Philippine Studies Project

The Philippine Studies Project is a three-year initiative under the Regional Political and Studies Programme (RSPS) to enhance ISEAS research on the Philippines. Running from June 2019 to June 2022, the Project receives funding support from the Philippine Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Singapore.

The Philippine Studies Project aims to support the research capabilities and coverage of Philippine studies at ISEAS through publications and events. It also offers opportunities for both established and young scholars and experts from the Philippines to share their views and perspectives on multifaceted developments in the country.

From October 2021 to June 2022, the overall theme of the Philippine Studies Project is Electoral Politics and Foreign Policy in the Philippines. As the coming 2022 general elections will bring the Duterte administration (2016–2022) to a close, the Project will review and assess the outgoing president’s performance and impact on domestic politics, economics, and external relations. The Project will also track developments related to the elections to understand the aspects of continuity and change in Philippine politics. Another area of focus would be possible trajectories of the Philippines’ foreign policy under the new administration, especially towards the United States, China, ASEAN and other powers in the region.

The current Manager of the Philippine Studies Project is Dr Aries Arugay. Dr Malcolm Cook managed the project until June 2021.

Events 

Title	Speaker(s)	Date
Seminar on Moving Muslim Mindanao Forward	Amihilda “Ämie” Sangcopan	13 February 2020
Webinar on Building Back Better: Philippines’ Pandemic Recovery	Ronald U. Mendoza	30 June 2020
Webinar on Philippines and the Climate Crisis	Loren Legarda	12 July 2021

Books 

Title	Author(s)	Date
ASEAN Centrality: An Autoethnographic Account by a Philippine Diplomat	Elizabeth Buensuceso	2021

Perspectives 

Title	Author(s)	Date
The Philippines’ Alliance Problems with the USA	Malcolm Cook	13 June 2019
The Duterte Administration’s China Tensions	Malcolm Cook	13 August 2019
China-Philippine Relations: Duterte’s China Visit and Prospects for Oil and Gas Exploration	Lye Liang Fook	3 October 2019
Philippine Regional Inclusive Innovation Centers: Solving Community Problems and Bridging Development Gaps	Rafaelita M. Aldaba	10 October 2019
The Death of EDCA and Philippine-U.S. Security Relations	Renato Cruz De Castro	11 May 2020
Economics of Lockdown: Insights on Building Back Better in Post-Pandemic Philippines	Ronald U. Mendoza	9 July 2020
The Bilateral Consultative Mechanism on the South China Sea and Philippines-China Relations	Rommel C. Banlaoi	22 April 2021
“Political Connectivity”: A New Dimension of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the Philippines	Aaron Jed Rabena	26 April 2021
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s Southeast Asia Tour: Assurances and Dividends	William Choong, Hoang Thi Ha, Le Hong Hiep, Ian Storey	5 August 2021
The Philippines and the South China Sea Arbitration Award: External Appeasement and Internal Dissension	Jay L. Batongbacal	24 September 2021

Fulcrum Commentaries 

Title	Author(s)	Date
Philippine Sovereign Limits	Malcolm Cook	8 July 2019
The Post-Sovereign Philippines	Malcolm Cook	12 July 2019
A Mindanao Test for China-Philippine Relations	Malcolm Cook	18 July 2019
Duterte’s Trip to Russia Results in Modest Gains	Ian Storey	10 October 2019
Philippine Critical Infrastructure and China	Malcolm Cook	2 December 2019
President Duterte’s China Benefits	Malcolm Cook	12 December 2019
Manila’s VFA Termination: A Win for China and Russia	Ian Storey	17 February 2020
Duterte’s ‘Independent’ Foreign Policy: Independence from Criticism	Malcolm Cook	10 March 2020
Covid-19: A Particular Philippine Problem	Malcolm Cook	27 March 2020
Covid-19 in the Philippines: Star Mayors, Malacanang Material?	Malcolm Cook	27 April 2020
Visiting Forces Agreement: Uncle Sam Still Welcome for Another Year	Ian Storey	4 June 2020
Covid-19 in the Philippines: Corporate Bigwigs to the Rescue	Malcolm Cook	8 June 2020
The Philippine Pandemic and the Plague on Pedagogy	Malcolm Cook	22 July 2020
Philippine Remittances and Covid-19: Stayin’ Alive	Malcolm Cook	28 August 2020
Duterte the (Economic) Liberal	Malcolm Cook	1 December 2020
A Duterte-Democrat President Redux?	Malcolm Cook	17 December 2020
The Philippine-US Alliance: Keeping Things on an Even Keel	Renato Cruz De Castro	1 February 2021
The US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement: The Duterte Punchbag That Will Probably Survive the Blows	Ian Storey	19 February 2021
Bangsamoro Elections: Choosing Between Two Bad Options	Malcolm Cook	12 March 2021
The Philippines’ Vexed Vaccine Rollout	Malcolm Cook	30 March 2021
Philippine-US Cooperation on Whitsun Reef: A “Win” for the Biden Team in Southeast Asia?	Robert Sutter	21 May 2021
Following the Money: Changes to Philippine Remittance Inflows	Malcolm Cook	3 June 2021
After 70 Years, It’s Time to Modernise the US-Philippines Alliance	Ian Storey	23 September 2021

Op-eds 

Title	Author(s)	Date
The Philippine standoff over China	Malcolm Cook	28 August 2019
US-Philippines alliance faces major stress test	Ian Storey	14 February 2020
A reprieve for the US–Philippines military alliance	Malcolm Cook	16 June 2020
As His Presidency Winds Down, Can the Philippines’ Duterte Defy History Again?	Malcolm Cook	6 July 2020
Duterte the defier	Malcolm Cook	21 May 2021