Action for Economic Reforms

Action for Economic Reforms Action for Economic Reforms (AER) conducts policy analysis and advocacy on macroeconomic reforms.

Action for Economic Reforms (AER) is a Philippine non-government organization engaged in research and advocacy. It was founded in 1996 by a group of progressive scholars as an independent, reform-oriented and activist policy group. AER works on macroeconomic issues, and looks at their impact on equity, poverty reduction, and sustainability.In its macroeconomic engagement, AER emphasizes fiscal po

licy specially tax reforms, as well as exchange rate, monetary, and trade issues. AER concerns itself with creating the conditions for long-term growth. In this context, AER gives attention to the role of institutions. It has pursued advocacy on building state capacity that will enable markets and correct both market and government failures. A key aspect of the work on institutions is the promotion of transparency, especially pushing for a Freedom of Information law in the Philippines. AER also forges strong links with civil society organizations, legislators and other government officials, as well as with technocrats and academics to secure progressive reforms.

๐ˆ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐ข๐ญ ๐“๐ซ๐š๐๐ž ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐›๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ญ๐จ๐›๐š๐œ๐œ๐จ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒโ€™๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐š๐ฏ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ž ๐ž๐ฑ๐œ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐žA new EU-ABC report on illicit to***co trade is being ci...
25/05/2026

๐ˆ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐ข๐ญ ๐“๐ซ๐š๐๐ž ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐›๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ญ๐จ๐›๐š๐œ๐œ๐จ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒโ€™๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐š๐ฏ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ž ๐ž๐ฑ๐œ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž

A new EU-ABC report on illicit to***co trade is being cited to support claims that higher to***co and v**e taxes fuel smuggling and illegal sales across ASEAN.

In this weekโ€™s Yellow Pad, Filomeno Sta. Ana III and Pia Rodrigo warns that this narrative is misleading,and increasingly being used to justify lowering v**e taxes in the Philippines. The real drivers of illicit trade are weak enforcement, regulatory loopholes, and poor oversight, not high tax rates. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/2p6jsh54

When the youth is the to***co industryโ€™s target The rise of the โ€œv**edemicโ€ among young Filipinos shows how far the to**...
22/05/2026

When the youth is the to***co industryโ€™s target

The rise of the โ€œv**edemicโ€ among young Filipinos shows how far the to***co industry is willing to go at the expense of public health. Behind colorful marketing and flavored products is an industry that continues to profit from addiction while placing the health and future of Filipino youth at risk.

In this weekโ€™s Yellow Pad, Pia Rodrigo highlights the industryโ€™s deceptive tactics and holding to***co companies accountable for the harm they continue to cause. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/ye27e7m9

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—œ๐˜€ ๐—ข๐—ป๐—น๐˜† ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ดThe return of PhilHealthโ€™s diverted P60 billion marks a major victory for h...
15/05/2026

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—œ๐˜€ ๐—ข๐—ป๐—น๐˜† ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด

The return of PhilHealthโ€™s diverted P60 billion marks a major victory for health advocates, but restoring the funds alone will not guarantee universal healthcare.

This weekโ€™s Yellow Pad, Pia Rodrigo argues that deeper reforms are still needed. From fully funding legally mandated premiums to ensuring Filipinos can actually access healthcare services on the ground. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/8fb2ue53

๐—ก๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†The Philippines faces growing fiscal pressure, with rising debt and limited room...
04/05/2026

๐—ก๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†

The Philippines faces growing fiscal pressure, with rising debt and limited room to keep borrowing without long-term consequences.

This weekโ€™s Yellow Pad, Gage Andal and Pia Rodrigo makes the case for health taxes on to***co, alcohol, and sugary drinks as a practical way to generate revenue, reduce healthcare costs, and protect vulnerable Filipinos at the same time. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/37nvpne4

๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜†Political dynasties are not just about individual politicians, they are a system that sust...
20/04/2026

๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜†

Political dynasties are not just about individual politicians, they are a system that sustains itself across generations. Beyond individual โ€œgoodโ€ or โ€œbadโ€ actors, the problem is structural. This calls for decisive reforms, including a law banning political dynasties.

