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

Stratbase ADR Institute, in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Manila, will be holding a roundtable discussion on the South China Sea maritime dispute on February 05, 2018. General Joseph Lengyel will share his thoughts and insights on the issues and challenges relating to South China Sea. General Joseph Lengyel serves as the 28th Chief… Read More