Scuttlebutt update 4:51 PM:
Easing out of Executive Secretary Ermita moved forward to March but timeframe is still up to May. Ermita angling to be PAGCOR Chairman but remains to be seen if the President would risk easing out Genuino in exchange. More likely scenario is a face-saving but politically non-threatening ambassadorship for Ermita.
Winston Garcia said to be slated to be the next Chairman of the Commission on Audit.
The Speaker supposedly threatened a one-hour privilege speech that would get the President in hot water if he’s toppled from the Speakership. President backed off if JDV3 backs off; leaks about this apparently sourced from the Ermita and Bunye camps in the Palace. Congressmen (whether true or not or to drive up their market value) speaking of 1 billion Peso topple-the-Speaker fund at 2 million Pesos per congressman’s signature. But another view is that the President’s sons are just making noise about continuing the toppling efforts to save face.
The President is said to have to intimated that the time has come to put in place the system that ought to have been instituted in the Marcos years: a French style parliamentary system.
***
A likely story! I’m not hiding, says Neri who turns 58 on Friday. Of course the law-and-order types are silent in the face of Neri’s dodging a lawful warrant of arrest.
Other news: ) Corruption concerns block more US aid to Philippines. The transcript of the press briefing is available online at the US Department of Sate website. Here are the relevant portions on the Philippines:
QUESTION: My name is Jennie Ilustre from Malaya, Philippines Daily. My question is — I was reading this report — the Philippines is still under a threshold program.
AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH: Yes.
QUESTION: Is there any good news when it will qualify?
AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH: We have an excellent threshold program with the Philippines. As you know, it’s a $20 million program. Frankly, it’s all the more robust because the Philippine Government upon receiving the $20 million of our MCC threshold activity, pledged and participated with an equal amount of money — $20 million — to support this program. It’s working well. It’s been successful. It’s going forward. We want to see further results. We’re continuing to look at the Philippines as a positive example of cooperation with the MCC.
I had the pleasure of meeting with President Arroyo and her cabinet in New York in September to discuss the ongoing —
QUESTION: What year, sir?
AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH: This — 2007.
QUESTION: Okay.
AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH: At the United Nations General Assembly when she was there for those meetings. We met for about half an hour and discussed the MCC threshold program and the continuing efforts of her government to perform well on the indicators. We will be meeting the delegation from the Philippine Government next week here in Washington. I believe it’s Mr. Teves who is coming, who we’re going to be meeting with. He and his team and the MCC team will meet together to discuss further continuation of the program. And we hope eventually that the compact eligibility will continue and that they will be rewarded a compact in due course.
QUESTION: Who will be on the U.S. side when you meet?
AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH: It will be our MCC team here in Washington.
Thank you. Yes.
And-
QUESTION: Good morning, Mr. Ambassador. Bing Branigan from Manila Mail newspaper. When exactly next week Philippine Finance Secretary Teves is coming?
AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH: Secretary Teves — I think the meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.
QUESTION: Tuesday.
AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH: Yeah. I’m not sure about that but I think it’s Tuesday.
QUESTION: What’s keeping the Philippines from getting the – into the full MCC — what’s the requirements they have not passed yet.
AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH: Sure. We discussed this with President Arroyo and with her ministers when we were together in New York in September. And although the Philippines technically is eligible for a compact, there has been in the last assessment, indicator assessment some serious declines with regards to corruption and some other matters with their performance on the indicators. This causes us some concern because the drop in performance in fact was very dramatic. And we want to understand more clearly why that dramatic drop has occurred, understand what circumstances caused that to happen, so we can have some clarity as to whether or not this precipitous drop is going to continue or if there was some indicator irregularity or if there are further strong reforms which the Philippine Government needs to take in this regard to make sure that at the next period of assessment this summer, the indicator shows an upward trend. The drop was from the 70th percentile down to the 50th percentile. I think the figure – don’t hold me on this, but it was something like a drop from 76 down to 54 or something of that nature. So it was fairly significant. Even though they were still above the median. So that is, in fact, the very reason for the meetings next week. We’re going to discuss this and see. We are going forward. We’re continuing our dialogue. We’re open to discussion with the Philippines.
