Category: Philippines

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rePost::Paul Collier — Five myths about elections' power to change nations

4. Elections compel new democratic governments to overspend, worsening economic policies and performance.

When I investigated elections’ effect on economic policy in newly democratic countries, I found that populist pressure does cause policies to deteriorate somewhat in the year before an election. They certainly did in Ghana in 2008. But governments that face frequent elections have significantly better economic policies when they are averaged over the political cycle, and governments that become subject to elections improve their policies.
Unfortunately, there is a caveat: Elections in which there is misconduct have, at best, no effect on economic policy because governments are off the hook of accountability. For example, President Robert Mugabe chose to wreck the Zimbabwean economy precisely when he was facing contested elections. His policies were not even populist; he simply relied on fraud and intimidation to establish policies that benefited only a tiny political elite.
via Paul Collier — Five myths about elections’ power to change nations – washingtonpost.com.

This is a good reason why we cannot just let the alleged (damn political correctness)  election cheating/corruption/graft and overall crookedness of the present administration.

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Thank You :: Japan allots 3.350-B yen aid for RP weather system – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Thank you.
どうもありがとう。
Dōmo arigatō gozaimasu.

Japan allots 3.350-B yen aid for RP weather system
By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 14:39:00 10/30/2009
Filed Under: News, Foreign affairs & international relations, Foreign Aid, Weather, Technology (general)
MANILA, Philippines-The Japanese government has allotted 3.350 billion yen grant to the Philippines to improve the country’s weather monitoring and dissemination system.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura on Friday signed and exchanged Notes for the Project for Improvement of the Meteorological Radar System.
The project, to be implemented by Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration and the Department of Science and Technology (PAGASA-DOST) will involve among others, the replacement of the three existing Meteorological Radar Systems in Aparri, Cagayan; Virac, Catanduanes; and Guian, Samar, with new Doppler (S-band) radar systems, the Foreign Affairs department said.
via Japan allots 3.350-B yen aid for RP weather system – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

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Thanks::RP gets $1M disaster warning systems from S. Korea – Nation – GMANews.TV – Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs – Latest Philippine News

kamsamnida!
감사합니다.

RP gets $1M disaster warning systems from S. Korea
06/05/2007 | 07:52 PM
Email the Editor Print | | More
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) has signed an agreement with the South Korean government to develop warning systems for three disaster-prone areas in the Philippines.
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Undersecretary Graciano Yumul Jr said the South Korean government will provide a grant of $1 million over 2007-2008 for the project. Pagasa is an attached agency of the DOST.
The Koreans will provide weather monitoring facilities in three sites: in Luzon, at the Aurora River Basin in Aurora province; in the Visayas, at the Jaluar River Basin in Iloilo; and in Mindanao, at the Lake Lanao-Agus River Basin in the Lanao provinces.
Yumul said the project sites were chosen because of their vulnerability to extreme climate events.
He added that the project components include the provision of facilities such as automatic weather stations (AWS), automatic rain gauges, digital water level gauges and maintenance vehicles along with the training of Filipino counterparts in South Korea and the sending of experts who will oversee the project.
via RP gets $1M disaster warning systems from S. Korea – Nation – GMANews.TV – Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs – Latest Philippine News.

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Elink Vid:UKG Mindanao: PGMA hands over ancestral domain titles to Higaonon tribe

I used to believe that this would set a bad precedent and would fracture the Philippines;  but recently, I’ve come to the conclusion that if we want to survive the modern world as a nation we better really learn to embrace our differences while we embrace our similarities. I use to doubt we could. I do not know what has changed either within me or outside of me but I am more hopeful now that we can.
Good job PGMA , we almost never see eye to eye but praise to whom praise is deserved.

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rePost::Rich Germans want higher taxes | FP Passport

Hey friends what’s your over and under for this??
How many Rich people from the Philippines do you think would sign a petition such as this?

Rich Germans ask for higher taxes
Fri, 10/23/2009 – 4:12pm
They’re the kind of citizens any cash-starved government would want: a group of wealthy Germans have launched a petition this week calling for higher taxes on wealthy Germans. The group claims that Germany could raise €100 billion if the richest people paid a five percent wealth tax for two years.
Germany is not known as a low-tax country–tax revenues were 37% of GDP in 2007, in line with other EU countries, and above countries like South Korea (29%) and the United States (28%). The petitioners claim, though, that those who “made a fortune through inheritance, hard work, hard-working, successful entrepreneurship, or investment” should put their money into an economy that, while better off than some other EU counterparts, is still facing rising unemployment through next year.
via Rich Germans want higher taxes | FP Passport.

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rePost::Charter Cities: Rules and Culture: Corruption in Hong Kong

Fighting corruption is not hopeless guys, although can’t see how we can implement something like this in the Philippines. I think we need something like No Term Limits for Ombudsman.  How does one find good people ? This is a recurring problem that I fear is really unsolvable, in the sense that we need to first foster a or encourage a culture of honesty and trust and the way I see it if people in government are corrupted in a way that may be called systematic, people from below, need to take honesty from the ground up. For now the top down corruption is winning but I am hopeful that eventually the bottom up idealist will eventually succeed!

