCI NG RE G ULAT I O N AND CO NT RO LLI NG RE G ULAT O RY F E BRUARY 3 RD | T HE CO RE PRI NCI PLE S F O R F I NANCI AL SY ST E M REG ULATION

P ROTECTIONISM : O PPORTUNITIES TEXT

I

AND

O BSTACLES

K INNETH I DJAO

“

nternational trade increases the welfare of counI F THE SHIFT TO INWARD - LOOKING POLICIES GAINS TRACTION , tries by providing the other economy what it canTHIS CAN POTENTIALLY FURTHER SHRINK GLOBAL TRADE , WHICH not efficiently produce. However, “to each his own” had progressed as a trend since countries started re- COULD LEAD TO EVEN LOWER GLOBAL GROWTH. treating from multilateralism. Measures or govern- BSP Governor A MADO T ETANGCO ment regulations that restrict or restrain international According to Mercantilism Theory, the govtrade between states were employed by populists around the globe to control and salvage their econo- ernment seeks to regulate the economy and trade in mies. order to promote domestic industry. The first two measures are reflected in the prices of imported TARIFF OR IMPORT TAX | The additional tax inflates the goods and directly affect the country’s consumers. price of imported goods. The goods become less Excessive and long term restrictions from trade negcompetitive compared to domestic goods in the maratively affects the domestic economy. Trade protecket and weakens the demand for it. This method tionism in a long time span weakens the local indusworks best for countries heavily relying on imports.

The United States (US), largest single economy to try. Without the competition of international trade, import goods and services, enacted the Smoot- the advancement or the innovation of firms within Hawley Tariff Act to increase import duties by as the industry will not improve. Consumers will have few alternatives and eventually pay for a low quality much as 50%. product that exists in the market. High tariffs can IMPORT QUOTAS | The number of products that can spark issues with the trading countries, follow suit be imported are limited over a certain period of time. on imposing trade regulations and shirk away from The imposed limitation results to the high price of trade. the imported goods and allows local businesses Free-trade agreements (FTAs) and trade to gain advantage in the local market. The Philippine blocs have greatly reduced barriers to trade of each government placed a quantitative restriction (QR) participating country. The only successful single on rice to withhold the influx of cheap rice from its market, the EU was abandoned by the UK as the neighbor countries. QR has been in place for more British voted to leave the bloc. President Trump’s than two decades and reached the expiration of the withdrawal of TPP, which allows 12 members states second extension in the year 2012. The country’s ne- from the Asia Pacific to form a single market, is gotiation with World Trade Organization (WTO) al- another sign of retreat from multilateralism. Counlowed it to continue implementing the QR until June tries aspiring to reach the top of the tier would have 30, 2017. a harder time going up the ladder. Other countries continue to pursue trade relations like Canada, which GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES | A subtle approach to pro- signed the Comprehensive Economic Trade (CETA) tect local industries provided by the government to with the EU and China, which actively seeks to assist the industry or businesses to reduce their cost deepen its relations with Australia and continues to of production through tax credits or direct payment. discuss the future of the Regional Comprehensive Locally produced goods are able to generate profit at Economic Partnership (RCEP) with individual lower price levels. Philippine Health Insurance Cor- states. poration (PhilHealth) received the biggest share of financial support ( P34.87 billion [$751.18 million] or Policy makers and economists must consid44%) from the government in the year 2015, though er other factors that may affect the progress of dosubsidies issued for government-owned and con- mestic industries and employment besides internatrolled corporations (GOCCs) during the year was tional trade. The impact of globalization and the lower than the previous year. PhilHealth was able to introduction of automation have decreased employexpand its primary care package in early 2015 to ment opportunities in the manufacturing industry. vouch for families who have "no visible means of Protectionism can serve as a helping hand to nation income.” or a handicap to its economic growth. In the end,

”

protection should prevent someone or something from danger or crisis not the other way around.

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GLOBAL ECONOMY

I NDEX

OF

T EXT Darlene Emerald Oconer

T

he Wall Street Journal and Heritage Think Tank annually publishes the Index of Economic Freedom, which comprises the data of 186 countries ranked according to four categories: their rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency, and open markets.

Economic Freedom is the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property. Individuals can produce, trade, and consume any goods or services without the use of force, fraud or theft. They know their needs and desires and believe that their own principles and priorities are the foundation of a fulfilling existence. A country has great economic freedom if the individuals are free to work, produce, consume and invest in any way they please. This reflects a higher standard of living, economic growth, income equality, less corruption and less political violence.

Hong Kong places the highest on the freedom index because of their structured property rights, low taxes, minimal regulations, high degree of transparency in their government and 0% tariff rate. Singapore comes in second despite the civil repression from the government. It exhibits an odd case of economic prosperity coming from its vibrant private sector. The financial sector is owned by the government but is slowly opening up to the foreign market.

The Philippines leaped from its 70 th position to 58 th on the index as a moderately free country and ranked 14 th in the Asian region. According to Heritage,

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F REEDOM P HOTO iates.tumblr.com

there has been inefficiency to the country’s rule of law because of corruption and cronyism in the government.

