Let's End Poverty & Global Warming for Good 'Sideline' Income!

     What should be the happy results  of a fully operational, Party-free I-Congress directly managing the Philippine economy?     a) Government will exercise prudent monetary management despite changes in regimes' personnel.  Most Filipino politicians had over decades considered government as a 'service' that requires no balancing of income and expenses nor saving for future wars, economic crises, emergencies, and property expansions to raise international credit worthiness.  Needs were met by tax impositions and loans, all payable by the people, affordable or not.  These days, the mantra is still 'spend-spend-spend', with hardly any equivalent and proportional program on how to 'earn-earn-earn' thru world-scale national productivity and marketing prowess.        The new I-Congress on the contrary  should be corporate-minded.  Composed largely of top corporate talents who by habit know that spending bey...

    The list of corruption cases large and small as reported by Philippine media goes on and on from 1950s to present.  Unfortunately, what cases 'graduated' to the courts form a tiny part of the real scale of the poverty-creating culture.  For a quick estimate of the most recent (early 2000s) scale of Philippine corruption, consider 40-50% of P3+ trillion in yearly State budgets going to the pockets of a few politicians and their 'facilitator squads', with 'loose change' going to some payment-processing bureaucrats.  What drives such unspeakable and unending corruption?  Here are the major systemic causes (author's conclusions based on historical studies):     a) Too few contract planners and approvers.   Incumbent political parties appoint a few directors and executives in State agencies and corporations.  All are expected to contribute to the next election campaign kitty thru contractors' commissions.  Philippine elections cost...

    During the Philippines' early independence years (1946-50s) 'facilitation fees' going to 'arrangers' of State contracts and purchases came up to 10% of contract amount.  From 1960s to 70s, the rate rose to 20%, and further went up to 40% in 1980s.  By 1990s to early 2000s, 'facilitation' rates had apparently gone up to scam-level 50 to 100%.  Thankfully, only one large-scale 100% scam had been popularly known: P900 million in State shares of natural gas production going to various politicians purportedly for poverty alleviation and disaster mitigation projects.  30% went to the arranger group, 70% to involved politicians, and zero to the supposed post-typhoon reconstruction projects.  The principal arranger had since been jailed but the stolen money has not been fully recovered except for a few mansions identified as her properties.  Some politicians had been confined but scores of other 'project' beneficiaries (Senators and Congressmen) have...

    Millions of companies in the Americas, Europe, and Asia rely on coal-fed power plants to run their factory machinery.  Coal is considered the 'dirtiest' fuel for power plants, creating noxious smoke and exuding thousands of tons of CO2 per plant each year.  Happily as fortune may have decreed, current 'non-industrial' Philippines has potential clean energy alternatives: hundreds of potential sites for mini hydropower and geothermal plants.  As described in previous posts, 1st World CSR companies aided by Climate Change Funds, World Aid and Development Banks may develop said clean energy potentials to the fullest thru build-operate-transfer contracts, mega co-ops as final transferee-owners.  The aiding Funds and CSR companies may earn enormous profits and interest income out of the 10 to 15-year BOT exercises, while the Philippines gains perpetual power sources at trillion-watt level combined, priced at low rates due to 'free' water and steam used by the...

    The sole Philippine ground-level State-run railway company and a State-managed elevated light railway company have been notorious for unbelievable inefficiency and corruption.  One recent poverty-maintaining scandal: Rehabilitation of a non-operational hundred-kilometer or so Spanish-era (1890s) ground-level railway line consumed billions of pesos in initial construction costs, advances to suppliers, and transfer payouts to squatters.  The money used came from Chinese loans payable by local people's taxes. As with all other major State contracts, million-peso payouts to local politician signatories and their 'facilitators' have been considered by media and knowledgeable people as a 'given'.  More bureaucratic cuts were 'most certainly' made (say critics) out of massive payments to relocated squatters and lot title claimants to old railway lands.  What were actually built however were just a few pylons for a planned elevated railway line of the Spanish-...

    One reason why electric bikes and tri-wheelers don't currently sell well in the Philippines is because of their inability to access the chaotic urban main roads where four-wheelers crawl by and often get gridlocked within street crossings.  Negotiating such urban chaos can be downright deadly if bikes and trikes are used, for battles for 'place' endlessly occur among four-wheel drivers trying to reduce travel time along main streets and avenues.  Riders of the 'slow and tiny' 2-3 wheelers are also forbidden by law to access main roads because of the obvious hazards posed by such adventures.     The logical solution for urban Philippines?  Build elevated streets above main avenues and appropriate side streets that are dedicated to pedestrians, bi-wheelers and tri-wheelers.  The 2nd level street networks should lead to business centers and commercial or residential areas initially within all 16 cities of the overpopulated Philippine national c...

    The Philippines has 4.2 billion metric tons of copper reserves.  Mined and processed, the copper ores may be converted into copper wire of various sizes which may become the major parts of electric motors of all sizes and capacities.  Copper wire and parts likewise form major parts of power generators, transformers, power distribution equipment, electric and electronic gadgets, computers, battery chargers, etc.  All such products may be made thru use of electric furnaces to melt copper concentrates, refine them thru electrolysis equipment, and draw out the resultant ingots into copper wire, or form the ingots (using molds and machine tools) into copper parts for various products. Alloyed with tin or zinc and other metals, copper forms various types of bronze or brass ingots which are raw material bases for thousands of product types.     Development of Philippine hydroelectric and geothermal power resources as described in the previous topics wi...