International and Regional Issues

Why do we keep on begging China for friendship?

April 21, 2020

BY ROSARIO GUZMAN

In the face of the Filipino people’s growing anxieties about COVID-19 and life after the lockdown, president Duterte keeps heaping praises on China.

Dealing with COVID-19: Just reboot the economy?

March 30, 2020

POLICY NOTE

The coronavirus pandemic and the expansive efforts to address it are new and unprecedented. But they also exposed many old problems that have always been there.

China’s energy investments around the world

January 7, 2020

An overwhelming majority of China’s energy investments globally are in the Asian region. This includes 40% of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) owned by the State Grid Corporation of China. Led by Chinese executives and operated by Chinese contractors, this private firm is responsible for transmitting electricity from generating plants to substations […]

Global crisis even less reason for charter change

September 28, 2019

BY SONNY AFRICA

The policy question is not how to attract foreign investment at all costs. Rather, it is asking what needs to be done for foreign capital to genuinely contribute to the country’s long-term economic development.

Duterte admin banning aid to hide human rights violations

September 24, 2019

Research group IBON, a member of the multisectoral network AidWatch, said that the Duterte administration is stopping talks on new official development assistance (ODA) from 18 countries as part of its efforts to hide the worsening domestic human rights situation. This includes Spain which is supporting the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). The group said […]

Part 2: Why the climate strike is a social justice issue (and why it should strike at the core of growing fascism)

September 23, 2019

BY ROSARIO GUZMAN

The climate strike is a fight-back strike, it can’t be any other. It is a social justice issue as it is based on people’s assertion of their right to determine our common future.

Why the climate strike is a social justice issue (and why it should strike at the core of growing fascism)

September 20, 2019

BY ROSARIO GUZMAN

The climate strike is a fight-back strike, it can’t be any other. It is a social justice issue as it is based on people’s assertion of their right to determine our common future.

Here comes zombie neoliberalism

August 30, 2019

BY ROSARIO GUZMAN

Like a zombie, neoliberalism is decaying, it cannot be reformed, it just has to be killed.

It is offending China, not war, that Pres. Duterte is avoiding – IBON

July 27, 2019

Research group IBON said that Pres. Duterte’s stance on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue, as expressed in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), is not about avoiding war with China, but is about avoiding offending the Chinese government and losing all its promised funds. Last July 22, Pres. Duterte highlighted the possibility […]