Philippines
In dull midterm elections, Manila is a thriller
In Manila’s most densely-populated and poorest district of Tondo the fight for the mayor of the city is a loud one. For 10 hours, voters line the halls of Manuel L. Quezon…
With US out of favour and China doubts, Duterte turns to Tokyo
As the Philippines gears up for 13 May midterm elections, debate over Manila’s strategic alignment between China and the US has been one area of serious contestation. Opponents of…
One casualty of Jolo bombing: Indonesian-Philippine trust
The Philippine government’s premature declaration that Indonesians were the perpetrators of the Jolo cathedral bombing has set back the prospects for regional cooperation on…
In the Philippines, activists increasingly face a “living hell”
On 29 January, over 24 hours after Datu Jomorito Guaynon and Ireneo Udarbe were reported missing in downtown Cagayan de Oro, local police in northern Mindanao announced that the…
Hopes and tempered promises for the Bangsamoro Organic Law
Mindanao, the region in southern Philippines, rarely on the international agenda for good news, enjoyed a win last month. A resounding Yes vote in support of a new law based…
Don’t “crush” Abu Sayyaf perpetrators, debrief them
The horrific bombing of the cathedral in Jolo last Sunday underscores the need for the Philippines government to understand more about the operations of pro-ISIS groups in…
Philippine alliance angst
Last month, at his end-of-year press conference, the Philippine Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana called for a review of the 1951 US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty …
Separating the Philippine state from the church
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is a very different leader than his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III.
Duterte has expressed his love for Xi Jinping. Aquino took China to…
The Sabah question
Who is right in the territorial dispute between the Philippines and Malaysia over Sabah is a question best not asked. In answer, each side will reaffirm their absolute…
A travel notebook to Marawi City
My visit to Marawi city in June has left me with a profound sense of sadness. The enormous task of reconstructing a once-bustling Philippine city hangs heavily over…