Philippines
Southeast Asian democracies in declining health amid Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting democracies in the Asia-Pacific region in ways that demand Australian attention.
The ability to weather a crisis of this magnitude depends…
Philippines: Bangsamoro, between conflict and Covid-19
In the midst of a delicate war-to-peace transition, still punctuated by military operations, attacks from militant groups and vendettas between feuding clans, the newly created…
Philippines: Covid-19 will devastate the poor
Flaviano Villanueva was in tears last Thursday. It was day five of the “enhanced community quarantine” in Metro Manila, where the priest runs a homeless centre. The sprawling…
Australia-Philippines: Prolonged partners
The announcement by the Duterte administration last month that it will terminate the 1998 Philippines-US Visiting Forces Agreement will likely also raise questions about the…
Philippines: When democracies hit midlife crisis
Democracy in the Philippines turned 34 last week. The nation commemorated the peaceful mass demonstration that ousted the dictator Ferdinand Marcos from power.
A group of…
Pushing the Philippines‑US alliance over the cliff
The termination of the 1998 Philippines-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) initiated by the Duterte administration will mark a historic disruption of American power projection in…
The politics of racism as the Philippines struggles with coronavirus
It would almost seem nothing could further divide politics and society in the Philippines – and then the coronavirus arrived. Only three cases have been confirmed in the country,…
Martial law is lifted, but “state of emergency” persists in Mindanao
Martial law was lifted in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao on 1 January, an indication of what a military spokesperson called an “improved security climate” in the…
A verdict on justice in a land of impunity
I still remember the last time I saw Marlene Esperat. How could I not? She was wearing a red dress and matching high-heeled shoes. Her eyes sparkled with glittery makeup.
Marlene…
The Marawi siege and after: Managing NGO-military relations
Mindanao has always been a militarised zone due to the combined influence of insurgency, high criminality, and clan violence. Yet the five-month Marawi siege in 2017 and the…