By Phoebe De Padua Southeast Asia, where violent conflicts and natural disasters often drive people from their homes, is home to around two million internally displaced persons (IDPs). Measures that protect IDPs remain lacking in most of the region. However,…
Benigno Aquino
The Leaderboard: Emmanuel Bautista
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
Who is he? Lt. Gen. Emmanuel T. Bautista served as Commanding General of the Philippine Army since 2011 and has a long and distinguished career in the Philippine Armed Forces; he is a recipient of several military awards, including five…
Changes in Manila: A Turn to Geostrategic Rationale for Policy and the Use of Political Capital
by Ernest Z. Bower • • 0 Comments
By Ernie Bower There are important changes underway in Manila. The government is thinking geostrategically and President Aquino is using his considerable political capital to take on issues that had been untouchable in the past. Economic confidence is palpable in…
The Leaderboard: Erlinda Basilio
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
Who is she? Ambassador Erlinda Basilio is a career Philippines diplomat. Her posts have included Switzerland, Cuba, and Japan, and she served as ambassador to Sweden from 1997 to 2003. She was permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva…
By the Numbers: Typhoon Bopha
by cogitASIA Staff • • 1 Comment
Super typhoon Bopha made landfall December 3 on the Philippines’ southern island of Mindanao. The Category 5 storm, known as Pablo in the Philippines, wrought widespread devastation throughout the island, but hit Mindanao’s two eastern provinces Compostela Valley and Davao…
Peace in Mindanao can Revolutionize Mining in the Philippines
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
By Liam Hanlon The Philippines has a tumultuous relationship with its mining sector. Mining provides foreign investment, boosts GDP, and creates jobs that stimulate local economies, but also has a long track record of environmental catastrophes, violent conflict, and confrontations…
Legislative Overreach: The Philippine Fight over Internet Freedom
by cogitASIA Staff • • 2 Comments
By Greg Poling & Liam Hanlon “With freedom comes responsibility.” This was the rationale proffered by Philippine president Benigno Aquino’s office following his September 12 authorization of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. The new law, which will take effect…
Friday Five: June 22, 2012
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
Four important developments in Asia from this week and one key event to keep an eye out for next week. 1. Canada and Mexico were both invited to take part in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. With the addition of…
Aquino’s Visit: An Opportunity to Further Boost the U.S.-Philippine Alliance
by Ernest Z. Bower • • 1 Comment
By Ernie Bower & Prashanth Parameswaran Philippine president Benigno Aquino is in the United States for a visit that will include his first Oval Office meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama. Aquino’s trip caps a revitalization of the U.S.-Philippine alliance…
Governance in ASEAN: The Next Generation
by cogitASIA Staff • • 1 Comment
By Ernie Bower This week in Hanoi, the former head of Vietnam’s state audit agency, Vu Dinh Hue, will be named the country’s new finance minister. The message to Vietnam’s state-owned enterprises and ministries with bloated budgets is clear: there…