Political Analysis

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.

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 t

Center for People’s Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) Monthly Political Briefer March 2026 Introduction March 2026 saw an intensifying political polarization in the Philippines in the wake of various corruption scandals and a rapidly deteriorating global security environment after the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran. Domestically, rival elite factions, principally aligned with the Marcos and Duterte camps, continued to consolidate their respective bases in anticipation o

Center for People Empowerment and Governance (CenPEG)Comprehensive Analysis, February 2026 Synthesis This paper aims to analyze the Philippines' precarious position in early 2026 as it navigates a domestic political crisis and a high-risk alignment with U.S.’ "aggressive unilateralism." While the Marcos administration faces a "governance-induced paralysis" fueled by a ₱805-billion corruption scandal and a "popularity flip" favoring the resurgent Duterte bloc, the nation h

Widening power rifts in Philippine politics as the 2028 elections are in the horizon; corruption deepens; tensions grow in East Asia while Donald Trump attacks Venezuela in a bid to reinstall America’s sphere of influence in the western hemisphere I. PHILIPPINE POLITICS Corruption, Accountability, and the Marcos-Duterte Rift Breakdown of the Marcos Jr.-Sara Duterte dynastic alliance The Marcos-Duterte entente has collapsed, one-and-a half years since the unravelin

PHILIPPINE POLITICS November 2025 saw the government corruption scandal escalating even more dramatically. These have included arrests of officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials, travel bans on dozens of lawmakers and contractors, the filing of cases before the Ombudsman and Sandiganbayan (anti-graft court), and declaration by investigators that up to 1,200 individuals may face charges. State efforts at investigation expanded through unit

Synthesis This paper seeks to explore and analyze the Marcos Jr. administration’s consolidation of power amid a deepening crisis of legitimacy. It argues that the regime’s trajectory reveals a governance model anchored in elite accommodation, technocratic spectacle, and the selective use of reformist discourse to obscure entrenched patronage and authoritarian tendencies. While early efforts at regime-building enabled the alignment of key institutions—the legislature, judiciar

Challenges and missed opportunities Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) Published on 05 November 2025 Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is leading the country into a deeper alliance with the US that can thrust the country into a potential unwinnable confrontation with China. Under him, diplomacy has taken a backseat whether in relation to China or the US. In the new multipolar world, Marcos should prudently steer the country away from a policy

Political Briefer Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) October 2025 Introduction From late September to the end of October 2025, the Philippines entered one of its most politically volatile periods since the post-EDSA transition. A massive corruption scandal involving billions of pesos in public funds (particularly for flood-control projects) ignited widespread outrage, triggered investigations, exposed patronage networks across political camps, and revive