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Photo from news.mongabay.com A coalition in the Philippines is pushing for legislation of a “right of nature” bill, which would confer legal personhood on nature. The bill, should it pass into law, will create a paradigm shift in existing human-centered environmental laws and make individuals, governments and corporations more responsible and accountable when dealing with nature. The bill, currently in the drafting, adequately represents the connectedness between indigenous peoples and their ancestral domains, an indigenous women’s rights activist says. The bill is part of a growing movement around the world to recognize ecosystems and species as legal entities, as a way of boosting their protection amid intensifying threats. MANILA — Who speaks up in court for a dolphin or a turtle when its habitat gets polluted? Does an animal even have the right to legal redress in such a case? Those are the questions u...

In a statement, the BSP’s Department of Economic Research pegged August price growth at 1.3% to 2.1% August. If realized, both ends of the central bank’s forecast range would be lower than 2.4% rate recorded in July. ( The STAR/Michael Varcas, File photo) MANILA, Philippines — Inflation likely eased to as low as 1.3% in August on lower food and fuel prices and downward adjustment in power rates, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Friday. In a statement, the BSP’s Department of Economic Research pegged August price growth between 1.3% to 2.1%. If realized, both ends of the central bank’s forecast range would be lower than 2.4% rate recorded in July. “Lower domestic prices for gasoline, diesel and kerosene, the continued decline in rice prices as well as the downward adjustment in electricity rates dampened inflation pressures during the month,” the BSP said. “These could be partly offset by the recent depreciation of the peso and higher prices of selected fo...

Photo from Google Images The relative political calm in the months after the May, 2019, elections has come to an end: sentence reductions for convicted felons, the SOGIE bill, South China Sea tensions, Death Penalty’s revival, the Communist insurgency…the list goes on and on. I have my own take on each of these issues and I have been quite vocal on most of them through my Facebook page ThinkingPinoy. More than just promoting my own views through this column, however, I feel that it’s more important, at least for now, to help everyone get back on track by sharing with my readers the four principles I generally follow when I publicly speak my mind. Don’t get me wrong: I admit that I oftentimes fail to adhere to them, but I try to stick to them as best as I can. I think I am already done with the days when I approached issues with unbridled anger. After years of being in the public scene, I learned that moderation is key. I noticed, throughout the years, that my efforts y...

Photo from iloilotoday.com An herbal capsule made from Tawa-tawa has been approved as a supplement that helps alleviate symptoms of dengue virus. Daily Apple Tawa-tawa herbal capsules is produced by Herbanext Laboraties Inc. based in Bago City, Negros Occidental. It is now  registered  and approved by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a food supplement. The capsules, with FDA  Registration  Number FR-4000003953662, was made from “spray-dried extract” of Tawa-tawa (Euphorbia hirta), a small herb that is widely recognized in Philippine traditional medicine as a treatment for dengue and its related symptoms. Philip Cruz, founder and president of Herbanext, said that the use of Tawa-tawa is not a new discovery against dengue. “It has been in traditional use for more than a century, and the most popular herbal medicine being taken throughout the country, especially in the provinces,” he said in an interview over ANC. Taw...

Photo from Flyingketchup.com MORE GOOD NEWS FOR FILIPINOS. Economists are seeing that inflation rates will ease below the 2% target of the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) by Q3 of 2019. This current downtrend of inflation means that consumers are enjoying lower prices of basic necessities. It also makes it the perfect time to buy goods and services to help the economy. According to Standard Chartered Bank economist for Asia Chidu Narayanan, inflation is expected to further drop below 2% in August and September. This drop is expected after inflation eased to a 31-month low of 2.4% in July. “We expect inflation to drop below two percent in August-September, in line with our view from the beginning of the year, helping push average inflation in 2019 down to 2.7 percent. A combination of lower food prices, lower oil prices, and a high base effect will help contain inflation,” said Narayanan. HSBC economist Noelan Arbis echoed the sentiment. He said that inflation is ...

Photo from Dailypedia In the Philippines, whenever Filipinos earn enough money, one of their primary investments is buying a car to avoid the hassle of commuting. Metro Manila is as crammed as it can be as of the moment. Major buses and jeepneys rule the major highways, while tricycles dominate the inner roads. Despite the nation’s traffic dilemma, people still go out of their way to get that new car, a symbol of their improved status in life. This is the mindset of a vast majority of Filipinos: owning a car is what will alleviate them from the drudgery of public transport. Jeepneys and buses are for the poor, cars are for the rich. Cries of “I no longer want to commute!” can only be resolved by buying a brand new vehicle. This has to stop. For Department of Transportation (DoTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, public transportation is and should be an equalizer. Secretary Tugade envisions a public transport system availed of all socio-economic classes simply because ...

Overview of the artists’ rendition of SMC airport project in Bulacan. (Photo from Manila Bulletin) With no challengers to its proposal, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is now ready to start building its P734-billion international airport in Bulacan. The firm released Friday select design studies for its proposed New Manila International Airport (NMIA) which it is planning to build in Bulakan, Bulacan just north of Metro Manila. SMC said the new, world-class international gateway that it envisions will be the best in the region and will be at no cost to the government. The proposed gateway will have four runways, with enough space to expand to six and will be capable of handling up to 100 million passengers per year. It will be part of a larger infrastructure ecosystem that will connect seamlessly with existing expressways and mass rail transits that will connect it to both southern and northern Luzon. SMC said this project would be a long-term solution to the count...

DOH Sec. Francisco Duque (Photo from Google Images) It’s time for Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to go. He has become a continuing embarrassment for President Rodrigo Duterte. “Duque must also establish that he no longer has any investments in EMDC. If he remains an investor, then he still has a financial interest in EMDC. Although Malacañang says Duque still enjoys the trust and confidence of the President, public interest during these tempestuous times of dengue and Dengvaxia demands that the health secretary be free from the slightest insinuation of any anomaly, untrustworthiness and corruption. The nation’s public health care program will be stagnant if the credibility of the country’s symbol of public health care is under fire. As of this writing, Duque has to contend with many serious issues. First is the controversy involving the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), the government agency that processes the payment of medical insuran...