News and Articles
Vaccine facts vs. spins
January 18, 2021We must be vigilant and demand transparency. Heartless instigators of acts that will only serve corrupt agendas will not be tolerated.
We need fast, safe, and full vaccine deployment!
January 14, 2021At this point, it is clear that the only permanent solution and path to full recovery is to achieve herd immunity through a fast, safe, and effective vaccination program.
Rationalize FIT-All
January 11, 2021by Orlando Oxales originally published in The Manila Standard “It is more aligned to the all-of-society spirit of bayanihan.” The Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) recent decision approving the petition of the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) for higher Feed-In-Tariff Allowance (FIT-ALL) rates this year is seen to again increase the electricity bills of consumers. FIT-All is one […]
New year, new cost
January 6, 2021Instead of preoccupying ourselves with resolutions for the new year embodying the classic “new year, new me” attitude, Filipino consumers might find themselves in a predicament, making patience and perseverance the most important resolutions for 2021. One of the main reasons for this dilemma is the imposition of higher Feed-In-Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) rates for […]
Invest in our digital potential
January 4, 2021by Orlando Oxales originally published in The Manila Standard “Government investments in strategic telecommunications infrastructure will promote an economic revival.” The safety restrictions on children and seniors in hotels, resorts and restaurants were a real holiday bummer. My family—and I am sure millions of families—had to adjust by doing online reunions. Thanks to technology, we managed to […]
A threat greater than COVID-19
December 28, 2020by Orlando Oxales originally published in The Manila Standard “Let’s do our part while we still can.” On top of the health and economic disaster of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 has become a year of natural calamities that hit all regions of the country. Published reports place estimates of some nine million of our population were […]
The importance of middle-power states
December 21, 2020by Orlando Oxales originally published in The Manila Standard “The government must take a pro-active posture in alliance with its formidable network of like-minded states.” China was again criticized by the US military last week for snubbing the senior-level meetings connected to the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement on maritime safety. This is yet another confrontational rhetoric between […]
Digitalization is indispensable to recovery
December 14, 2020by Orlando Oxales originally published in The Manila Standard Just four months after the eight-agency Joint Memorandum Circular cut bureaucratic red tape for telecommunications towers, the Anti-Red Tape Authority reported that 9,373 permits have been given to three telecommunications players. After being plagued with a long and expensive gauntlet of national and local government permits, it took […]
Economic recovery via a digitized landscape
December 12, 2020As COVID-19 continues, consumers and businesses have turned to the accelerated trend of digital transformation in financial services to ensure business continuity and meet their day-to-day financial needs. As such, there is an even greater need to build Philippine digital infrastructure. In a recent virtual town hall discussion of Stratbase ADR Institute entitled “Secure and Reliable Cloud Banking […]
Crises and corruption
December 7, 2020by Orlando Oxales published in The Manila Standard “We must demand transparency and accountability.” Before the weekend, news broke out that the country’s government debt has reached P10.03 trillion and based on data from the Department of Budget Management is anticipated to hit a mind-blowing P10.16 trillion before the new year. The Department of Finance assures […]