The government’s initial attempt to fight corruption relied on a combination of an anti-corruption branch within the police force and a reduction in the prosecution’s burden of proof. For instance, the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (1971) made it an offense to be in control of property unexplained by past income. However, since the police themselves were corrupt, relying on the police to investigate corruption proved futile.
After initial failures, in 1974 the governor general moved anti-corruption responsibilities to a new elite ministry: the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). The ministry was independent, directly responsible to the governor, well paid, and recruited from the civilian population. The public, confident in the new ministry’s independence, became much more cooperative in reporting instances of corruption.
via Charter Cities: Rules and Culture: Corruption in Hong Kong.

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rePost::Aquino, Roxas get pop star welcome in Negros – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Noynoy needs to differentiate himself , his volunteers, his friends and followers otherwise, this is just another popularity contest. He must not only try to rise above Philippine Electoral Politics but he needs to take us along, he must be the tide upon all our boats rise! People go with the tide , Leaders are the Tide!

Aquino, Roxas get pop star welcome in Negros
By Carla Gomez
Inquirer Visayas
First Posted 17:47:00 10/08/2009
BACOLOD CITY, Philippines—Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, who have announced their candidacies for president and vice president under the Liberal Party in next year’s elections, got a pop star welcome from a sea of yellow crowds in three cities in Negros Occidental on Thursday.
People shouting “Noy-Mar Na!” surged forward to touch the two, get their autographs and have their pictures taken as the duo went on stage in Talisay, Bacolod and Bago cities.
Aquino said the crowds were overflowing because people want to see change in government.
“If we continue with this momentum, we will make change a reality,” Aquino said.
Butch Abad, campaign manager of the two, said it was not very hard to campaign for Aquino and Roxas because of the spontaneous outpouring of support from the people.
“This is a normal reception for them everywhere they go because they have made it very clear that this is a people’s campaign,” Abad said.
via Aquino, Roxas get pop star welcome in Negros – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

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Villar: Choose president based on competence, managerial ability – Nation – GMANews.TV – Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs – Latest Philippine News

FUCK  YOU Villar, If manegerial ability is what is really needed then I would rather have someone like Bayani or Binay for president. Mr Villar where was your volunteer operations, were you able to mobilize “UNPAID” people to help you? Yes maybe you are a good manager but what we need is a real leader. The verdict is still out on who is the best leader among you presidential wannabees but You must also understand that a leader is only as good as the (UNPAID/UNCOMPENSATED) people who choose to follow him, and in that department you are sorely lacking!

Villar: Choose president based on competence, managerial ability
AMITA O. LEGASPI, GMANews.TV
10/02/2009 | 03:52 PM
In an obvious snipe at his prospective rivals, Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. on Friday urged Filipinos to choose their next president based not just on popularity but on competence and managerial ability.
Speaking at the national convention of public attorneys at the Manila Hotel, he said having good intentions alone is not enough qualification to lead a country that has plenty of problems to deal with.
“Karanasan sa pamamahala, hindi lang malinis na intensyon ang kailangan natin (Experience in governance, not just good intentions, is what this nation needs)” he said.
via Villar: Choose president based on competence, managerial ability – Nation – GMANews.TV – Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs – Latest Philippine News.

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rePost::Kahneman on Happiness

In one recent study examining money’s effect on happiness, Kahneman, and others, have found that people with a relatively high income, although more satisfied with their lives, are barely happier at any given moment than those with a significantly lower income. The age-old myth that money buys happiness needs to be refined, as does the competing myth that wealth does not matter.What he’s found in comparative studies of nations is that both the level of corruption and the degree of trust in society are important predictors of well-being. “Corruption is a measure of trust in society, and trust, it turns out, should be essential to well-being.”
Countries where the level of trust in society is very low have a lot of difficulty thriving economically—so you need a certain level of trust to get moving.
“But even when you look at the Western world where GDP is more or less constant, you find large effects of trust, and that’s why Northern Europe always emerges as the best place to be in the world in terms of well-being research.”
Can this be applied in developing countries? “If there is a way of encouraging increasing trust in society—and that should probably start with trust in institutions—that is going to make a contribution to GDP through the rule of law, respect for property, and so on. It will have an extra contribution to human welfare because happier societies are ones where people trust each other and spend a fair amount of time catering to social needs.”
via Finance & Development, September 2009 – Questioning a Chastened Priesthood.

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Filipino Pride::RP hosts Asean Centre for Biodiversity HQ – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines — The country now officially hosts the headquarters of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) after the Senate approved a resolution concurring with the ratification of the Host Country Agreement signed between ACB and the Philippine government.
The Senate resolution was sponsored by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; with Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate Majority Floor Leader; and Senator Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, as co-sponsors.
Established by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) with funding from the European Union and officially launched at the 9th Informal Asean Ministerial Meeting in 2005, ACB is an intergovernmental regional center tasked to facilitate cooperation and coordination among Asean member-states and with relevant national governments, and regional and international organizations on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, or biodiversity.
via RP hosts Asean Centre for Biodiversity HQ – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

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