Paco A. Pangalangan, Executive Director, Stratbase ADR Institute This week the United Nations (UN) observes two international days. The first is the International Anti-Corruption Day, observed on the 9th of December. Corruption, of course, affects all countries. It undermines democratic institutions and contributes to governmental instability by warping the rule of law, attacking election integrity,… Read More

International Anti-Corruption Day and International Human Rights Day hold special importance as these two concepts are central to supporting the rule of law and democracy –themselves crucial to our development as a nation in the new normal. The Philippine government’s response to COVID-19 has been characterized by the unchecked movement of large discretionary funds, creating… Read More

Paco A. Pangalangan, Executive Director, Stratbase ADR Institute As the year creeps slowly towards its end, it is an excellent time to look back and take stock of the challenges we have faced and the lessons we can take away from them. This year, many of the biggest challenges faced by Filipinos were brought by… Read More

As the world continues to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, it is apparent that the new economy is digital. The health crisis has accelerated digital transformation of society and its adoption to fintech capabilities. The Philippines has marked record-high transactions both in number and volume of fund transfers, payments and disbursements during the lockdown period. In… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President, Stratbase ADR Institute Into the “next normal,” the usual way of doing things cannot suffice. Our attitudes, the way we behave, and how we put things into perspective matter. For one, the pandemic has overarchingly taught us and spelled out that government cannot be left on its own in managing the affairs… Read More

It is with pleasure that we share with you Stratbase ADR Institute’s November 2020 Occasional Paper. Entitled “The Social Amelioration Program in the Philippines: Lessons on Financial Inclusion and the Use of ICT,” this paper aims to explain how the distribution of SAP could have been made better if we have resorted to the use… Read More

Paco A. Pangalangan, Executive Director, Stratbase ADR Institute Winston Churchill said an optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity. Ten months into this lockdown, with among the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the region, and little to show in terms of long-term strategies and plans to… Read More