With only a total land area of 30 million hectares and a population of 92.3 million growing at an average rate of 2.12 percent, how should the Philippines allocate a very scarce and important resource—land—to meet the various needs of Filipinos? The Senate proposes a national land...

National Food Authority's (NFA) twin mandate of price stabilization and food security has cost the government billions of pesos in losses over the past few decades. As such, there is a need to reexamine the NFA to determine whether the benefits gained from its continued operation justifies the...

Government-ownedand- controlled corporations were initially created as solutions to market imperfections. It is ironic therefore, that in recent years, they have come to be seen as problems that need to be fixed. With the tight fiscal situation of the government, reforming the country’s...

The Philippine domestic economy shrunk to 3.7 percent in 2011, after a growth of 7.6 per cent in 2010. Outlook for 2012 is relatively sanguine with the government hinging its optimism on robust consumer demand and a more vigorous public spending. However, downside risks to growth persist with...

This Policy Brief discusses the proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 7653 (RA 7653). The first part briefly presents the mandate of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). It then describes the financial sector’s challenges that necessitate the amendment of the said law. The salient...

Water is arguably the most important natural resource and because it is scarce, its optimal usage and proper management must be ensured. Water governance in the Philippines, however, has become too complex with so many institutions involved, all with different hierarchical coverage, varied...

The continuous deterioration of the quality of education in the Philippines has prompted the DepEd to push for the implementation of the K to 12 program, which entails the institutionalization of kindergarten and the addition of two more years of high school in the basic education cycle. The...

The devolution of environment and natural resource functions to local government units was a bold move in the history of environmental Management in the Philippines. However, the implementation of these functions was considered partial, insignificant and with limited success due to issues on...