Embedded Files
Photo from Unsplash+
The Philippines’ Healthcare System and Universal Healthcare Law: Health Governance Issues and Prospects
The Philippines’ Healthcare System and Universal Healthcare Law: Health Governance Issues and Prospects
Dennis B Batangan, MD,MSc
Lecturer
Ateneo de Manila University, The Philippines
The Philippines’ healthcare system has been described as structurally weak in terms of its governance, financing, service delivery, and health resources components. The underlying political drivers at the national, local, and international levels affecting the health system have ultimately underpinned the country’s mixed record of health outcomes.
Focusing on the analysis of the Philippines’ healthcare system infrastructure, this study specifically provides recommendations in areas related to (a) addressing the resources gap by increasing the fiscal and human resources available for running a universal healthcare system; (b) addressing gaps in governance to better position national health agencies and local government units to fulfill their mandates; and (c) resolving operational and implementation gaps typically encountered in putting the shifts mandated by the Universal Healthcare Law into actual practice.
Keywords: ...
Youth Activism and Dissent amid Covid 19 in the Philippines: A Narrative Inquiry
Youth Activism and Dissent amid Covid 19 in the Philippines: A Narrative Inquiry
Diana J Mendoza, PhD
Assistant Professor of Political Science and Director of Southeast Asian Studies Program
Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
The Philippine response to the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the longest and strictest enforced lockdowns in the world. Those who violated community quarantine were subjected to punitive action including arrests without warnings and other human rights abuses.
With the passage of the Anti-terrorism Law in July 2020, political activists, human rights defenders and student leaders were subjected to further threats to their liberties and human rights. Prior to the law, they were already subjected to red-tagging and other forms of harassment by state agencies in the context of the government’s war against communist insurgency.
This paper examines how youth activists navigated the strict lockdowns compounded by the Anti-terrorism Law which were deployed by the government as a matter of policy not just to contain the pandemic but also to suppress youth activism and opposition against the government. More specifically, it focuses on how youth activists were impacted by state violence in the form of 1) red-tagging and infiltration of universities and 2) surveillance, illegal arrest and detention during the pandemic.
Keywords: ...
Photo by Cotton Bro from Pexels.com
Photo by Jesus Martin from Pexels.com
Military Operations Other than War (MOOTW) as a Vehicle for Maintaining
Military Operations Other than War (MOOTW) as a Vehicle for Maintaining
Democratic Spaces in Contested International Waters
Democratic Spaces in Contested International Waters
Leslie A Lopez, PhD
Director of the Development Studies Program
Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
The West Philippine Sea remains a hotspot for the different claimant states. The Philippines maintains that they would practice military operations other than war (MOOTW), such as maintaining regular patrols in the area, including those conducted jointly with the US forces.
The belligerent attitude and practices of the People’s Republic of China’s Coast Guard towards the Philippines’ naval assets put into question the effectiveness of maintaining the international democratic spaces within the contested waters of the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea.
Specifically, this paper examines the emerging non-war strategies that seem effective in safeguarding and maintaining such democratic spaces for contesting and friendly forces in these contested international waters.
Keywords: mootw, contested waters, west philippine sea
Interrogating Civil Society Organizations’ Relevance in the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia
Interrogating Civil Society Organizations’ Relevance in the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia
Beatriz C Beato, MA
Ateneo de Manila University, The Philippines
Civil society organizations have long been emphasized as necessary actors to ensure a vibrant democracy. Aside from engaging government through monitoring and
evaluation and lobbying activities, CSOs play a crucial role in political socialization, and the development of democratic attitudes and values among citizens.
The relevance of CSOs begs to be interrogated in the contemporary — particularly given the context of flawed democracies within Southeast Asia such as the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. This paper seeks to examine the state of civil society organizations (particularly their successes in engaging government, and in organizing citizenry) in the three case countries in order to reflect on the state of democracy within Southeast Asia.
Keywords: ...
Page updated
Report abuse