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Author: Anna Marie A. Karaos

Tapping our experience in bottom-up development

Development organizations and practitioners have long acknowledged the benefits of inclusive and participatory processes in the planning and execution of development projects. including those funded by the government. The Philippines has a well-established and long-running program under the DSWD that embodies the principles of bottom-up development through an approach called…

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What to expect of new Human Settlements dep’t

On Feb. 14, 2019, President Duterte signed into law Republic Act No. 11201 creating the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development. The new law did not create much buzz, as it did not substantially alter the powers, policies and programs of the government agencies charged with responding to the…

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Trivializing greatness and shame

A statement that appeared in an article in The Economist concerning the government’s decision to allow the burial of former president Ferdinand Marcos’ remains in the Libingan ng mga Bayani says it well: “… [A]s one strongman buries another, the Philippines appears to be moving backward, not forward.” It won’t…

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Neither sense nor sensibility

The Supreme Court’s decision to grant bail to Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who is accused of a nonbailable crime, on humanitarian considerations, has brought attention to the disagreement between two of the Court’s justices. Disagreement can be a good thing. Far from eroding my respect for the Supreme Court, Justice Marvic…

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‘Yolanda’ and the Berlin Wall

In remembering the horror and devastation of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” on its first anniversary on Nov. 8, I was dismayed at the rather defeatist and cynical atmosphere that pervaded the media coverage of that commemoration. I was disappointed that news reports chose to dwell on the perceived animosities between politicians instead…

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