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The Architecture of Disorder

How the Philippines Confuses Signals for Systems—and Pays the Price By Karl Garcia The Philippines does not lack laws, plans, or coercive institutions. What it lacks is coherence. Across decades, administrations, and crises, the same pattern repeats: the state prioritizes signals of control over systems of authority, the appearance of order over the maintenance of … Continue reading

Freedom of Information in the Philippines: Promise, Reality, and the Case for Legislation

By Karl Garcia Transparency is not optional in a functioning democracy. Yet in the Philippines, the promise of freedom of information (FOI) has existed for years in theory but remains uneven in practice. Executive Order No. 2, issued in 2016, formally introduced FOI into the country, giving the public the right to request information from … Continue reading

From Visibility to Verifiable Outcomes:

Government Computerization, Institutional Performance, and the Persistence of Inefficiency in the Philippines By Karl Garcia Introduction: Modernization Without Transformation For more than five decades, the Philippine government has pursued computerization as a pathway to efficiency, transparency, and improved public service delivery. From centralized mainframes in the 1970s to today’s digital platforms and super apps, successive … Continue reading

40 Years After EDSA: People Power Without a System

By Karl Garcia In a few days, the Philippines will mark a profound milestone: forty years since the 1986 People Power Revolution. Four decades since ordinary Filipinos converged on EDSA and, without guns or generals, toppled a dictatorship. It was a moment when fear lost its grip, when collective courage bent the course of history, … Continue reading

Space Squandered, Time Squandered:

Why Philippine Infrastructure Builds Persistently but Struggles to Deliver Systemic Gains By Karl Garcia The Philippines has consistently pursued infrastructure expansion. Successive administrations have launched major programs focused on roads, railways, ports, flood control, and urban redevelopment. Public investment in infrastructure has increased over time, and the country has no shortage of plans, feasibility studies, … Continue reading