Issue Analysis No. 03 Series of 2026 Prof. Romulo M. Tuazon Director for Policy Studies Center for People Empowerment in Governance July 4, 2026 The war on Iran was originally a project of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that would be backed later by US President Donald Trump. While Iran suffered severe military and economic losses during the armed conflict, the Tehran government achieved a major geopolitical victory. It prevented the US and Israel from achieving their primary...

Philippines Socio-Economic and Political Situationer In May 2026, Philippine politics were widely described as entering a period of heightened tension, reflecting deepening fractures within the country’s governing coalition. The once-strategic alignment between the Marcos and Duterte political blocs has increasingly given way to open rivalry as the 2028 national elections draw closer. Both factions have been actively consolidating influence, strengthening political networks, and positioning...

CenPEG Issue Analysis 02 Center for People Empowerment in Governance 03 June 2026 "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Corruption is a thorn in the center stage of Philippine politics. Just look at the Senate. Gone are the "glory days" of the Philippine Senate - the post-WWII era from 1950s-1990s, a period renowned for producing intellectual giants, intense patriotic debates, and statesmen of the highest caliber, among them, Claro M. Recto, Jose W. Diokno, Jovito...

New US missiles aim at China and Russia CenPEG Issue Analysis Center for People Empowerment in Governance 13 May 2026 The April 20 – May 8 Balikatan armed exercises between the Philippines and the United States marked a dangerous turning point in the country’s strategic and security landscape. More disturbing was the live firing of a US Tomahawk cruise missile from Tacloban City to a target site in Laur, Nueva Ecija using the Typhon Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system. The missile...

Foreign policy is torn between maritime tensions with China and close defense ties with the US APRIL 2026 MONTHLY POLITICAL ANALYSIS April 2026 marked the deepening of political rifts between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and his former electoral teammate, Vice President Sara Duterte. While political power gravitated toward the current president, such power is not enough to grapple with bitter economic woes as poverty levels deepened. Maritime tensions between the Philippines...

Why Filipino workers flock to China and other countries Bobby M. Tuazon CenPEG China is one among many countries where overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are employed amid limited job opportunities and slow economic growth in the Philippines. Today, about 230,000 OFWs work in China with major concentrations in the special administrative region of Hong Kong as well as in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Xiamen. Likewise, China is one of the top foreign investors in the Philippines, frequently...