rePost::Binay seeks review of OFW contingency plans | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features

I laud this sentiment and hope that this goes beyond the press release and results in concrete plans, agreements between our country and carriers hotels etc. We must never forget that we have an obligation to protect these OFW’s from the circumstances that are the result of not having good jobs, or the opportunity for advancements (for DH, Drivers, etc),

Binay seeks review of OFW contingency plans

abs-cbnNEWS.com

Posted at 03/09/2011 11:20 PM | Updated as of 03/09/2011 11:20 PM

MANILA, Philippines – Vice-President Jejomar Binay said on Wednesday that the government must review contingency plans for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to ensure greater accessibility and faster response to their needs.
Binay discussed the plight of OFWs in the Middle East and North Africa during the induction ceremonies of new officers of the Manila Overseas Press Club.
He said the biggest problem that the government has is coordination, which needs improvement.
To help OFWs, Binay said government must ensure their social security benefits.
He added that much needs to be done.
“We have to implement rescue services where cases of sexual harassments are rampant,” he said.
Binay, however, defended President Benigno Aquino III. “We expect too much from the President.”

via Binay seeks review of OFW contingency plans | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features.

March 7, 2011

rePost::Wisconsin protests—now with farmers (and tractors) – Boing Boing

• The City of Madison issued a press release on Saturday thanking protesters for another huge protest with no arrests and no citations. That’s right. In 18 days, nobody has done anything worthy of arrest, or even ticketing. Good work, Wisconsin! In the Upper Midwest, even our “thugs” are well above average.
via Wisconsin protests—now with farmers (and tractors) – Boing Boing.

It has been a little depressing watching how protest in my country are too heated to become a dialogue and not a media whorism stunt. I hope how civil the Wisconsin protest are become the norm and not something that I feel is something worth blogging about.

March 6, 2011

rePost :: PeteSearch: The American Way of Dating

Hmm the weird thing is that we follow the american model when out heterogeneity as a nation maybe lends itself more towards the British model.

The British standard is “go to a party, down some drinks, make eye contact with a person you fancy, proceed to kissing and often much more, wake up the next morning to find that you have magically become one half of a couple”. It seems like the goal was to avoid any unambiguous declarations of interest, so that at any point either person can end the process without the other losing face.
This isn’t how it usually works in the US, at least in the mainstream. The formality and rituals surrounding courtship feel like something out of a Noh play. The very idea of actually asking a near-stranger for a date, explicitly and with no particular preamble, in the full knowledge that you may be turned down, seems nothing short of revolutionary compared to the system I grew up with.
via PeteSearch: The American Way of Dating.

March 3, 2011

Hillary Clinton on Family Planning.

I’m pro Family Planning and a rational reality based Reproductive Health program. I think the RH Bill is not being marketed well. It has become somewhat a war between people of great passion and even far greater pride.
Hillary Clinton’s words: “Good Family Planning and Good Medical Care Brings DOWN the rate of Abortion” and
“Keeping women and men in IGNORANCE, and denied the services actually increases the rate of abortion”.
The unrealiable and increasingly stupid fourth estate must be circumvented to prevent the horse race reportage that it has fallen on.

February 7, 2011

Astig, Estrada on the Offensive

Revenge is a dish best served cold. hehehe. I have a feeling that the recent offensive against the afp generals (notice the non capitalization FTS). I have a suspicion that these are the same generals that withdrew their support from the former president.
Corrupt VS Corrupt the people win??
I’ve always been conflicted about this, but if we have to wait for a white knight (CUE in Hans Zimmer) we would probably never be able to clean up the system. Cleaning up large messes such as our society has proven to be a game of inches (superbowl inspired sentence). We try to improve little by little, introduce systems of oversight , systems of transparency, till we finally have a place most people can be proud of.
We should view the Philippines as a young country, we do not have the foundations of a 1000, 2000 even 3000 year old culture for a cohesive and ready for success country. Philippine culture is probably less than 50 years and yet what we have already achieved when viewed in the proper context cannot be scoffed at.
BTW this is a rabbit hole we are entering. Who watches the watchmen?? (We are looking at you COA and Ombudsman)
PS: Both parents of a friend work for the COA, I have nothing against the Commission and my dealing with them have shown that the bad apples are concentrated on certain institutions(I’m looking at you DPWH, Customs, and BIR) and most people try their best and are honest people.

January 28, 2011

Praise:: :: Send-off money to AFP chiefs 'staggering': Trillanes | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features

Always a silver lining. I salute Admiral Guillermo Wong. This shows how someone who is a party to corruption can be more damaging. By removing the person who should have been a beacon of hope towards reforms in the Armed Services, he dimmed the light of reform and even showed the younger officers how moral uprightness becomes a cross against keeping the position.