QUESTION: Mr. Ambassador, (inaudible) corruption (inaudible) is this part of it?
AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH: Well, part of it to the extent that, yes, it’s part of the democratic and – political and democratic assessments that we do in our country – do with our countries.
QUESTION: Thank you.
AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH: Yeah. Thank you.
Yesterday, the buzz in political circles mainly concerned whether the Speaker of the House would still be Jose de Venecia, Jr. by Monday or not. Basically, the President’s husband from overseas, and his two sons as the rallying symbols of the faithful, were relentless in pursuing the destruction of the Speaker: Kampi, Arroyo sons vote to oust De Venecia. Each new news item, for example 134 sign ‘no confidence’ paper vs Speaker–Villafuerte– would create a spike in the chatter. The message was, JDV urged to step down to save face but of course, Bluffing on numbers is House game. Everyone got in on the act: De Venecia-Nograles showdown inevitable–NPC. In the end, it became a question of who could shout they had the Mandate of Heaven: De Venecia: ‘I have Arroyo’s all-out support’.
Scuttlebutt was that the Palace’s preferred “win-win” solution was to appoint de Venecia ambassador to Washington this weekend, which would remove the need for a potentially messy showdown in the House. The problem with that proposal was that it was too insulting to be accepted by de Venecia -from No. 4 in the national hierarchy to a mere presidential appointee?- and would have put Lakas-CMD in too obviously a subordinate position vis-a-vis Kampi much too soon. In the end, the President apparently told her sons to back off on condition the Speaker did the same thing with his son: De Venecia buys time: Son’s silence for Arroyo support.
Also yesterday, during the investiture ceremony for Adel Abbas Tamano as President of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, I had the opportunity to talk to Liling Briones, former Treasurer of the Philippines. She said that the unwritten story (picked up, as far as I can see, only by the Business Mirror where she writes a column) is how Congress has spent two years coming to grips with the budget process and allowing greater participation by the citizenry in its formulation. She said that Rep. Edcel Lagman in the House and Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano went above and beyond the call of duty in bringing the public into the budgeting process. After last year’s efforts to bring legislators and the public together foundered, for the present budget, members of the public got their act together as early as May, when the first call for submissions came. In that manner, they were in synch with the legislators who discovered that the public was willing to follow their process, and had done their homework.
The 1.2 trillion stated by the President remained the grand total for the budget, but members of Congress were able to realign different appropriations under the framework of the millenium development goals: for example spending on public health was increased by something like 50%. The problem now is that the President has taken a dim view when it comes to some of these realignments and has apparently threatened a veto. She also argued that the power of the president to veto is a limited one, subject to stringent criteria, but personally I tend to disagree with that assertion, in the past, anyway, presidential vetoes have been based on constitutionality and legality questions but also in the basis of presidential policy. For more on this point, see Budget ‘warriors’ warn against veto.
A further complication is the proposed stimulus package.
I asked for her views on the proposed stimulus package. She replied that the institutional stimulus package is the national budget and for that reason, she opposed a special stimulus package. A national budget mandates spending, she said, and not only that, because it specifies what is to be spent where, it assists transparency in the spending of public monies. In contrast a stimulus package still has to be debated and then won’t be channeled with as much oversight as takes place with the budget: apparently, for example, the various government departments would have to craft the systems to track such spending if approved, unlike the budget.
She also pointed out that the stimulus package and the national budget will be competing for the same resources: the government assets to be sold to fund the stimulus package, she said, are those already identified as the sources to fund the government budget. This seems to have been addressed: Stimulus plan sourced from 2008 budget.
