Just recently, President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to the Filipino people that all the funds spent for the government’s COVID-19 response would be accounted for. He acknowledged the people’s need to know how each government agency utilized their respective budgets, where these were directed to, or who were the beneficiaries of the public services. For the… Read More

Despite implementing a multi-sectoral response to the pandemic, the Philippine government continues to struggle in containing the spread of the virus and mitigating its social and economic impact. With more than 200,000 total infections, the Philippines now leads Southeast Asia in the total number of COVID-19 cases. The current situation in the Philippines can be… Read More

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Transparency International-Philippines, Stratbase ADR Institute has partnered with them for a virtual discussion entitled, “Fighting the Perennial Pandemic of Corruption” held on 28 August 2020, Friday. During the discussion, we hope to tackle the other virus that is making governments and societies sick — corruption. Across the globe, COVID-19… Read More

It is with pleasure that we share with you Stratbase ADR Institute’s Occasional Paper for the month of August 2020, written by Dr. Robin Michael Garcia, Non-Resident Fellow of Stratbase ADRi and CEO of WR Numero. Entitled “Neighborly Accommodation: The Philippines’ China Policy in the Duterte Presidency, 2016-2020”, this paper argues about the nuances of… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President, Stratbase ADR Institute Transparency International (TI) has been fighting corruption for 27 years in over 100 countries. Here in the Philippines, I remember their prominent voices such as Randy David, Solita Monsod, Attorney Lilia de Lima, and Judge Dolores Español — all passionate advocates for transparency and accountability, issues that are still… Read More

Paco A. Pangalangan, Executive Director, Stratbase ADR Institute The World Health Organization is monitoring a reported mutation of the COVID-19 that can potentially increase its transmission. Thankfully, this potential for mutation was only observed in a lab and not in “real life.” It is scary to imagine what effect a more transmittable COVID-19 would have… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President, Stratbase ADR Institute The unprecedented drop in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2020 was worse than expected, given the reduced economic activities because of the series of lockdowns in the previous quarter. The 16.5-percent contraction in the GDP was the worst in the history of the… Read More