Opinion 11/21/15 (economic growth, gambling, elections, politics, Cebu, Manila, sustainability)

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Inquirer on Asia-Pacific economic growth
After a successful summit in Manila, leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) headed home with the region facing prospects of slowing economic growth.[...] Alan Bollard, executive director of the Apec Secretariat, observed that economies across the Asia-Pacific continued to grow but now found themselves in a “holding pattern of lower growth in the absence of high trade volumes.” [...] The blame goes to the declining contribution of trade to the region’s economic growth—quite ironic because the Apec was formed with the vision to make a free-trade area of the Asia-Pacific. [full page]

Sun.Star Cebu about gambling
One of the spins used by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to soften the opposition by some sectors to the introduction of the three-number combination lottery “Swertres” years ago was that it would kill the illegal numbers game called by Cebuanos as masiao. Years after Swertres has been in operation, it looks like the illegal numbers game masiao is still alive and well. [full page]

Manila Bulletin on presidential election politics
Vying with the APEC Leaders’ Summit for the headlines last Wednesday was the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) decision to reject the disqualification case filed against Sen Grace Poe. [...] There are truly many more rounds ahead in this political battle and we hope that we will not let it unduly divide us. We must be able to find a solution that is just and, at the same time, maintains the legal and constitutional framework of our republic. [full page] 

 Philippine Star about livability in Cebu and Manila
As the government rounded up street dwellers and imposed lockdowns to insulate leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum from urban blight in Metro Manila, a study ranked the summit host a dismal 22nd among 28 APEC cities in terms of livability. [...] The study released by PricewaterhouseCoopers in conjunction with the APEC 2015 CEO Summit also ranked Cebu 26th. Both Metro Manila and Cebu received their lowest ratings in health and welfare, placing 27th and 26th, respectively. Low marks were also given for the two mega-cities’ connectivity, which includes the quality of mass transportation. [full page]

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