This forum aimed to convene government agencies, members of the diplomatic community, local and regional experts, and civil society organizations to share their insights and recommendations on the various Indo-Pacific strategies and the Philippines’ independent foreign policy under the Marcos, Jr. administration. Read More

As we enter 2023, we start to see more clarity in the uncertainties of the previous year. These uncertainties include the possible end of the pandemic, economic recovery, and the election of good leaders who can pull us out of these hard times. Read More

A new year is always cause for celebration. It makes us look forward to many things, but it also reminds us to make good use of the lessons we learned in the past. Read More

On Nov. 22, 2022, while appearing in the TV news program One News: The Chiefs, National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos revealed that top Philippine security and foreign relations cluster officials were scheduled to meet to review the 1951 Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

According to her, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a review of the MDT considering several U.S. requests and proposals, particularly about the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). Read More

Last month, the Stratbase ADR Institute held its two-day annual Pilipinas Conference, which gathered top government officials, industry leaders and other stakeholders to share their insights on the most pressing political, economic and social challenges faced by the country today.

The second session of the conference touched on the pivotal role of the private sector in nation-building and how its partnerships with the government can promote inclusive growth and sustainable development in the long run. Read More

The Stratbase ADR Institute’s Pilipinas Conference gave me a renewed sense of hope for our nation—both in the management of our internal affairs and securing our place in the community of nations. Read More

Not known to many is that data show that the Philippines actually has one of the most transparent budgets in the world.

Results of the Open Budget Survey (OBS) 2021 show that Philippines scored 68 out of 100 in budget transparency, placing the country at 19th place out of 120 countries.

Compared to our previous score, we went down eight notches from our ranking in 2019, when we got a score of 76 and ranked 10th. Despite this, we still maintained our over-all lead in the survey in Southeast Asia. Read More