In the third week of January 2026, the Philippines resembles a jigsaw puzzle of tragedies, where the jagged edges of domestic instability—maritime disasters, indigenous displacement, and dynastic corruption—are being forced into the cold, rigid frame of global power competition. The convergence of these events suggests that the nation is not merely a developing country struggling with internal reform, but a localized theater for a much larger, global “game of powers.” War Ships vs. (…)

Book Review: Deeper Ground, Darker Shadows: The Making of a Mindanao Rebel by Eddie L. Quitoriano (The University of Wisconsin Press, 2025) Deeper Ground, Darker Shadows by Eddie L. Quitoriano chronicles his long journey from a moderate student activist in the early 1970s to a radical organizer, a commander of the New People's Army (NPA), the NPA's International Representative in the early 1990s, and finally a political detainee who returned to civilian life in the mid-1990s. The book (…)

During the first year of his second term, President Donald Trump had virtually absolute control over his Republican Party. No one criticized him, either because they agreed with his authoritarian and far-right policies, or because they feared that, if they raised their voices, they would find their careers ended. Now things have changed. Republicans have criticized his immigrant deportation policies, his racist posts, and his threat to take over the election process. At the same time (…)