Since COVID-19 was declared as a global pandemic, it continuously takes toll on human lives, economies and health systems. In many countries, it was observed that investments in preparedness were not sufficiently prioritized making the emergency response more difficult and burdensome to the health sector. Appropriate investments and readily accessible health financing measures facilitates the… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President, Stratbase ADR Institute Last week, the country breached the 60,000-mark in the number of COVID-19 cases, second only to Indonesia which ranked first among countries in Southeast Asia. Localized infections persist despite weeks of community quarantine orders. These lockdowns, nonetheless, have greatly affected the economy and have led to the worst downturn… Read More

Alvin Manalansan, Non-Resident Fellow of Stratbase ADR Institute and Convenor of CitizenWatch Philippines Over the weekend, the Philippines counted 67,456 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 22,465 recoveries and 1,831 deaths. Of the total cases confirmed, 43,160 cases are considered as active, majority of which were identified as being in the National Capital Region (NCR). Based on… Read More

Paco A. Pangalangan, Executive Director, Stratbase ADR Institute It has been four years since the historic 2016 Hague ruling, where the Permanent Court of Arbitration recognized the Philippines’ territorial claims in the contested waters in the West Philippine Sea. The arbitral award was seen as a victory of the rule of law and democratic institutions… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President, Stratbase ADR Institute Four years ago, the Philippines won its landmark case against China when the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) invalidated the latter’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea. The tribunal determined that there was no legal basis for China’s historic rights to resources within the disputed maritime zone… Read More

Four years have passed since the Philippines legally won the South China Sea arbitration case which invalidated China’s claim to historic rights over resources within the West Philippine Sea. Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, however, China continues to assert its claim in the disputed waters in the South China Sea while disregarding the legal… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President, Stratbase ADR Institute Almost four years after the Philippines’ arbitral victory, the Duterte administration continues its overt inaction in asserting the country’s claims over the West Philippine Sea. Simultaneously, it has allowed China to maximize the opportunity created by the pandemic to further pursue its expansionist agenda by completing majority of its… Read More