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

The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis highlighted the crucial role of the business community in mitigating the impact of the community quarantine imposed in the Philippines since mid-March 2020. While this quarantine measure was intended to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, it led to severe repercussions on the economy as many businesses have been forced to shut… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President, Stratbase ADR Institute The continuing health crisis and the stringent community quarantine imposed in most parts of the country, especially in the National Capital Region, have disrupted the economic momentum the Philippines had been experiencing in the past years. Despite the signs of growth in the third quarter, the World Bank in… Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the virus from Wuhan has brought a multifaceted array of issues to the fore of our national consciousness and discourse. Besides the issue of health, the scale and urgency of the crisis has highlighted the importance of cooperation between the private and public sectors, and, most importantly, the steep cost… Read More