“Boy, was that a wake up call.” Teddy Monroy, country representative for United Nations Industrial Development Organization, said this during the Inquirer Project Rebound’s webinar on ensuring the resiliency and sustainability of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with their recovery. This was in reference to the COVID-19 crisis, which truly exposed how MSMEs, despite…
A cashless society is one where cash is not the primary mode for financial transactions. Instead, transactions are settled electronically using credit or debit cards, mobile or online payment apps and even QR codes. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) considers cashless payments not only as an alternative to banking transactions, but also as a…
Three years ago, no country, government or central bank could have predicted the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our way of life and livelihoods. Its impact was keenly felt by everyone, particularly the vulnerable sectors of society. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has also become a catalyst in bridging the divide between the unbanked…
One of the sectors greatly affected and influenced by the global COVID-19 crisis is without a doubt the financial industry. From the way we do transactions—shifting to virtual or digital processes and management because of the need to isolate and socially distance ourselves—down to the increased interest in digital assets like crypto, the pandemic has,…
Now that COVID-19 is nearly behind us, it is time to talk about recovery. How do we enable micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to recover? At the height of discussions and subsequent legislative work on stimulus plans, a lot of tribute was paid to MSMEs as the engine of employment, but the legislative and…
Though she hasn’t erupted in 70 years, Mt. Hibok-Hibok in Camiguin has been especially quiet lately. From March 2020 to November 2021, the Timpoong Hibok-Hibok Natural Monument hosted exactly zero visitors. “Mt. Hibok-Hibok was once a popular hiking destination, especially after Pinoy Mountaineer featured it in 2007. Climbers came daily because our volcano offers elements…
Tourism has yet to recover in Asia and the Pacific, but a few green shoots can help us understand how best to heal the sector. Even where the situation is improving, a slow recovery in tourism may have long-term impacts, including through business closures and delayed investment in physical infrastructure, such as hotels, restaurants, and…
As the two-year pandemic has forced everyone to isolate themselves in their own homes, the country’s biggest contributors to the economy have taken a massive hit. Losses, layoffs and closures were among the many devastating effects, but as the Philippines and the world begin to open up and ease border restrictions, the economy has also…
Sustaining an enterprise in today’s volatile and unpredictable environment is not an easy feat. In the past, businesses tended just to focus on ensuring economic sustainability. With today’s more demanding stakeholders however, business owners and managers have to balance revenue growth along with environmental issues and social responsibility, among other sustainability concerns. We asked Mr…
Medical experts led by researchers from the University of the Philippines-College of Public Health (UP-CPH), the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Tropical Medicine and Public Health Regional Centre for Public Health, Hospital Administration, Environmental and Occupational Health, called for a review of the 10-year-old pneumonia vaccine strategy in order to protect children against one of…