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The Business of Governance
Classical music and budgeting: Is there hope? - Leonor Magtolis Briones
I often get feedback from readers of my columns. Since the columns are circulated by various e-mail groups and websites, I receive responses from a wide range of readers - students and alumni, overseas Filipinos, civil society organizations, church people and people I don’t know personally.
Leonor Magtolis Briones/abs-cbnNEWS.com 11/03/2008 1:13 AM
Is government finance still in the Stone Age? - Leonor Magtolis Briones
The more facts are uncovered by enterprising media and the senators, the more we realize that government financial practices are stuck in the Stone Age when money and had to be transported physically.
LEONOR MAGTOLIS BRIONES/abs-cbnNEWS.com 10/27/2008 1:29 AM
Does Congress need a brand-new building? -- Leonor Magtolis Briones
Insiders say that while it is true that additional space might be needed, the costing must be carefully reviewed and the sharp escalation in price reexamined. I wonder what the public will say.
LEONOR MAGTOLIS BRIONES/abs-cbnNEWS.com 10/20/2008 1:00 AM
In Rizal's footsteps -- Leonor Magtolis Briones
The reader might ask, “Why contemplate buying a building during the global crisis”? It is during times of great crises that we cling to icons and symbols which remind us of who we are.
LEONOR MAGTOLIS BRIONES/abs-cbnNEWS.com 10/13/2008 1:14 AM
Protecting the poor -- Leonor Magtolis Briones
The ones who need the most protection are those who have the least capacity to protect themselves, namely the lower middle class and the poor.
Leonor Magtolis Briones/abs-cbnNEWS.com 10/06/2008 1:01 AM
The Alternative Budget Initiative: Round 3 – Leonor Magtolis Briones
The past two experiences in participatory budgeting were different. Round 3 promises to be different also. The budget process remains the same—budget preparation, budget authorization or legislation, budget implementation, and accountability. Nevertheless, recent developments make this round interesting and different.
abs-cbnNEWS.com 09/28/2008 7:59 PM
When the present catches up with the past -- Leonor Magtolis Briones
It has been more than forty years since I squeezed myself in a university room with several other people, cooked terrible food, and ran after buses. It has been decades since I sat in a crowded dormitory room while arguing and dreaming with fellow graduate students about what we would do for our countries once we finished our studies.
abs-cbnNEWS.com 09/22/2008 1:29 AM
When 'double entry' means double whammy -- Leonor Magtolis Briones
Experts say that it will not be too difficult to pinpoint responsibility for this mess. What is needed is political will. The documents can easily be traced. This unpleasant episode brings to light a major part of the budget process which remains dark and murky. The negotiations and compromises among the three institutions (Executive, House and the Senate) must be brought out into the harsh glare of truth.
LEONOR MAGTOLIS BRIONES/abs-cbnNEWS.com 09/15/2008 12:52 AM