Also, she said greater public scrutiny is required, whether of existing budgetary items or proposed stimulus programs. A case in point is the proposed 6 billion peso feeding program for school kids. She said that government policy at present is hand sacks of rice to kids, which leads to a whole set of problems: kids staggering home with big sacks of rice, or kids being told they’re receiving 5 kilos, say, but actually being sent home with less, and then of families that sell the rice gift or who then divvy it up among elder members so the kids don’t benefit from the rice. An entirely different situation is that there are appropriations for feeding school kids, but the rice is handed out during the summertime, when the kids and the teacher’s aren’t in school! The point being that enough research and practical experience exists, she says, to prove that effective feeding programs for kids involve feeding kids in school, during class hours.
Concerning Gov’t bares 7.3% 2007 GDP growth With robust 7.4% recorded in fourth quarter: Gov’t bares 7.3% 2007 GDP growth, strongest since 1976, a minor caveat.
You will see on the chart above, which comes from a presentation of Dr. Michael Alba, that the line showing the country’s GDP is broken at one point. I asked him what that meant. He said, it represents a change made in the manner GDP is computed, which makes all previous data and all subsequent data not precisely comparable to each other.
In the blogosphere, the NYT blog The Caucus liveblogs the Democratic debate.
Writer’s Block compares the Philippines to Czarist Russia.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, constitution, economy, House of Representatives, ideas, liveblogging, philippines, politics, president, Senate, society
arroyo sons vote to oust de venecia who silences his son to curry the support of arroyo whose sons are voting to out de venecia who silences…..
tangina, why should we allow ourselves to be governed by these sons of quarreling bitches! ano kayo, may ari ng pilipinas?
Taking off from the discussion in the previous thread, the increase in the GDP is taking place in conjunction with a deterioration in real average family income back to what it was in the late 1980’s.
GDP rising? But they have changed the parameters of this indicator, as MLQ3 shows (based on Dr Alba’s data). How can one declare “robust growth” compared to previous performance, when these GDP estimates are not comparable in the first place?
Reminds me of another statistical discrepancy (magic or anomaly?) about FIES. Did anyone bother to check that Filipinos “overspent†relative to their income? (Ref: 1991-2000). Then, suddenly they “saved� (Ref: 2003-2006).
UPnS and others, hop in! cvj is now on board.
Wow, galing talaga ni Arroyo. Noon kulang ang school rooms, ang solusyon ay baguhin ang pag-bilang, noon mataas ang unemployment rate, ang ginawa niya baguhin ang pagbilang, ngayon tumaas ang GDP ng super taas (unexpected daw), pero binago din pala ang pagbilang! Ganito ba ang itinuturo sa UP?
Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said:
“Among the economics profession there has been a strong sense for a long while that gross domestic product is not a good measure. It doesn’t measure changes in well-being, it doesn’t measure comparisons of well-being across countries.â€Â
“Thus, if political leaders are trying to maximize GDP and GDP is not a good measure, you are maximizing the WRONG THING and it can be counterproductive.â€Â
naku, i fear this discussion will go back to the topic on human development index. at baka pasukin na naman ito nang isang “consultant of here, there and everywhere” proselytizing on the reliability of the cia factbook rather than relying on the comparative EMPIRICAL measures of the undp.
I think that Romulo Neri is hiding behind a fishy “executive privilege”. He’s not qualified at CHED anyway, so why doesn’t he resign and then tell all if he really wants to?
hawaiianguy: the break in the graph that Q3 posted happened in 2000. The FIES/gdp-anomaly we were trying to nail down is for period 2003-to-2006 (where household income dropped (after inflation) across all deciles but GDP per-capita increased. Note: total-household-income is only about 51% of national GDP, so there is a lot of places where an extra-ordinary upburst/growth has happened.).
The Manila Bulletin news article did point to extra-ordinary jumps in the mining sector (24% when all the other sectors were in 11% or much lower).
hawaiianguy and mlq3,
“GDP rising? But they have changed the parameters of this indicator, as MLQ3 shows (based on Dr Alba’s data). How can one declare “robust growth†compared to previous performance, when these GDP estimates are not comparable in the first place?”
didnt it occur to you, that the past GDP computations could be the less-than-accurate ones? just because one PhD observed that bases are changed, doesnt immediately mean that the latest figure is just a spin.
maybe the good PhD should also disclose when was the last time the bases for computing GDP was changed. or if the changes affect the integrity of the resulting figure
ano ba yan? right or wrong, foreign investors use GDP growth rates as basis for investing in a country. When a 7.3% annual growth rate makes headlines, Pinoys elbow each other out to be the first to diss the figure.
