By Sonny Angara The information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry remains among the country’s most successful and productive sectors. Employing up to 1.2 million Filipinos, it continues to pump into the economy some very vital dollar earnings. In 2016, the industry earned nearly US$22.9 billion. This year, it already surpassed that performance with …
Better Days
Our slow justice system
By Sonny Angara For decades, many have decried how our justice system runs slowly and inefficiently. Despite our Constitution’s directive that every accused has the right, not only to a speedy trial, but also to the speedy judgment or disposition of their cases, sadly it’s already taken as a fact of life that the wheels …
Job promotions for our teachers
BETTER DAYS By Sonny Angara A 2011 study by Harvard and Columbia University economists found that a good teacher — measured by how well their students improved in terms of test scores — imparts lifelong benefits. Using data on 2.5 million individuals over 20 years in a large urban district in the United States, the …
An attitude of gratitude
By Sonny Angara The world’s major religions all extoll the virtues of gratitude. From Christianity to Islam, Buddhism to Hinduism — some reference is always made to the importance of gratefulness to achieving a good life. Even science has shown that adopting an “attitude of gratitude” yields immense benefits — including better mental health outcomes …
Demography is not destiny
By Sonny Angara Recently, London-based research firm Capital Economics said they expect the Philippines to become the world’s 18th largest economy by 2037 — up from 25th in terms of nominal GDP today. In 2012, HSBC projected that by 2050, ours would be 16th in the world. Both painted glowing pictures of our economic future, …
VAT-free medicines
By Sonny Angara Just before the year ended, the Department of Finance (DOF), the Department of Health (DOH), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a joint administrative order that basically allowed many Filipinos to greet the new year on a more positive note. Said order — with …
Counterbalancing disinformation
By Sonny Angara Over the past few decades, we have seen an exponential growth in the use of technology and along with it, the amount of information that is being made available at the fingertips of people. A while back, the amount of content an individual can consume was dependent on his or her capability …
When we fail to practice what we preach
By Sonny Angara The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) held in January the country’s first National Galunggong Summit. This was in the wake of last year’s controversies about dwindling stocks of round scad or galunggong and the government’s subsequent moves to allow importation to stabilize prices. The aim was to rally stakeholders around …
Preventing measles outbreaks
By Sonny Angara The Department of Health (DOH) declared measles outbreaks in various regions of the country, namely Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, and Eastern Visayas. In fact, more than 5,600 people have been infected since the beginning of this year. And sadly, around 70 — a third of whom were unvaccinated children …
Giving care and hope to people with cancer
By Sonny Angara Cancer continues to be among the leading causes of death in the Philippines. Based on preliminary data provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority, cancer was the third leading cause of death among Filipinos from January to May of 2022 — representing a 9.8 percent share just behind ischaemic heart diseases (18.6 percent) …