Fiscal policy, government spending and monetary stability have been notably successful. However, BMI Research has downgraded the short-term political risk index score from 63.5 (out of 100) to 64.6 due to the heightened risk of political instability and political infighting. The country is also among the ranks of “major money laundering countries in 2016” after the involvement in the $81 million money laundering scheme. Criminal groups used the Philippine banking system and commercial enterprises to transfer illicit process to offshore accounts. In 2016, the account of Bangladesh Bank at the US Federal Reserve Bank in New York transferred several fictitious accounts to Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) to casinos and junket operations. The non-inclusion of casinos under the authority of Anti-Money Laundering Council made it possible to make undetected transactions with large sums of money. The economic freedom ranking for next year is expected to drop a few pegs.

The presence of different economic systems through the decades proved that people in economically freer systems have better lives. The freedom to make informed decisions on personal welfare should not be blocked by any individual or entity. Everyone should be able to participate and enjoy the benefits of the market place. Sound government policies and free trade provides the citizens freedom to participate accordingly.

S OUR CES

THE SICK MAN of ASIA REBORN AS A RISING TIGER Yap, KL. M. (2017, January 26). Rising Tiger Philippines Posts Some of the World’s Fastest Growth.

Retrieved from https:// www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017 -01-26/ asia-s-new-growth-leader-takes-over-from-fadingtiger-economies

THE AWKWARD PARTNER QUITS EU Ryan, C. (2016, October 4). Pound Drops to Lowest Since 1985 as Angst Builds Over Brexit. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/ ar t ic le s / 2 01 6 - 1 0 - 04/ po u n d - t u m ble s - t o - t h r e e decade-low-as-angst-over-brexit-persists PROTECTIONISM: OPPORTUNITIES AND OBSTACLES

Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE slows down). (2016, Fourth Quarter). Retrieved from http://psa.gov.ph/nap-press-release/sector/ Household%20Final%20Consumption

Buttonwood. (2017, January 27). Making protectionism unpopular again. Retrieved from http:// www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2017/01/taxing -poor

Rojas, JF. M. (2017, January 15). Philippine Economy will shine in Asia. Retrieved from http:// www.businessmirror.com.ph/philippine-economy-will -shine-in-asia/

Bloomberg. (2017, February 13). With Abe-Trump bromance, Japan delegates trade issues to deputies.

Retrieved from http:// www.businessmirror.com.ph/with-trump-abe-bromancejapan-delegates-trade-issue-to-deputies/ bloombergnews

CALL OF ACTION AGAINST MINING Gamil, J.T. (2017, February 27). UP geoscience studes, prof oppose Lopez confirmation. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/875989/up geoscience-studes-prof-oppose-lopez-confirmation Colina, A.L. (2017, February 28). Australia ready to help PH mining industry. (2017, March 28).

R e t r i e v e d f r o m h t t p : / / news.mb.com.ph/2017/02/28/australia-ready-tohelp-ph-mining-industry/ TAX: ECONOMIC ENGINE Desiderio, L. (2017, March 7). Watered down tax reform more costly for gov’t – DOF. Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com/ business/2017/03/07/1678622/watered -downtax-reform-more-costly-govt-dof De Vera, B.O. (2017, January 3). Tax reform remains top priority. Retrieved from http:// business.inquirer.net/222369/tax -reform-remainstop-priority INTERCONNECTIVITY FOR THE ARCHIPELAGO Geducos, AC. B. (2017, March 7). Duterte approves National Broadband Program. Retrieved from http://news.mb.com.ph/2017/03/07/duterte -approves-national-broadband-program/

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/ current_press_release/exh1.pdf THE AMERICAN AND HIS DREAM Biance, C. (2017, January 9). Rising protectionist tide may drag 2017 growth. Retrieved from http:// www.businessmirror.com.ph/rising-protectionist-tide-maydrag-2017-growth/ INDEX OF FREEDOM PHL Stays on US State Department’s major money laundering countries list. (2017, March 6). Retrieved from http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/ story/602039/money/companies/phl-stays-on-usstate-department-s-major-money-launderingcountries-list The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved from http:// www.heritage.org/index/book/chapter-2

H U M A N S H A V E S U R V I V ED TH R O U G H A D A P TA TI O N . W E H A V E A LW A Y S A D A P TED B Y C O N S TA N TLY TR A N S FO R M I N G A N D A LTER I N G W H A T N EED ED TO B E C H A N G ED . TR A N S FO R M A TI O N BEG I N S W H EN P EO P LE G ET TI R ED O F TH E N O R M S . C H A N G E H A P P EN S W H EN TH EY FO C U S M O R E O N G A I N I N G TH E B EN EFI TS I N S TEA D O F FEA R I N G TH E LO S S ES .

B Y B U IL D IN G E X CEL LE NT DRE AMS A N D AC T ING UP ON TH EM W IT H F A IT H A ND PA T IEN C E , T HE RE DE F IN IT ION A ND RE CRE AT ION OF WH AT O UG H T TO BE IS T H EREF ORE BRO UG HT INTO FR UIT ION .

TH I S S H O U LD R EM I N D U S H O W C A TER P I LLA R S C H O S E TO B R A V E TH EI R W A Y I N TH E D A R K N ES S A N D U N C ER TA I N TI ES O F A C O C O O N TO B EC O M E B U TTE FLI ES N O T B EC A U S E I T I S I N H ER EN T TO TH EM B Y N A TU R E, B U T A LS O B EC A U S E TH EY B ELI EV ED I T I S TH E W A Y TO B R I N G O U T TH E B EA U TY A N D TH E W I N G S TH A T A LW A Y S EX I S T ED W I TH I N .

TH E OFFIC IA L PU BLIC A TION OF TH E D EPA RT MENT OF EC ONOMIC S