While public health and economic recovery certainly remain top priorities in the Philippines, threats on regional and national security continue to run concurrent to the crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the complexity of the Indo-Pacific region, the Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute (ADRi) believes that there is an important need to discuss and… Read More

The COVID-19 crisis and the continuing lockdown measures have exposed the country’s readiness issues and forced the realization that rapid digital transformation is needed in both government and private enterprises. Indeed, it is widely acknowledged that our goal of sustainable and long-term recovery can only be attained with digital infrastructure supporting all the required digital… Read More

Dr. Renato de Castro, Trustee and Convenor of the National Security and East Asian Affairs Program, Stratbase ADR Institute In December 2018, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana revealed that the Department of National Defense (DND) was reviewing the 1951 Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) as he questioned its relevance in the second decade of the… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President, Stratbase ADR Institute The emergence of various security threats and the growing importance of multilateralism and strategic partnerships are shaping the power dynamics and the overall security architecture in the Indo-Pacific region. As more states turn their attention toward the Indo-Pacific, security partnerships such as the newly launched AUKUS alliance between Australia,… Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose public health threats and strain both health and economy. Undeniably, in the Philippines, the pandemic has revealed and enlarged existing gaps in our public health system. At the same time, it has also presented opportunities to implement programs and reforms to improve the healthcare system in line with the… Read More

Alvin Manalansan, Non-Resident Fellow of Stratbase ADR Institute and Convenor of CitizenWatch Philippines After backtracking from its initial decision, the National Government recently announced that it will push through with the implementation of granular lockdowns. This is being piloted in the National Capital Region until Sept. 30. Since this pandemic began, the government has experimented… Read More

Paco A. Pangalangan, Executive Director, Stratbase ADR Institute A few weeks before it was set to shut down for preventive maintenance, the Malampaya gas field suddenly stopped supplying fuel to natural gas plants in Luzon. With natural gas output restricted, several large power plants were forced to switch to more expensive fuel sources, reduce output,… Read More