Yan na nga ang chance to attract much more foreign direct investments, ito-torpedo pa, ng of all people, Pinoys din!
If gloria wanted inflated figures, she should have started using them in 2002. Why did she wait till 2008?
Everytime a GDP figure is attacked, every Pinoy is attacked, the Pinoy who manufactured and rendered a service thats behind the figure.
Thats an inspiring figure. It motivates Pinoys to continue working harder for the country.
” “Thus, if political leaders are trying to maximize GDP and GDP is not a good measure, you are maximizing the WRONG THING and it can be counterproductive.†”
Aren’t you aware that the yardstick used by almost everybody in ascertaining good economic health is figures/GDP/GNP?
Who are the wonders of the global economy now? China, India, Vietnam. Bases? Figures. Yet no one raises the observation “have those figures trickled down?” Only in the Philippines. By Pinoys.
In showing that the Philippines is a laggard, the figures of other countries are resorted to, no mention of a ‘trickle down effect.’ Yet when it comes to evaluating the Philippines, the “trickle down effect” criterion is raised.
you have a point here a.s., but in which case, the government or its media spin should have been more prudent in claiming such gdp performance is the best ever achieved after so-so number of years, when the proper level of comparison can only be made from 2000 onwards.
you have to be wary of statistical biases here, considering that two different yardsticks were employed.
all the previous data were not accurate, is that what you’re saying?
BAKIT NGAYON LANG LUMABAS ITO?
Things really get easier to analyze when one gets the definition-of-terms nailed down.
FIES is based on a survey of 41,000 households, then extrapolated to report on 17,403,000 households. Here is how Philippine census folks define FIES:
What are the areas covered in the sample survey?
The FIES covers all 78 provinces of the country including all cities and municipalities in Metro Manila. The sample includes 3,416 enumeration areas or barangays with approximately 41,000 sample households.
What specific data are obtained?
Source(s) of family income, in cash or in kind such as:
..salaries and wages from regular, seasonal, or occassional employment
..net share of crops, fruits and vegetables produced or livestock and poultry raised by other households
..enterpreneurial activities
..other sources of income (cash receipts from abroad, domestic sources, and others)
Level of family consumption by expenditure item such as:
..food, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco
..fuel, light and water; transportation and communication; and household operations
..personal care and effects, clothing, footwear, and other wear
..education, recreation, and medical care
..furnishing and equipment
..taxes
..housing, house maintenance and minor repairs
..miscellaneous expenditures
..other disbursements
Number of family members employed for pay or profit, or as wage, salary or own-account workers
Housing characteristics of families, their facilities, utilities, and others
Other related information
A lot of large-value-items go into GDP that are not tallied by the FIES survey (e.g. government expenditures on highways, dams, etcetera).
anthonyscalia,
“Aren’t you aware that the yardstick used by almost everybody in ascertaining good economic health is figures/GDP/GNP?”
But haven’t you heard that the usefulness of GDP and GNP is being questioned even by Nobel prize economists?
Kasi, Anthony, thinking people have begun asking what do we mean by growth? What is GDP/GNP really measuring?
Let me give you a gross hypothetical to answer your idea of GNP/GDP as yardsticks of “good economic health”
We become the world’s biggest mining town and the world’s largest producer of biofuels. Our GDP/GNP goes into orbit! But our environment is completely devastated and bio-fuel crops are substituted for food crops.
Or what if we turn our country into the world’s whorehouse and investors fuck our country into a first world pussy-powered economic giant ?
