Honeyman: K to 12: The Hidden Agenda
IN MAY 2011, Senator Antonio F Trillanes IV put forward a Resolution ‘Directing the Senate Committee on Education to conduct an inquiry into the feasibility, viability, practicality and the acceptability of justifications advanced by the Department of Education in implementing K to 12.’
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Honeyman: Nolo Contendere Corona
THE president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma has, in the context of the CJ Corona impeachment trial, asked the nation to: do whatever is legally and morally possible that truth and justice will be attained I suppose this means that he...
Honeyman: Not untouchable Corona must go
AFTER week two of CJ Corona’s impeachment trial, we have heard much. Have we heard enough to say that Corona should go? Yes, say the ‘Negrenses for Corona Removal (N4CR).’ We agree. Even with the best possible defense, there is nothing that Corona can say now that will establish himself as the...
Honeyman: Kung hei fat choi!
TODAY is the beginning of the Year of the Dragon. We wish all readers a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year.
Education
Mayor Leonardia pays tribute to the positive influence of the Chinese and Chinese-Filipino community on the local culture and attitudes, especially in...
Honeyman: Impeachment
TODAY, the Senate begins hearing evidence relating to the impeachment of Chief Justice Corona. There are pitfalls for the prosecution. The most obvious is that Tupas et al must avoid the "Starr Syndrome" named after Kenneth Starr who unsuccessfully prosecuted US President Bill Clinton at the...
Honeyman: The community and the judicial branch
Impeachment
NEXT week sees the commencement of the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. Representative Niel Tupas Jr. and his colleagues will attempt to convince the Senate as to the validity of their impeachment complaint and Corona’s camp will similarly...
Honeyman: People Power and Impeachment
UPHOLD the Constitution
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) has written again. It has moved from its ‘No to Impeachment’ stance and is now saying ‘Uphold the Constitution, Protect Judicial Independence.’ We agree. The House of Representatives has, however, meticulously...
Honeyman: Yes to impeachment
IN MAY 1787, the American Founding Fathers held a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Their aim was to develop a system of government, which ensured that no one part would be able to dominate the other parts. The framers of the Constitution divided the government into three separate...
Honeyman: Public Opinion, Public Interest, Public Trust
THE Justice System
Speaking at an Integrity Initiatives Workshop held by Transparency International–Philippines recently, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales invited delegates to look at the current issues in terms of the justice system as a whole.
She sees the justice system...
Honeyman: ‘It’s a racket’
BACKGROUND
In 2009, Sun Life Financial carried out an extensive survey to examine what financial provisions we make for our retirement. Not many, was the resounding conclusion. CEO Riza Mantaring said at the time that this shows that Filipinos are financially irresponsible.
...
Honeyman: The good, the bad, and the ugly (Transparency, Tax, Pilferage)
TRANSPARENCY
PNoy, unlike his predecessor, is concerned about how his presidency will be judged by posterity.
He asks us to look at the state of the nation at the end of his term and to compare this with the state on his first day in office. Or as he puts it,
‘At the...
Honeyman: Renewable Energy Incentivization
BIOENERGY
Within the Visayas area, the current low sugar prices are clearly not good for the planters.
However, the demand for molasses for the bioenergy sector, which converts molasses to ethanol, is robust. According to Lito Ballesteros who kindly provided me with the data...
Honeyman: Economic aspects of current issues
SUGAR
Last week’s prices were low, only P1,155 per bag. This is approximately the same as the world market price (US$0.24 per lb = P1,135 approx per bag). The market is predictably soft due to the large overhang from the 2010-2011 crop year. We should monitor the amount of sugar...
Honeyman: Globalization
WE WERE all distressed when, a few weeks ago, Governor Marañon was marooned at Perth Airport. He was a victim of QANTAS’s (aka Queers And Nymphomaniacs Trained As Stewards) grounding of its fleet. International surveys do not confirm Perth as the worst airport in the world but even its...
Honeyman: CONSUMERISM
‘THE state shall protect consumers from trade malpractices and from substandard or hazardous products’ Sec 9 Art XVI 1987 Constitution.
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In June, Executive Order No.45 designated the Department of Justice as the home of the Competition Authority. Its role is to ensure that...
Honeyman: Greed is bad
BUREAU of Customs incoming commissioner Biazon has an impossible job. He has inherited an anarchic bureau. On his first day in post, he requested some important documents. 'Ask the janitor' was the reported pert response from a minion. If true, then the underling should be fired.
The...
Honeyman: Renewable Energy
LAST week’s visit to Negros Occidental by 18 German and Swiss delegates from the Thomas Lloyd Investments Group is very much welcomed.
Honeyman: The Supreme Court
WHEN speaking to an audience, it is natural to try and say things that resonate with that audience. The problem nowadays is that whilst we may prepare a talk for our friends, for our colleagues or for a professional grouping, the content of that talk may gain a wider audience. For example, US...
Honeyman: Sex Tourism II
RECENTLY, US Ambassador Harry Thomas ruffled many feathers by reportedly asserting, at a meeting with senior government officials, that 40 percent of foreign men who visit the Philippines are here as sex tourists. We understand that Thomas may have said ‘up to 40%...’ but the import of his...
Honeyman: Primo
PRIMO Esleyer died last Wednesday afternoon. He was 79. When I arrived in Bacolod in 1996, I became a regular purchaser of local newspapers. Fairly soon, I recognized that the most informative and erudite arena was Primo’s Feedback column. I could not, and still cannot,...
Honeyman: Tourism
LAST year, more than one billion people sallied forth beyond their homelands to visit other countries. Unfortunately, over 99.6% of them did not come to the Philippines.
Nevertheless, in 2010, we attracted 3.5 million visitors who spent $2.49 billion. Given that the world-wide market size...
Honeyman: Sugar
THE Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA) stated with spurious accuracy and authoritativeness that domestic consumption of sugar during the 2010-
Honeyman: SRA
SRA predicts that our sugar production for 2011-12 will be 2.4 million tonnes. It has allocated 72% for B (domestic market) sugar. Once again, SRA fails to explicitly recognize the existence of smuggling and the highly deleterious impact that it has on our industry.
Honeyman: Smuggling
PNOY has amazingly poor people skills. That is the only clear message obtained from the probable departure of Bureau of Customs (BOC) Secretary Alvarez. One of the worst things a boss can do is to tell the world that one of his immediate subordinates is going to be fired…but when?
The...
Honeyman: How can America revive its economy?
THE PROBLEM
For the past 125 years the US has been the major economic power, generating approximately 25% of the world’s GDP. In the past year or so, there has been a reduction in America’s economic dominance.
