By Mia Mallari
A local think thank has commissioned a book of policy papers and recommendations that it hopes would be considered by the next administration in the crafting of near- and long-term economic, security and governance strategies.
The book initiated by the ADR Institute (ADRi), titled Thinking Beyond Politics, contains eight extensively researched papers addressing concerns on foreign policy and national security, economy, governance reform and the environment, which were shaped through a series of roundtable discussion groups involving thought leaders and public intellectuals.
“The reality that, if you look at the basic concerns of the Filipino people, the primary concern is really poverty and lack of livelihood and job opportunities of the people. But you cannot address that from a purely economic point of view,” said Dindo Manhit, president of ADRi, who also served as the editor of the book.
According to Manhit, while poverty remains as the country top concern, the maritime dispute in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) was also highlighted during the book launch in Makati due to the growing tension in the Spratlys.
“We have a national-security policy, but does not provide a national-security strategy that will tell us what are the national-security challenges we are facing in the 21st century and what are basically the means that we have to develop, means that we have to pursue, so that we could develop the national- security challenge that we have to concern,” said Dr. Renato de Castro, one of the main authors specializing on foreign affairs.
Foreign Secretary Albert F. del Rosario said the policy papers and recommendations are vital in the midst of the Asean integration.
“Our country has been recognized as one of Asia’s economic bright spots…. The new administration must grasp the opportunity presented by the emergence of the Asean community and search for more opportunities from region to region through trade agreements,” he said.
Del Rosario contributed to the book on the defense and security aspects. Del Rosario served as
chairman of Stratbase, which conceptualized the book, prior to his appointment in the Aquino Cabinet.
“We started to have the idea that one thing that the Philippines lacks is the idea of thinking strategically, where all has been limited by thinking of what I call ‘political timeline,’ which is every six years and every three years, without realizing government functions beyond those six years,” he said during the news briefing.
The institute hopes that the book will reach the presidential candidates in time for the campaign period. Other authors of the book include Drs. Epictetus Patalinghug, Francisco Magno and Carlos Primo David, whose expertise are economics, political science and global environment and energy, respectively.
Image credits: Stephanie Tumampos