Should we break out the champagne because you said, “ano ba yan? right or wrong, foreign investors use GDP growth rates as basis for investing in a country.”
just to be clear, alba never implied malice in the change in gdp comp. he simply pointed out it changed, and that should be born in mind, because a precise link can’t be established before the change and after. that’s all. it is as he graphed it -no longer a continuous line.
the economics-minded among you can dissect his views and paper here:
http://blogs.inquirer.net/current/2007/10/24/albas-answers/
john marzan,
“all the previous data were not accurate, is that what you’re saying?”
no. my sentence is clear enough
here’s a url worth visiting from nscb explaining the breaks in gdp links:
http://www.nscb.gov.ph/sna/2007/1stQ2007/2007tnq_1.asp
also worth reading, in the vein of the reactions above:
http://www.nscb.gov.ph/announce/ForTheRecord/20july07_reliability.asp
manuelbuencamino,
sir, kindly re-read my entire post in its entirety, so you can take each sentence in context.
yes, im aware that the usefulness of GNP/GDP is being questioned. didn’t you notice i used the words “right or wrong” and “almost everybody”?
may i have a suggestion – why don’t you spread the word around the globe – that GDP/GNP figures shouldn’t be the bases for measuring growth? so you can help change the minds of foreign investors who still base their investment decisions on GDP/GNP, and thus invest in the Philippines?
in case you haven’t noticed, business publications such as BusinessMirror would publish articles/write-ups extolling a good performing country due to good figures.
Your examples on mining and whorehouse is all speculation. Napakasablay pa. Please give a concrete example.
“Should we break out the champagne because you said, “ano ba yan? right or wrong, foreign investors use GDP growth rates as basis for investing in a country.â€Â
Two comments:
1. Wait till 2009 so the figures for any changes in FDI will be in already. The celebration isn’t with the figure per se – its on how it affects increase in FDI
But GDP figures can be useful in another way – as a way of measuring some degree of growth. Its not an end-all and be-all. Please note my statement that it motivates Pinoys to work harder.
2. But no increase in FDI will take place, because the 7.3 figure is highly disputed and hence undermined. The unsuspecting foreign investor who reads such write-ups will look elsewhere.
manuelbuencamino,
Im really interested in your statement
“Kasi, Anthony, thinking people have begun asking what do we mean by growth? What is GDP/GNP really measuring?”
Are you sure that in your past write-ups, you never made a comparison of the Philippines with the so-called ASEAN tigers, based solely on GNP/GDP, and then conclude that the Philippines is a laggard?
So can i expect you and BusinessMirror not to extol economic wonders solely on GDP/GNP? And that from now on everytime I read BusinessMirror I wouldn’t read write-ups on comparisons between the Philippines and the economic wonders solely on GDP/GNP?
I can rest assured that all people who write in BusinessMirror are thinking people. It is my favorite business paper.
How about a series of articles on the absence of a trickle-down effect in China, India, and Vietnam?
anthony:
gdp as a business barometer, spin a win ka. gdp as human development or economic welfare index, that’s where the debate rattles on. “trickle down” is a concept best view from the latter approach.
Wow! What vitriol! I thought economics was the dismal not the demented science..ha ha!
Anyway, a very interesting lecture on poverty in the Philippines was held at UP, Diliman, yesterday (Jan 31). It was part of the UP Centennial lecture series. The meet discussed, among other things, a new study on poverty in the Philippines prepared under the aegis of the UP School of Economics (UPSE). You might want to get hold of some of this material through the UPSE since it may be relevant to your exchanges.
One notable item: the discussions qualifiedly but clearly endorsed globalization as a good thing (no mention of whorehouses, though).
Inodoro,
Our entire economy is trickle down. Trickle down from maids and laborers abroad, which the big banks and big retailers and big real estate developers rely on for profit and growth.
i.n.e.,
i was just reacting to the tendency of people in using figures strictly in comparing other countries favorably against the Philippines. But when the Philippines begins to show similar figures, these same people will use the ‘trickle down effect’ to downplay the figures for the Philippines. Yet how come they don’t use the same ‘trickle down’ metric in evaluating other countries.
in short, if human development/economic welfare index will be used to evaluate the Philippines, let them be the same yardstick to be used in evaluating other countries.
i am ambivalent towards GDP/GNP figures, but there are foreign investors who still rely on GDP/GNP figures in making investment decisions. we have no choice but to adapt that perspective (without discarding other measurements of growth) if we are to attract FDI (of course this is not to say that the figures must be cooked)
Marcelo,
just two comments on economics and UPSE –
1. someone has said that economists are correct only half of the time. worse, they don’t even know which half is wrong or right.
