Administration propaganda one-sidedly presents growth, peso appreciation, lower public deficits and foreign investments as if these were development ends in themselves. But the deteriorating social conditions of joblessness, hunger and poverty are the sharpest rebuttal of any government economic hype.
(First of two parts) Deployment of overseas Filipino workers abroad, even in danger zones, has been the response of the government to the ballooning unemployment rate and worsening poverty situation.…
Davao City prides itself with, among other things, perhaps being the only city in the Philippines that successfully implements a ban on firecrackers and pyrotechnics during the Christmas and the New Year. Although many think of this policy as “KJ” (kill joy), many support it because it reduces the number of firecracker-related injuries and accidents.
It has been the experience of Davaoenos that during the New Year, except for a few bangs here and there, their city is probably the quietest in the world. Today is going to be no different as Mayor Rodrigo Duterte vows to continue implementing the ban.
These children roaming the streets of Davao City are a common sight during the holidays, asking strangers for money or Christmas presents. While officials say Davao’s economy has improved over the years, poverty is still common in the city, with thousands of residents — like these children — living in the slums, hardly getting by.
(davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)
A call-center company based in Davao says it plans to tap the call-center and business-outsourcing potentials of provinces in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Germelina A. Lacorte reports.