You can’t fight a pandemic without reliable power
Thinking Beyond Politics By Paco A. Pangalangan, originally published in BusinessWorld Reliable electricity is one aspect of our day-to-day that we often take for granted. And, until something happens to remind us just how necessary it is, we never seem to fully appreciate the fundamental role it plays in our daily lives. Usually, this reminder […]
Commentary: Creating a policy environment for innovation
A balanced approached and strict and consistent implementation of the rules are essential for the creation of an environment technology and innovation can flourish.
Commentary: Impact of Universal Health Care on most urgent concerns
Paco Pangalangan published in The Philippine Star Last week, Stratbase ADR Institute, in partnership with health advocacy groups Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations, Bantay Konsumer, Kalsada, Kuryente, Health Justice, and Citizen Watch Philippines, launched an initiative to raise awareness on the urgent need to implement the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act fully. This new initiative, […]
Commentary: From list to mechanism that supports Philippines’ economic recovery
by Paco Pangalangan originally published in Philstar.com The National Economic and Development Authority recently presented four priority areas that it wanted the private sector to have more investments to help in the country’s economic recovery. These four areas were: health, food resilience, education continuity and digital transformation. The reason these are priority areas is clear. Learning continuity […]
Commentary: The prerequisites for digital competitiveness
The Philippine’s digital competitiveness is key to the country’s economic recovery.
Commentary: A closer look at 2021 budget
The government’s rhetoric may paint the picture of a budget that shifts its focus to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, but numbers don’t lie, and a closer look at the 2021 GAA shows where the government’s priorities truly do.
Commentary: COVID-19 and climate change, the dual crises of 2020
by Paco Pangalangan There is no doubt that people will remember 2020 as the year the world was introduced to COVID-19, the virus behind the global pandemic that has led to over 1.8 million deaths, caused economies to crash, and opened doors to corruption around the world. In the Philippines, COVID-19 cases have been steadily rising […]
Remembering to recover better and with integrity
This week the United Nations (UN) observes two international days. The first is the International Anti-Corruption Day, observed on the 9th of December. Corruption, of course, affects all countries. It undermines democratic institutions and contributes to governmental instability by warping the rule of law, attacking election integrity, and creating bureaucratic loopholes that facilitate dishonest behavior by […]
Commentary: Rebooting economy through public-private partnerships
As the year creeps slowly towards its end, it is an excellent time to look back and take stock of the challenges we have faced and the lessons we can take away from them. This year, many of the biggest challenges faced by Filipinos were brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only a health crisis, […]
Commentary: COVID-19 is an opportunity for corruption, reform
by Paco Pangalangan (Philstar.com) Winston Churchill said an optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity. Ten months into this lockdown, with among the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the region, and little to show in terms of long-term strategies and plans to fight this virus, it’s hard […]