2. which UP college has done the most damage to the Philippine economy – the UPSE or the UP College of Law? 🙂
The Speaker supposedly threatened a one-hour privilege speech that would get the President in hot water if he’s toppled from the Speakership.
Sigh. Oust him, dont oust him; who really gives a sh!t? He has the goods but he won’t spill? The guy doesnt really care about the people, does he?
“there are foreign investors who still rely on GDP/GNP figures in making investment decisions”
REALLY?????? Where??????????
One notable item: the discussions qualifiedly but clearly endorsed globalization as a good thing…
As in “Globalization would be a good thing if it isnt such a bad thing?” 🙂
@hedgefunder
“there are foreign investors who still rely on GDP/GNP figures in making investment decisions†REALLY?????? Where??????????”
Well certainly NOT the electronics industry which accounts for two-thirds of our exports…
Speaking for the Law and Order Types, I do hope the Senate regains its rightful place, especially in regards to the matter of Accountability of Public Officers.
This time, let’s hope the Media doesn’t have to use “electromagnetism” again, and let’s be clear again where the limits of Press Freedom are with respect to executive sessions, of which we should see more in the coming days.
Let’s not have any more shenanigans with anonymous sources and the like…
Shouldn’t that be called trickle up?
INE, thanks for the links to “On reliability of government economic data” and “The FIES of the Rich: Truth or Consequence?”. I think that directly addresses the concerns that Monsod raised (in her Saturday column) although Virola’s claim that the survey respondents probably lied is a tenuous one.
When I was questioning the use of GDP and GNP as a measure of progress of the Philippines vis-a-vis other countries and measurement of poverty level on the observation that GDP does not reflect the real GDP because of the underground economy, the smuggling and the incompetence in data gathering for these types of surveys, I was attacked short to accusing me of being a CIA when I mentioned the fact that there is such as CIA Factbook which provides demographic and economic profiles of countries before WIKIPEDIA. sheesh.
There are so many factors that make comparison difficult over years. The most reliable comparison would be for five years only or for two periods of five years. Longer than these periods, the analyses are useless.
The Real GDP and REAL GNP won’t reflect the real gross output of the country if the CPI that is being used is for the year more than 30 years ago.
People who do not know a thing about how these facts are gathered and how they are extrapolated to come up with some figures which they can present to show the economic condition of the country are the first to react and make
“intelligent opinions”. Sus.
In the US which is facing recession, Alan Greenspan thinks that it is already experiencing one, two of the yardsticks of the economy are the unemployment rate and the change in the claim for unemployment benefits.
People here who get terminated either by downsizing and business closures can apply for the unemployment benefits which usually lasts for six months. An increase in the claim and an increase in the percentage means more people are getting out of the labor market, temporarily.
Still these statistics are just short term gauge for the economic condition, only on a quarterly basis.
the speaker would be remove? i dont think so,the day arroyo removes jdv is the day she looses her presidency in which case is not a bad thing..i mean i never like her anyway..and what about her two a-hole sons who call themeselves representatives..plus that iggy dude..i mean who the hell this people think they are..seriously, we cannot allow ourselves to be govern by this people..
@ C at
Alan Greenspan is still being asked for his opinion? Wow. If McCain wins, 2008 will be the year of the oldies.
Finally, an opinion paper on the current judicial activism in the context of the libel memorandum:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20080201-116069/Judicial-activism-and-its-limits
Discuss!
@ roi: …GMA loses her presidency when she removes jdv……. are you expecting then that GMA removes jdv in 2010? 😉
OO naman, he just retired from being Chairman of the Federal Reserve less than two years ago which he held for 20 years.
