A decade after the last major find, a new offshore gas discovery east of Malampaya has revived a long-running question in Philippine energy policy: how much time can domestic gas realistically buy before imports become…
The Philippines in a shifting world order
The world is entering a moment of uncertainty not because power is disappearing, but because restraint is becoming uneven. Rules still exist, yet their force increasingly depends on who invokes them and under what circumstances.…
How ready is the Philippines for AI?
The Philippines is already using artificial intelligence (AI), often before it has decided what rules should govern it. That gap between adoption and preparedness is where the real story lies. On paper, the country has…
Germany’s careful steps into the Indo-Pacific
Germany’s security debate is no longer confined to European borders, but it is still searching for a language equal to its widening reach. At a recent forum in Manila, the conversation suggested that Berlin’s evolving…
Economic growth is intact — investor confidence isn’t
The Philippine economy is no longer overheating—but it is not stalling either. Instead, it is settling into something more uncomfortable: a slower, uneven expansion that exposes long-standing weaknesses just as global conditions turn less forgiving.…
Filipino Gen Z and the new economics of…
For many young Filipinos, adulthood no longer feels like a launchpad; it feels like a lifeboat. Their peers abroad talk about “finding purpose” and “designing a life,” while Filipino Gen Zs are calculating if this…
The fire that could bring down Hong Kong’s…
Bamboo scaffolding was being pointed as the main culprit in the deadly Tai Po fire in Hong Kong. That accusation, made as flames raced up seven residential towers, killing 151 people, including a Filipino domestic…
When stocks lose traction, bonds stay on track
Investors navigating the Philippine market are behaving as if they are changing lanes on a busy highway: even as stocks slow to a crawl under the weight of a deepening flood-control scandal, traffic in government…
‘Dalifornication’ hits China; the Philippines should take note
“Dalifornication” is the kind of phrase that sticks because it captures a cultural mood as much as a place. The Economist’s recent description of young Chinese “Dalifornia dreamin’” has turned the ancient city of Dali…