Ren de los Santos, Resident Fellow for Global Politics, Stratbase ADR Institute The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, better known as ASEAN, has long been a paradox as much as it is a special and unique case in the parlance of international regional cooperation. One of the more mature transnational organizations in the world, its… Read More

Vanessa Pepino, Non-Resident Fellow of the Stratbase ADR Institute The market for environmentally conscious products – sustainable alternatives – is unmistakably growing. From tumblers, metal and glass straws, reusable cotton pads, shampoo bars to bamboo toothbrushes, people are becoming more conscious of the products they purchase and consume, cutting back on single-use plastic, and lessening… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute Days before the 2019 Asean Summit and Related Summits in Thailand, it is fitting to reflect on the relevance and responsiveness of Asean to its more than 650 million people in Southeast Asia. Amid all its geoeconomic and geopolitical challenges in the region, Asean remains the best… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute Financial inclusion has become a global challenge. In a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, about 1.7 billion adults around the world remain unbanked which simply means that they are still without an account in a financial institution. China has the greatest number of these unbanked individuals,… Read More

Terry Ridon, Fellow for Infrastructure of the Stratbase ADR Institute, Convenor of Infrawatch PH, and former chairman of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor Before the House of Representatives adjourned for its month-long break, the House Committee on Metro Manila Development (MMD) conducted a hearing on the status of Metro Manila’s Build Build Build… Read More

Atty. Hannah Viola, Fellow of the Stratbase ADR Institute Due to the difficult challenges in water, climate, energy, and waste management that humanity is facing today, the traditional concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has evolved to embrace new concepts such as “Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) standards,” “People, Planet, Profit,” “Impact Investing,” and “Corporate… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute An expansionary fiscal policy is said to exist if government increases its spending (i.e., the “Build, build, build” program) or decreases direct taxes (i.e., income tax and corporate taxes), or it does both. The rationale behind such moves is the strategic goal of revitalizing the economy and… Read More