As to McCain, if ever he will be elected, he will be to oldest who assumed office at the age of 72. He’s now 71 and will be celebrating his birthday before the election.Reagan was the oldest so far at the age of 69. He suffered from alzheimer’s disease and we did not know when it started when he was still in office up to age 76 or after his tenure.
Second was Harrison at age 68 but he held the office only for a month. He died in office.
Anthony Scalia,
“Your examples on mining and whorehouse is all speculation. Napakasablay pa. Please give a concrete example.”
Kaya nga sinabi ko hypothetical ang examples. Anyway, I used absurd examples para makita mo kung gaano ka sablay yun mga naninindigan sa GNP/GDP as indicators of good economic health.
1. “How about a series of articles on the absence of a trickle-down effect in China, India, and Vietnam?”
No need, There is no noticeable trickle down effect in China. Vietnam, and India.
How can a trickle be noticeable? And why should people be satisfied with trickle?
2. “Are you sure that in your past write-ups, you never made a comparison of the Philippines with the so-called ASEAN tigers, based solely on GNP/GDP, and then conclude that the Philippines is a laggard?”
In my past write-ups, I don’t know if I’ve written comparing on anything comparing GDP/GNP of the Philippines to other countries unless it was to show that even in those measurements Gloria has nothing to brag about.
3. “So can i expect you and BusinessMirror not to extol economic wonders solely on GDP/GNP? And that from now on everytime I read BusinessMirror I wouldn’t read write-ups on comparisons between the Philippines and the economic wonders solely on GDP/GNP?”
As to my relationship with Business Mirror. I am not on their payroll. I write articles and they pay me per piece. I’ve never seen or been inside the Business Mirror office so no ome knows me there except the editor and her husband so I am not in a position to ask anyone to do anything.
4. “may i have a suggestion – why don’t you spread the word around the globe – that GDP/GNP figures shouldn’t be the bases for measuring growth? so you can help change the minds of foreign investors who still base their investment decisions on GDP/GNP, and thus invest in the Philippines?”
As to spreading the word about GDP/GNP around the globe, well the word is being spread already. That’s why you and I heard about it. I mean you didn’t hear from me first, did you?
5. ” But no increase in FDI will take place, because the 7.3 figure is highly disputed and hence undermined. The unsuspecting foreign investor who reads such write-ups will look elsewhere.”
I posted the observation of the European Chamber of Commerce in the previous post. You have also read what many foreign organizations have written about doing business in the Philippines. I doubt they based their findings from reading Philippine newspapers.
6. ” It is my favorite business paper.”
I too prefer the Business Mirror over the other business paper. It looks better, feels better and reads better.
From the Law and Order people:
Neri was not indicted yet for the NBN deal. His warrant of arrest is more of a bench warrant, a warrant to compel a person who refuses to attend a hearing or investigation . It was not issued by the court but rather by the legislature and therefore can not be served if he does not leave his house.
To get into the house, the servers of the warrant of arrest should have a search warrant issued by the court which they do not have. Until then, Neri can choose to stay home and wait for the action of writ of certiorari that he filed.
The Business Mirror paper : “…feels better “ for doing what?
Batang isip pala itong si Tandang JDV. Sabihin na kung ano ang gustong sabihin tungkol kay GMA. Paligoy-ligoy pa.
Tanong para sa mga nasa Pilipinas.
Naramdaman niyo ba ang 7.3% growth ng GDP?
UPn,
“The Business Mirror paper : “…feels better “ for doing what?”
Hold it in your hand, feel the paper, then look of you at your fingers. Are they smudged with ink?
Masyado ka naman literal.
Cat,
You live in America so I assume you have a closer view of their presidential candidates… I’m curious…is it just me or have you also noticed that insane look in McCain’s eyes…and his body language…para bang he can explode at any time and he’s struggling to keep from doing so…That’s the impression I get whenever I see him on tv…
@manuelbuencamino
business mirror
does this paper have economic indicators (like the likod of the economist)
lolo mccain has damaged shoulder blades, he can’t even raise both arms over his head..
tsaka, ikaw ba naman ang ilublob sa tangke ng ebs sa vietnam noon. siempre you will have that look. Chuck Norris was still not a delta force soldier so he could not save McCain.