This weekโ€™s Yellow Pad, Nathan Quimpo examines how dynasties persist by preserving power within families, enabling political comebacks, and using name recall to maintain dominance. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/2uefcskz

Put People Over Politics in HealthIn the Philippines, existing policies and systems limit access to healthcare, allowing...
13/04/2026

Put People Over Politics in Health

In the Philippines, existing policies and systems limit access to healthcare, allowing only a select few to benefit while many are left behind. When public funds are not distributed equitably, healthcare becomes a matter of discretion rather than a right.

In this weekโ€™s Yellow Pad, Dr. Jeepy Perez highlights how weak policy design and poor accountability shape these realities. He calls for just policies that place equity, transparency, and public health at the centerโ€”ensuring that no Filipino is denied care because of political choices.

Read more: https://tinyurl.com/mrphjeuj

08/04/2026

๐™†๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ฌ๐™ก๐™š๐™™๐™œ๐™š ๐™ž๐™จ๐™ฃโ€™๐™ฉ ๐™Ÿ๐™ช๐™จ๐™ฉ ๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™ฌ๐™š๐™ง. ๐™„๐™ฉ ๐™ž๐™จ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™ฌ๐™š๐™ง ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™ฆ๐™ช๐™š๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ค๐™ฃ, ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™๐™ค๐™ก๐™™ ๐™–๐™˜๐™˜๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™—๐™ก๐™š, ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™จ๐™๐™–๐™ฅ๐™š ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™ช๐™ฉ๐™ ๐™ž๐™ฃ ๐™– ๐™™๐™š๐™ข๐™ค๐™˜๐™ง๐™–๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™˜ ๐™จ๐™ค๐™˜๐™ž๐™š๐™ฉ๐™ฎ. ๐Ÿ›๏ธ

In the pursuit of knowledge, we honor the dignity of every person, uphold the principles that bind our society, illuminate the paths where ignorance once stood, and challenge the structures that breed injustice. When we plant seeds of truth and understanding we create a collective responsibility for a brighter and more informed future. ๐Ÿ•Š๏ธ

๐—๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜‚๐˜€, ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ธ ๐—ธ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—น๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ, ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐˜๐—ต ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ธ, ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ท๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ.

๐–๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐ƒ๐ž๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Š๐ง๐จ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ž๐๐ ๐žUniversities are increasingly judged by rankings, citations, and performance metric...
06/04/2026

๐–๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐ƒ๐ž๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Š๐ง๐จ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ž๐๐ ๐ž

Universities are increasingly judged by rankings, citations, and performance metrics โ€” but what gets measured is not always what matters most.

This weekโ€™s Yellow Pad, Fidel Nemenzo warns that the growing obsession with rankings is reshaping higher education into a competitive enterprise, often at the expense of academic freedom, public service, and locally grounded knowledge. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/3ejfff3a

Solving the Oil Crisis: Targeted Relief, Not Tax BreaksWith fuel prices surging due to global shocks and import dependen...
30/03/2026

Solving the Oil Crisis: Targeted Relief, Not Tax Breaks

With fuel prices surging due to global shocks and import dependence, the lesson from COVID-19 is clear: we must strategically and efficiently use public revenues to provide immediate relief for those most affected.

As government is forced to spend more and thus increase borrowing, it must also find ways to solve the already-immense fiscal strain.

In this weekโ€™s Yellow Pad, Men Sta. Ana reflects on the parallels between todayโ€™s fuel crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, and the solutions for the worsening fiscal deficit. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/3f8xfeva

When the Middle East Burns, Filipino Families Feel itFor many Filipino families, survival depends on a fragile balance: ...
30/03/2026

When the Middle East Burns, Filipino Families Feel it

For many Filipino families, survival depends on a fragile balance: a small negosyo at home and a loved one sending money from afar. When prices rise and remittances become uncertain, that balance begins to break.

This weekโ€™s Yellow Pad brings the crisis closer to home โ€” showing how global conflict can deepen the everyday struggle of families already stretched by inflation, past shocks, and thin household budgets. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/5bvevxaj

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