Our cost of living indices tighten

FLOGGED BY ever-increasing prices of basic commodities, services and utilities, we are faced with the dilemma of making our lives manageable, if not comfortabl e.

The runaway movement of almost everything we need poses like a vise grip which threatens to snuff out our chances of living reasonably.

The authorities have only installed stopgap measures to stall the downward spiral of our living standards but these are obviously not enough to stop the bleeding of our economy and instead cause the hemorrhage of the national economic indices.

Cost of oil products contribute severely to the uptick of prices of basic commodities and the government has raised its flag of surrender to the moribund flow of resources and assets.

Citing the lack of control over the pricing of world crude rates, our government virtually admitted its sorry helplessness over a very, very important concern.

With these developments, the chasm between the rich and poor sectors widens: the rich become more influential and the poor and marginalized become more stuck in the quagmire of destitution.

* * * Philippine Panorama and Starweek magazines of Manila Bulletin and Philippine Star, respectively, features simultaneously last Sunday, May 27, 2018, the report on modern Makati and the tremendous digital transformation to reshape this A-1 city. Its mayor, Abigail Binay, leads in the digital revolution of her city and claims thus: “By employing technology to create a digital community of Makati citizens or Makatizens, we aim to remove the traditional bureaucratic boundaries between government and the people. Between us-the public servants and the people we ser ve”.

Mayor Binay zeroes in on the untapped potential of technology and social media thus creating active and meaningful conversations between the government and its citizens, producing good results in the process.

* * * In Mabalacat City, the same direction is being pursued by Mayor Crisostomo C. Garbo. He has forged an agreement with DICT on May 10, 2018 with the aim of making Mabalacat City globally competitive in the realm of ICT. Mayor Cris innovates, creates and improves the state of technology in the city. Good job, indeed, Mayor, sir.