‘McCain’s Temper May Become an Issue
By Scott Thomsen
Associated Press Writer
Sunday, Oct. 31, 1999; 6:38 p.m. EST
PHOENIX –– While rising in the GOP presidential polls, Sen. John McCain is facing questions about what some Arizona political leaders view as his quick temper – and whether it might hinder him as president.
In a front page article and separate editorial Sunday, The Arizona Republic said it wanted the nation to know about the “volcanic” temper McCain has unleashed on several top state officials.
Those who have been on the receiving end of a McCain uproar include Republican Gov. Jane Hull, former Republican Gov. Rose Mofford and former Democratic Mayor Paul Johnson of Phoenix…..’
‘After seven contests, Romney is down 83-59, with 1,191 delegates needed for the nomination and 1,023 at stake Tuesday.’
I hope the choice will not be between Clinton and McCain.
manuelbuencamino,
salamat naman at you admitted your examples are absurd. what a way to prove the limitations of reliance on GDP/GNP
your examples are not examples meant for a neutral discussion! you already have a preconceived idea. you’re just looking for confirmation of your belief.
“No need, There is no noticeable trickle down effect in China. Vietnam, and India.”
then maybe they should not be called economic wonders.
“How can a trickle be noticeable?”
slowly. in time. pennies add up
“And why should people be satisfied with trickle?”
because that is how gains are spread. little by little. pennies add up.
“In my past write-ups, I don’t know if I’ve written comparing on anything comparing GDP/GNP of the Philippines to other countries unless it was to show that even in those measurements Gloria has nothing to brag about.”
so you admit also being a fan of GDP/GNP figures, before? to borrow from your previous statement: “Kasi Anthony thinking people have begun asking what do we mean by growth? What is GDP/GNP really measuring?” maybe some thinking people were able to change your mind
“As to my relationship with Business Mirror. I am not on their payroll. I write articles and they pay me per piece.”
that makes you a part of their payroll!
“As to spreading the word about GDP/GNP around the globe, well the word is being spread already. That’s why you and I heard about it. I mean you didn’t hear from me first, did you?”
oh no, its not spreading fast. at least, not to those who matter, the foreign investors, the people who rely on GDP/GNP for investment decisions
“I posted the observation of the European Chamber of Commerce in the previous post. You have also read what many foreign organizations have written about doing business in the Philippines. I doubt they based their findings from reading Philippine newspapers”
sorry pero sablay na reply. you asked if the 7.3 is a cause for celebration. i replied no, because the minority who undermined its integrity got front page coverage, scaring off much needed FDI sources.
may i remind you, that ECCP report you cited came out before the 7.3 figure was announced
@supremo : “Naramdaman niyo ba ang 7.3% growth ng GDP?”
The people who will feel the GDP growth will be business-owners. As the FIES survey reported, household income grew across all of the 10 deciles between 2003 and 2006. Household income as reported by the poorest decile-1 grew by 18.5%. The rich reported worse — decile-10 reported that their income grew only by 14.9%, and the middle-class (I’ll use deciles 4 thru 8) reported that their income grew by (approximately) 16.0%. But none of these deciles kept pace with a 6.15% inflation. (6.15% translates to 19.61% over 3 years. Decile-1 18.5% is lower than 19.61%)
Now, GDP (about $110B) is much more than household income (about $60B). GDP includes government purchases for sand-and-gravel for highways and airports or made-in-RP rifles for the military; GDP includes purchase (by Filipinos) of new homes and business expenditures for new factories, new call-centers, new mines. [Note: Dec2004 is when the Phil Supreme Court handed down a ruling permitting foreign investments in the Philippine mining sector.]
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The business-owners felt the GDP-growth a whole more than the farmers and the suwelduhan.
type: I used deciles 4-thru-8 for “middle class”.