The Department of Tourism (DOT) is warning the public of fraudulent tour operators that claim to offer cheap tour packages, in an attempt to take advantage of the upcoming summer season. Undersecretary for Tourism and Regulation and Resource Generation Alma Jimenez stressed the importance of only using DOT-accredited establishments and facilities to avoid being victimized …
OPINION
The need to block out nonsense (particularly at the gym)
Last week, walking towards the gym, realized was without a mobile phone. Unlike other clientele, at the gym, the phone is not used for selfies to post on social media or phone calls while leisurely strolling on the treadmill, the primary purpose the phone is for time and music; measuring how long a certain piece …
Coca-Cola ban in Negros is a mockery of laissez-faire
“Free-market capitalism is a network of free and voluntary exchanges in which producers work, produce, and exchange their products for the products of others through prices voluntarily arrived at.” –Murray N. Rothbard Government, back off! If it is better for business, then, by extension, it is better for society as a whole. Under the principle …
The sugar industry and the government’s preference for socialism
In recent days, the province witnessed the local sugar industry, along with local leaders, take a stand against Coca-Cola over their use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Labor groups and their allies rallied outside the bottling plant of the beverage maker and burned an effigy in the image of Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel …
Chinua Achebe and our own ‘Digong’
“Remember that politics, colonialism, imperialism, and war also originate in the human brain.” –Vilayanur S. Ramachandran “You crazies and sons of a whore leave us alone. Don’t impose your culture on us.” That was President Rodrigo ‘Digong’ Duterte’s curt message to the European Union and the United Nations, which is also an attack on lingering …
Culinary Tourism, another promotional thrust
In my recent travels across northern Mindanao, from Cagayan de Oro City to the western stretch of Misamis Occidental, near Zamboanga del Norte in Sapang Dalaga, I had the opportunity to try food specialties of the province, including suman that came in a variety of flavors. On the second night in Cagayan de Oro City, …
Witnessing the church transition from a place of worship to a political venue (Part 2)
According to a report by Human Rights Watch last year, they looked at the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III, Duterte’s predecessor, and his record with extrajudicial killings. “Since his election, President Aquino held out the promise of a rights-respecting Philippines for which he has sadly been unable to deliver,” said Human Rights Watch …
Iloilo businesses can’t fire workers yet
“Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately, you occasionally find men who disgrace labor.” –Ulysses S. Grant Under the law, Iloilo businesses are not supposed to lay off workers in order to cushion the impact of wage increases, which took effect on March 16. Iloilo Business Club (IBC) Executive Director Lea Lara reportedly considered the P15 to …
Google it, Kapitan
“Social media is not about the exploitation of technology but service to community.” –Simon Mainwaring The leaders of the smallest political unit in the Philippines are in the news lately, following the proposal to have President Rodrigo Duterte appoint all 340,000 of them instead of being elected – that includes barangay captains, kagawads, and council …
Schools must focus teaching good values
When parents read the books of their children in primary school, they are often surprised by the content, which had been endorsed by the Department of Education. Mothers have commented they could not assist their kids because they found their lessons a bit difficult. A father, who works as a corporate executive, found the learning …