Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute Since the arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines in 2016, China has continued its military buildup in the South China Sea. In its latest report, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said “permanent facilities such as buildings ranging from underground storage areas and administrative buildings to… Read More

It is with pleasure that we share with you our Occasional Paper for February 2018 entitled, “The Case for Constitutional Reform”, written by Dr. Eduardo Araral, Jr., a tenured Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and member of the PDP Laban Federalism Institute Study Group. The paper explores four identified… Read More

Jose Antonio Custodio, Non-Resident Security Fellow of the Stratbase ADR Institute As we commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the EDSA Revolution, it brings to the fore a prominent player in the Philippine political landscape: the military. Aside from the Catholic Church, no other institution is regarded with such deference when it comes to legitimizing political rule… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute Inflation is closely associated with economics. Prices go up when there is an increased demand for goods and services, when the cost of production rises, or when there is an oversupply of money in the economy. But politics and economics are also closely intertwined. Inflation is as… Read More

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