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Finance Secretary Ralph Recto recently proclaimed that due to “the continued improvements in the country’s jobs market and quality of jobs for Filipinos” the country is progressing towards “achieving the government’s target of reducing the poverty rate to single-digit or nine percent by 2028.”

A couple of months from today we will be celebrating the 126th year of Philippine Independence. On June 12, 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the Philippines in Kawit, Cavite. The proclamation was followed by the ratification of the Malolos Constitution that paved the way for the establishment of the first free and independent republic in Asia.

There was a time when the term “bakasyon” (or vacation) meant only one thing — leave your current residence and go to a place to experience a change in scenery. There was a time when it simply meant going to the province during summer. For a Tondo boy like myself it meant escaping the concrete jungle that is Metro Manila and enjoying the rustic vibes of the countryside. It could also mean going to Baguio City — the summer capital of the Philippines.