Category: Uncategorized
Counsels on converging existential threats
March 29, 2022by Orlando Oxales “Do your candidates think this way?” It has been two long years since the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the world in what many thought was an unstoppable development trajectory driven by speeding innovations in technology. One of the biggest realizations of this global crisis is the way health, the environment, and the economy […]
Fuel tax windfalls are insensitive
March 15, 2022Experts say that the unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia, one of the major producers of oil and source of raw material indispensable to many industries, will have serious repercussions to the global economy. Rising fuel prices will affect our daily transportation expenses and the cost of operations of all sectors, most sensitive of which is […]
Synergy for digital competitiveness
January 25, 2022We need the government and the private sector to have the synergy to pursue a well aligned digital transformation roadmap to foster our country’s readiness to compete and excel in the global digital economy.
Mineral resources for sustainable and inclusive prosperity
January 10, 2022by Orlando Oxales originally published in The Manila Standard “The mining sector can now start developing a critical mass of responsible operations.” Throughout history, thriving mining industries all over the world have been a critical contributor in generating revenues for the government. They support local industries, create quality employment, and build progressive communities in the most […]
Rogue moves against private schools again?
October 25, 2021by Orlando Oxales originally published in The Manila Standard “The President should immediately pass the law.” With all the raging controversies and multi-layered crisis of the pandemic plus heating political intramurals, it looks like another issue has emerged. There have been news reports that some regional offices of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) are still imposing […]
Pass Senate Bill 2272
August 26, 2021Pass Senate Bill 2272 As schools are poised to resume classes this September, Citizen Watch Philippines lauds the passing of House Bill 9913 in the third and final reading under the House of Representatives. We strongly support the call of the education sector and most especially the linked sectors of its ecosystem in this urgent […]
Education for the digital economy
August 16, 2021by Orlando Oxales originally published in The Manila Standard “In a digital economy, businesses will demand workers with new skill sets that our education system must produce.” Before the pandemic, education for Filipinos was the traditional brick and mortar, laddered progression of curriculum requisites before the student finally achieved those coveted academic degrees as proof of one’s […]
Digital readiness paradigm
July 26, 2021by Orlando Oxales originally pblished in The Manila Standard “The technology is there but we must have the openness to learn.” When we hear the word “digital,” we instinctively imagine the realm of hi-tech gadgetry, smart phones, high-speed internet, the cloud, apps, databases, and all the online content we habitually log on to for work and entertainment. […]
Repeal the Onerous Tax Provision on Private Schools
June 26, 2021The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) released last June 11 what many thought would be a rectification of BIR Revenue Regulation No. 5-2021 that imposes an onerous 150% percent increase in tax on private schools instead of the regular 10 percent. Instead, what was released was merely a clarification on corporate tax computation. Despite the […]
Faster Vaccination Rollout: Critical to Economic Recovery
June 20, 2021In a senate hearing conducted last June 15, Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez bared the government’s P88.6 billion budget allocation for its COVID-19 vaccine procurement. According him, that would be enough to purchase 148 million doses in order to fully inoculate 70 million Filipinos or 100 percent of the country’s adult population, the fourth quarter target […]