Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute Inflation is closely associated with economics. Prices go up when there is an increased demand for goods and services, when the cost of production rises, or when there is an oversupply of money in the economy. But politics and economics are also closely intertwined. Inflation is as… Read More

Richard Javad Heydarian, Non-Resident Fellow of the Stratbase ADR Institute Reflecting on the French Revolution, British Philosopher Edmund Burke warned against the dangers of radical change. For him, gradual reform is always preferable to violent departure from status quo, and for a good reason. This isn’t to say that he was a reactionary conservative, a… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute Despite the controversy, the passage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) into law was a crucial legislative victory for the Duterte administration. If anything, it showed this administration’s skill in taking advantage of the President’s political capital to push its socioeconomic agenda. The President… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute A chorus of local and international economic analysts made a unanimous forecast for 2018: economic growth is expected to be faster than the 6.7% expansion in 2017. As Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez himself proclaimed, there is “unprecedented optimism” over the country’s economic prospects under the Duterte administration.… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute While the Philippines’ chairmanship of Asean has come to an end without it having been able to capitalize on the opportunity to raise maritime issues in the South China Sea among the bloc members, it is not left with no card to play. The world has witnessed… Read More

Richard Javad Heydarian, Non-Resident Fellow of the Stratbase ADR Institute One of the greatest contributions of the Greek Philosopher Aristotle was his distinction between form and substance. According to him, the two are separate dimensions of our reality, yet are also fundamentally distinct in their existential character. So far, this seems pretty common sense to… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute Amid China’s aggressive use of force, India is harnessing its soft power anchored on commerce, connectivity and culture to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines. The battle of China and India for supremacy in Southeast Asia is inevitable. The challenge for smaller nations like… Read More