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Monday, September 08, 2008 |
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EDITORIAL
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Show us the money
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THE government plan to triple its foreign commercial borrowing next
year represents a sharp reversal from its current tack of trimming
its external liabilities in favor of domestic debt.
Last week, the Department of Finance said the
government would borrow $1.5 billion from abroad in the form of
sovereign bonds or IOUs. This is three times the $500 million
programmed for this year.
Besides the commercial component, the government
would also tap $1.1 billion in official development assistance (ODA)
or foreign donor aid, which is less stringent as the loans are
relatively longer-term and charge interest below commercial rates.
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O T H E R C O L U M N S A
N D F E A T U R E S
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BIG
DEAL
By Dan Mariano
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Reproductive health
bills’ fatal defect
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REPRODUCTIVE health (RH) is the latest euphemism for artificial
contraception. It is an issue that has drawn widespread
interest—and controversy. You would expect, say, our senators to
actively participate in the discussions on proposals to make
condoms, intrauterine devices, birth-control pills and similar
devices available to the citizenry as a matter of state policy.
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OPEN
NOTEBOOK
By Random Jottings
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A pitbull wearing lipstick at Intramuros
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EARLY lexicographers must have had the likes of Anna Maria
“Bambi” Harper in mind when they thought up the word
“redoubtable.” She is one formidable gal—but far too refined
and elegant to pick a fight with anyone.
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ENTHUSIASMS
& FOREBODINGS
By Rene Q. Bas
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Beware of BPA in
plastic baby bottles
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Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a chemical used in plastics and epoxy resins.
It is in baby bottles. I learned this and the following from the New
York Times.
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INSIDE
CONGRESS
By Efren L. Danao
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Senate faster on the
draw on Coop Code!
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The Senate approved on third and final reading last Monday the
consolidated bill amending the Cooperative Code. I am struck by the
fact that the approval not only modernized the 18-year-old law but
also marked the first time in four Congresses that the Senate had
acted faster than the House on this issue.
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BIZZ
FIZZ
By Rene Martel
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Age a handicap to food growth
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AS the government sets aside billions to rejuvenate food growth amid
soaring food prices and worsening hunger, a lawmaker believes the
government should also find ways to augment in a big way the
budgetary support for state-run agricultural college...
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DOUBLE
TAKE
By Eric F. Mallonga
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One people
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BANGSAMORO Juridical Entity is nothing more than the recognition and
concession of an independent Islamic state to the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) rebels by former military generals working
beyond the Constitutional framework.
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