: Super User; Philippines; 14 September 2011; Hits: 1247

Philippine education fails to pass muster

LAST week, when the London- based Quacquarelli Symonds organisation released its global rankings of higher educational institutions, none of the premier universities in the Philippines made it into the top 300.

: Super User; Philippines; 10 August 2011; Hits: 1152

Philippines should not just rely on call centre business

LAST month, as local players were trumpeting the achievement of the Philippines in displacing India as the call centre of the world, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) issued a warning. Developing countries, it said, should guard against too much dependence on non-equity modes (NEMs) of foreign direct investment.

: Super User; Philippines; 20 July 2011; Hits: 1161

Manila cranks up drive towards zero rice imports

ON JUNE 30, in a speech to mark his first year as the country’s most powerful man, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III repeated a promise that senior members of his administration had made several times since the new leader took office. By 2013, he said “we will no longer need to import rice”.

: Super User; Philippines; 13 April 2011; Hits: 1379

Philippines’ new PPP scheme must avoid past abuses

“THESE projects promise so much for our economy and to our people and they will play a vital role in our administration’s fulfilment of its social contract,” Philippine President Benigno Aquino III declared on March 7.

: Super User; Philippines; 02 March 2011; Hits: 1115

Can the Philippines forge lasting peace?

"ARE we up to this?", Philippine chief government negotiator Alexander Padilla asked as he emerged from the first round of peace talks with communist rebels late last month. It was a good question. Unfortunately, it had no easy answer.

Key Political Risks

President Benigno Aquino has stepped up efforts to lure foreign investors into the country, so far without much success. The country continues to be hobbled by widespread corruption and several long-running insurgencies.

However, the government has had some success in reducing the budget deficit. The president also remains popular with voters.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

Extent to which foreign and domestic investors show interest in big ticket infrastructure projects.
Increased spending on the air force and navy to counter Beijing's territorial claims in the disputed Spratly Islands. The issue could become an important point of contention at the East Asia forum in Indonesia in November.
The implementation of the "framework agreement" between Manila and the insurgent Moro Islamic Liberation Front announced in early October. If all goes well, a final peace deal may be signed by 2016.