El Niño, La Niña, Habagat and Amihan: Learning to Read the Philippine Climate

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Capability is What Remains

By Karl M. Garcia For decades, countries have been placed into categories: First World, Third World, developed, developing, emerging. But labels tell us less than a simpler question: What can a country reliably do? Can it educate its people, build and maintain infrastructure, produce competitively, connect its regions, operate complex systems, respond to shocks, enforce … Continue reading →

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From Decongestion to Justice: The Philippines Needs a System That Does Not Refill Its Jails and Dockets

By Karl M. Garcia The Philippines has begun to demonstrate something important about its justice system: coordination can produce results. Over the past several years, the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC), together with the Supreme Court, Department of Justice and Department of the Interior and Local Government, has expanded inter-agency cooperation through Justice Zones and … Continue reading →

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Ornate Mediterranean map surrounded by classical architecture, books, legal symbols, and cultural patterns

The Philippines Is a Legal Hybrid: Does the Mix Cost Us the Rules of the Game?

The Philippines runs on Spanish-derived civil law and American-derived common law at once. Where each came from, how we ended up with both, and whether the mix makes it harder to know the rules of the game.

Filed under Philippine Government, Philippine Politics

The Merchant of Venice: Casket Analysis — Desire, Choice, and Value

By Karl M. Garcia William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice uses the famous casket test to explore one of the play’s most enduring questions: How do human beings distinguish genuine value from attractive appearances? Portia’s deceased father has designed a test in which her suitors must choose among three caskets—gold, silver, and lead. Each contains … Continue reading →

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BEACON: MORE THAN A TRADE EXPO

By Karl M. Garcia A trade exhibition is easy to understand. There are booths. Ships and equipment are displayed. Companies meet customers. Government agencies make presentations. Business cards change hands. Conferences fill convention-center rooms. Then the exhibition ends. The booths come down. People go home. But sometimes an exhibition leaves something behind. Relationships continue. Organizations … Continue reading →

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