The Importance Of Accurate Data

Despite claims that the Philippine economy is improving, credible allegations saying the opposite abound. An example, is Former Economic Planning Secretary and UP professor Cielito Habito’s pronouncement that more people are actually getting hungry.

In today’s newspaper, a government consultant mentioned that the administration is dependent upon secondary data in figuring out the true state of the economy. If that is the case, it is possible that the country’s GNP/GDP shows an increase, simply because more transactions are now being reported by the banks.

"Francois Renard, an EU expert in trade statistics gathering, told the BusinessMirror that his observations show the Philippines is having an “undercoverage” of transactions and contributions of the different key service industries.

“What you have now is just a rough estimation,” Renard said at the sidelines of the EU-funded training on Manual Statistics of International Trade in Services in Makati."

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US PRESIDENTIAL CONVOYS

A columnist for a Philippine newspaper talks about the costs and massive preparations required by the US Secret Service whenever President Bush and other (US Presidents) travel outside of Washington DC. I remember watching a CNN report that showed how big a US presidential convoy is, compared to the two vehicle transport being used by Prime Minister Tony Blair of the UK.

Land Reform: Land of Bondage Land of the Free

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T he DOHA round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations intends to promote the opening of markets and promoting free trade. This April, the latest meeting failed to reach a conclusion. Director-General Pascal Lamy of the World Trade Organization delivered a speech before the US Chamber of Commerce on April 23, 2007. Here are excerpts from his speech. "T oday we know that the Doha Development Round will not be concluded until and unless all these participants are ready to walk the extra mile and table additional contributions to the collective success of this multilateral enterprise. It is clear that the contributions will be linked to the degree of development and wealth of each participant, with the world poorest countries making the smallest contribution. It is also clear that no one will be asked to move first: countries will have to move in concert, like a big orchestra playing to the same tune. For the moment, a group of major actors — the EU, US, Brazil, India — d

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