The political dimension of charter change has dominated the national agenda. But the constant driving force behind all the attempts since the last decade to modify the Constitution has been the external pressure coming mainly from the WTO, the US, the EU and Japan to create the sort of policy environment that will allow globalization to fully thrive in the Philippines. (First of two parts)
One of Ibon’s proposals is a system of centralized procurement of imported crude oil and refined oil products, a necessary step to ensure the steady supply of reasonably priced petroleum in the country. By Arnold Padilla Ibon Features It has now become obvious that the Arroyo administration does not have a credible program to lessen…
Looking at Service Contract 38 and its implementation, government has practically become ‘powerless’ over Malampaya, and is therefore not in the position to ensure that Malampaya serves the national interest. By Arnold Padilla IBON FEATURES The US$4.5-billion Malampaya Deepwater Gas to Power Project in Palawan (an island some 590 kms from Manila) is supposed to…