EDSA People Power 1986: Fading Luster and Revisionist History

Twenty six years ago today, a failed military coup that morphed into a popular uprising finally ousted and forced the flight of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his close family members and associates to Hawaii after four days. Notwithstanding the presence of armed soldiers on both sides, the uprising was largely non-violent and introduced ‘people [...]

Time to dance the CHA-CHA!

Yesterday at the UP College of Law, former Supreme Court Chief Justice and now member of the UP Board of Regents Reynato Puno opined that now is the best time to amend the country’s constitution. Puno made the declaration after President Noynoy Aquino announced that Charter change (Cha-Cha) was not among his administration’s top priorities.  In a [...]

NBQ on Noynoy Aquino

Here’s the easiest no-brainer-question (NBQ) I have composed so far. Would his candidacy for the presidential post have been a viable one if Noynoy was not the son of his famous parents? Would he be topping the surveys since September last year? If his mother did not die in a very timely and opportune fashion [...]

Political institutions and tax policy-making in the Philippines

In this blog entry, we continue sharing parts of the draft book on political institutions and policy making in the country.  To sharpen the discussion, we focus our attention on tax policy-making with emphasis on tax measures adopted during the presidency of Fidel Ramos. I believe this discussion is timely given recent warnings that the [...]