“When I was there..the programmed P40 million every month for PCDA was being controlled by the chief of staff. If we cannot come up with the amount, this is augmented by the major services – Navy, Air Force and the Army – and the key budgetary units, the PMA, the PSG and AFP Medical Center or V. Luna (Hospital) so that we could generate the P40 million a month which is equivalent to about P480 million a year and that is the so-called PCDA that is readily available to the disposal of the chief of staff,” Rabusa said.
For his part, Trillanes said the PCDA was given various names such as incentive pay or core command staff representation.
He added that while a representation allowance for the chief of staff is understandable, a P5 million monthly allowance is “staggering.”
“That’s a systemic form of corruption. The leader loses his moral authority to cleanse the system because [the corruption] is automatic,” he said in Pilipino.
He noted that only one military official, Admiral Guillermo Wong, had the guts to turn down the offer of discretionary funds from the military comptroller. He thus had a free hand to clean up the Philippine Navy.
However, he was later removed from his post by Reyes.
Garcia can still testify
via Send-off money to AFP chiefs ‘staggering’: Trillanes | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features.

January 21, 2011

rePost:: RH Bill Now!!! ::Market Manila – Sausage Casings (a.k.a. Pig’s Intestines) – General

These days, I start off these information sessions with a simple fact — the minimal cost to raise a child from birth to 18 years old in lower middle class conditions that assume just the minimal caloric intake, a roof over their heads, clothing, medical care, schooling, etc. is roughly PHP1 million. ONE MILLION PESOS or roughly PHP60,000 per year in today’s peso value. If you want a more realistic figure, think PHP2-3 million given inflation et al. I know, I know, the hair on the back of some of your necks is rising with indignation, Marketman boiling down the joy of bringing human life onto this planet into pesos and centavos. But it is an irrefutable fact that if you are responsible for making them, you are indeed fully responsible for ensuring that they are fed, housed, clothed, educated, etc. Boiling it down to a peso figure always seems to wake up youngsters listening, as a careless romp now seems like a million peso gamble. To make a long story short, I explain the different types of birth control. The responsibility that comes with parenthood. The myths that seem to overwhelm medical facts. And basically seek to simply educate, with the ultimate responsibility left with each individual how they wish to conduct their own personal affairs. See what the topic of sausage casings can lead to?
via Market Manila – Sausage Casings (a.k.a. Pig’s Intestines) – General.

January 12, 2011

Inflationary Fears

I believe we are living in a deflationary world while here in our country the OFW remittances, the BPO industry and the Real Estate Boom are creating inflation pressures that aren’t easily handled by exchange rate movements. This is not going to end well.

November 14, 2010

rePost:: There is now substantial evidence that the health and schooling of children can be raised by empowering women, and this is precisely what Tunisia did when it raised the minimum age for marriage, revoked the colonial ban on imports of contraceptives, instituted the first family planning programme in Africa, legalized abortion, made polygamy illegal, and gave women the right to divorce as well as the right to stand and vote for election. :: Dani Rodrik's weblog: The unsung development miracles of our time

I score this one against the moralist forces in our country. They are basically against what other countries find successful.

What was their secret? Determined policies to expand educational opportunities and access to health along with a willingness to depart from the conventional wisdom of the day and experiment with their own remedies. Even though all three North African countries are Moslem, empowering of women seems to have played an important role as well:

There is now substantial evidence that the health and schooling of children can be raised by empowering women, and this is precisely what Tunisia did when it raised the minimum age for marriage, revoked the colonial ban on imports of contraceptives, instituted the first family planning programme in Africa, legalized abortion, made polygamy illegal, and gave women the right to divorce as well as the right to stand and vote for election.

What is somewhat puzzling, as Rodriguez and Samman also note, is that these countries have not made nearly as much progress in democratization.
These new “facts” substantially enrich our understanding of the development landscape over the last four decades.
via Dani Rodrik’s weblog: The unsung development miracles of our time.

November 9, 2010

Fund Spotlight :: UnionBank UBP Large Cap Philippine Equity Portfolio (IFDLCPE:PM)

The market’s down by 15.73 points and the fund is still up by 1.769%. YTD is 117.16 %. You can check the other stats. . I’m going to something fishy so I’ll have to say this quickly. If you have a 100K you and won’t need it for 90 days; this is the low energy approach to investing. I’ve been investing in equity for 6 weeks and I wasn’t able to beat their 17% return last month. Time deposit for 3M gives only about 3-4%. Pre-cautionary tale Value At Risk is 7%.
Everything is from Bloomberg.

Summary			ONE YEAR
Change	7.759 (1.769%)
52-Week Range	446.32 – 193.05
BETA vs. PCOMP	N.A.

Fundamentals

Assets (Millions)	N.A. (on )		Last Dividend Net	N.A. (ex )
Dividend Type			Dividend Yield (ttm)	N.A.

Fees and Expenses

Front Load		Back Load
Redemption Fee	N.A	Current Mgmt Fee	2.00
Expense Ratio	N.A	Marketing Fee	N.A

Performance

1-Month	17.23	3-Month	44.30
Year to Date	117.16	1-Year	130.64
3-Year	26.24	5-Year	33.55

Fund Information

Inception Date:	03/01/05		Manager:
Web Site:	www.unionbankph.com		Telephone: