The Society of Honor by Joe America

Why Defense Procurement Deserves Its Own Law—and Why Public Procurement Must Become a Strategic Instrument of National Development

By Karl M. Garcia

Every government procurement system exists to answer a deceptively simple question: How should public money be spent?

For decades, the Philippines has answered that qu...

Building the Republic Through Capability, Architecture, Learning, and Trust A luminous geometric network structure floating against a starry cosmic background

By Karl M. Garcia

Much of Philippine public discourse revolves around governance. We debate corruption, transparency, elections, budgets, bureaucracy, decentralization, public services, and political acc...

Part II — Building the National Operating System By Karl M. Garcia

Part I argued that the Philippines has reached an inflection point. The country’s central development challenge is no longer simply constructing more roads, ports, airports, or power plants. It is designing a national system in which these investments reinforce one another.<...

Part I — The Philippines at an Inflection Point By Karl M. Garcia

Every generation inherits a different development challenge.

For much of the twentieth century, the Philippines struggled to build the physical foundations of a modern nation. Roads, bridges, ports, schools, hospitals, power plants, irrigation systems, and telecommu...

Logos of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank displayed on a modern office wall By Karl M. Garcia

Over the past year, the Philippines has received a series of encouraging endorsements from major international institutions. The World Bank has recognized that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio remains manageable despite years of elevated public spendin...