Southeast Asia Insights

Manila is tense as the Philippines faces one of its most serious political crises in recent years. Vice President Sara Duterte publicly stated she is ready to assume the presidency if President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. steps down over the expanding flood control corruption scandal. Her message has added new pressure to an already unstable situation.   Duterte Says She Is Prepared for Constitutional Duty Speaking in Davao City on Tuesday, Dute...

Manila is facing rising tension after former congressman Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, a key figure in the flood control bribery scandal, released a new set of videos while hiding abroad. In the recordings, he accuses the president of demanding kickbacks and senior officials of benefiting from years of corruption tied to flood control projects. The president strongly denies all allegations.   Zaldy Co’s Videos Ignite New Questions...

  Piracy is becoming a problem in Southeast Asia, one of the busiest shipping areas in the world. The International Maritime Bureau says pirate attacks in Asia increased by 35% in 2024. These attacks hurt not just ships and their crews, but the global economy too.   Malacca Strait: A Key Target One of the most important places being targeted by pirates is the Malacca Strait, located between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. It is a n...

Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, who also leads the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, has issued one of his strongest public statements yet, condemning the multibillion-peso flood control corruption scandal that has shaken the country.   In a passionate Sunday sermon, the Cardinal called the scheme the “worst corruption scandal in our nation’s history,” saying the scale of theft has left many Filipinos ...

The fall of Alice Guo has stunned the Philippines. Once a soft spoken mayor in the quiet town of Bamban, she is now serving life in prison for a scam empire so big that investigators said it looked more like a crime syndicate headquarters than a local business.   A Mayor People Once Trusted Bamban is a small town a few hours north of Manila. When Guo first became mayor, residents described her as kind, quiet and focused on improving local...