PH February 2025 News: Investments and production both down. Food security at risk? Undocumented Filipinos in US fear Immigration Crackdown. USAID Freeze Affects Many PH Projects.

Should PH Chart its own course reducing AID dependence? Virology Institute Approved. DOGE Philippines? Election season politics start with Duterte calling for killing of (competing) sitting senators.

Foreign investment is down in the Philippines. It might be time for the Philippines to work on making its business and investment environment more investor friendly. For a start, there needs to be a thorough review of the bureaucracy that entangles business transactions, and the layers and layers of permitting and requirements from multiple agencies. This slowdown doesn’t just reflect Philippines local environment, it also reflects global trending and challenges in every nation.

It is not just international investment that is down, local agricultural production is also falling. Agricultural output is falling with the rate of decline the steepest since 2000 when time series data collection began. This raises concerns for stability of food supply in Philippines. Philippines is an agricultural nation, with a lush tropical climate and rich soils. It should be able to feed itself and others. The fact that it can’t is massively concerning.

Pork production is also down with discussion including concerns with increases in ASF incidence. The author questions the use of ASF Vaccine for Pigs and whether it is helping or harming.

The Philippines is also not self-sufficient in rice production, the nations’ staple carb.

US Undocumented Migrant Crackdowns

Undocumented Filipinos are upset and scared over risks of being deported from the US.

Undocumented immigrants are asking for compassion, emphasizing that they are law abiding essential workers. In actuality, they are not law abiding if they are in the US illegally and without documentation; even though being undocumented is a civil rather than a criminal violation. Their employers also commit violations by hiring them.

I have empathy for their situation, but not sympathy. The Philippines does not tolerate undocumented aliens in the Philippines. While it is easy (and fun) to visit the Philippines as a short-term tourist, it is much harder for foreigners to stay in the Philippines for longer term and on other visa types. Foreigners in the Philippines must meet certain requirements, and pay for visas, travel charges, and documentation and are required to make an Annual Report to the Bureau of Immigration (BI). If they want to work in the Philippines, only allowed in certain circumstances and industries, there are additional costs and permits required from Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and BI. If caught with expired or inadequate documents foreigners get told to leave quick smart, often after having to pay very large fines. They can face deportation or imprisonment.

Tit for tat! Why should the US be expected to allow undocumented aliens on her shore? The Philippines Ambassador has been advising undocumented Filipinos to leave the US of their own accord and to pursue all possible pathways to legalize their presence in the US since last year.

Government allocated P3 Billion for cancer care

This is much needed considering that there is an uptick in cancer deaths PH, with % contribution to deaths from cancer rising considerably in the preliminary 2024 data release from PSA.

Virology Institute for the PH?

The Senate has approved creation of a virology institute in Pampanga. Whether or not this institute eventuates with the changes in US funding and the suspension of USAID and other programs remains to be seen.

There are mixed messages regarding the impacts of the USAID operation freeze. On one hand NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) claims that projects will not be significantly affected, on the other hand they describe projects that are affected and discuss seeking other development partners to provide assistance.

DEPED has lost PHP4 Billion of USAID project funding. Deped is also looking to engage with new partners (other sources of aid).

DepEd has an internal budget of PHP793.8 billion for 2025. Using a back of envelope rough estimate using birth rates from 2007-2020 there are some 24 million kids aged 5 to 18 in PH. If 90% (21.7 million) are in school (probably overestimate) that allocates P36,580/child/year, not counting grants, donations, other funded programs from WHO, Unesco, etc. That allocation goes up if there are fewer children as the divisor.

P36,580 per child is not that large once all the requirements of school are considered. If a good portion is siphoned off by various layers of bureaucracy, that doesn’t leave much for learners and teachers and resources. Parents paying fees in "good schools" can end up paying magnitudes more than that each year.

Filipino students in general are not faring well ranking 77th out of 81 countries in the 2022 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). PISA "evaluates 15-year-old students' performance in reading, mathematics, and science. It was near the bottom with particularly low scores in all three areas compared to the OECD averages." There is certainly a need to upgrade education quality and outcomes in the Philippines.

Handouts rather than self-sufficiency for PH?

The Philippines is not a poor country. It is abundant in natural resources and people. Perhaps one of the problems with the Philippines is its dependence on aid and investment.

Doesn’t aid builds a handout, dependency, helpless wait for bailout, profit from 'aid' / get our cut mentality, which is perhaps even more harmful than the indoctrination and infiltration and narrative pushing.

Perhaps it is time for the Philippines to grow up, to make its own decisions, to take charge of its own finances. During Covid-19, decisions regarding covid-19 vaccination approvals were subjugated to “mature regulatory agencies”. Those agencies were wrong. Filipinos have paid dearly. Philippines should and can be mature enough to evaluate facts and to make its own decisions.

USAID is US Agency for International Development. Its goals are not all humanitarian. They include influencing the countries they provide assistance to. Perhaps it is time for the Philippines to chart its own course.

Breaking news is that USAID was responsible for the Coronavirus Pandemic Scam.

Government right sizing is needed. DOGE Philippines? That will need a strong leader to step up given how much pork is available to government officials at all levels.

The vested interests are convoluted, and the Philippines has entered election season.

Election season in the Philippines and nothing is new! Duterte is calling for killing of his party’s opponents. Hopefully no-one takes him seriously.

While Bato suggested these comments were just a joke, that can hardly be true given Duterte’s history and the ongoing ICC investigation into extrajudicial killings under his watch.

Onwards and upwards. Wishing all readers a success second half of February 2025. The news cycles are now moving so fast and with so much happening that it is hard to keep up.