Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute When President Duterte signed the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act into law last December, a number of leading economists lauded the move. After all, the first package of the tax reform law is arguably the Duterte administration’s most important legislative victory to date. In… Read More

Jose Antonio Custodio, Non-Resident Security Fellow of the Stratbase ADR Institute In 2013, President Xi Jin Ping proposed for the establishment of a comprehensive economic project that would cover large parts of the globe stretching from China all the way to Africa and Europe. This has since then become known as the One Belt One… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute A new year is a time for change. A survey of the SWS shows that 96 percent of Filipinos are hopeful at the start of 2018. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have issued positive forecasts on the economy given the potentials of increased public spending… Read More

Louie C. Montemar, Fellow of the Stratbase ADR Institute The government slogan “Build, build, build!” resonates for many, especially those who have some grounding on economic growth theories. In a serious attempt to address the country’s decrepit infrastructure, the administration decided to pour in funds for “hard infrastructure” and implement projects that are physically necessary… Read More

We are pleased to share with you our fourth quarter Economic snapshots, which provides a glimpse into the country’s economic performance for the past year and takes a look at how it is expected to perform for the year ahead. President Duterte’s first full year in office ended in a positive note for several reasons.… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute The year 2018 is indeed a hopeful one, where the optimism for “tunay na pagbabago” — real change — runs strongly among Filipinos. Such optimism is animated by the latest survey results, which showed the net satisfaction ratings of President Duterte at 80 percent in Mindanao, 55… Read More

Atty. Lysander Castillo, Environment Fellow of the Stratbase ADR Institute; Secretary-General of the Philippine Business for Environmental Stwardship (PBEST) Last October, the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC), recommended the lifting of the open-pit mining ban instituted by former DENR secretary Gina Lopez through DENR Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2017-10 specifically prohibits the open-pit method of… Read More