New Think Tank, Albert Del Rosario Institute for Strategic and International Studies

Last Friday, I was one of the invitees of Stratbase Consultancy Group in relaunching the Stratbase Research Institute (SRI) into the Albert Del Rosario Institute for Strategic and International Studies (ADR-ISIS). It was also the 10th anniversary of Stratbase. A number of academic and corporate VIPs there, and only two legislators. Good crowd, it was held at the Manila Polo Club in Makati.

Seated below are among the Board Members of the new think tank. From left: Dr. Epictetus Patalinghug of the UP College of Business Administration, Manny V. Pangilinan, head of Metro Pacific Investments, Smart/PLDT, Meralco, TV5, etc; Dr. Rene de Castro of DLSU International Studies Department, Dr. Francisco Magno of DLSU Political Science Department.

The other board members are Dr. Primo “CP” David of UP Diliman Geology and Environmental Science, Atfy Raul Pangalangan, former dean of the UP College of Law and publisher of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Benjamin Philip Romualdez, President of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), Edgardo Lacson, honorary Chair of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and President of the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), and Ernest “Ernie” Bower, senior adviser and Sumitro chair for Southeast Asia Studies at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Photo below seated, DFA Sec. Albert del Rosario (ADR), four Ambassadors from different countries, and Mr. Romualdez of COMP.

Sec. ADR giving a speech about the new think tank named after him. He was introduced by the founder and Managing Director of Stratbase, Prof. Dindo Manhit, after Dindo gave an overview of Stratbase's 10 years of accomplishments.

A story from Business Mirror a day before the event. Similar story was reported by Manila Bulletin, The Tribune, Manila Standard and the Inquirer.

I met a number of old friends and new acquitaintances there. This photo from left: me, Gary Olivar who is a fellow UPSE alumni, also the Spokesperson of former President Gloria M. Arroyo, Sen. Sonny Angara, Arnel Casanova, President and CEO of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), and Felix Ang, President of Cats Motors.

Again with Sen. Angara, Ramon Casiple, President of the Institute for  Political  and Electoral Reforms (IPER), Carol Manhit (Dindo's wife) and _______.

Among the various UP Diliman guys and alumni that night. With fellow UPSE alumni Jeffrey Ng, President of Cathay Metal Corp. and Cathay Land, Raul Pangalanan of UP Law, and Cong. Kit Belmonte of Quezon City. Kit was a former famous UP student leader, coming from a very rich family yet a very activist, "mestisong tibak".

With Prof. Kiko Magno, a DLSU Spanish visiting Prof., DFA Assistant Sec. for Legal Affairs Eddie Vega. Kiko, Ed and me are also fellow alumni of the UP Sapul, Polititical Science Club.

Ok, ADR-ISIS is not a free market think tank advocating limited government, unlike our partner think tanks within the  Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia, but I think the ADR think tank guys are open to hearing free market perspectives.  For instance, I was a participant in two small group round table discussions held by CitizenWatch Philippines/Stratbase this year. And two of my papers, one on ASEAN free trade and the other on the Philippines power/energy and rice trade sectors, were published by SRI. Thanks to Dindo.

I hope this informal partnership will continue in the coming years.
Photos above from PBEST, Mikee and my cameraphone.
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See also:
Stratbase Forum on ASEAN Competitiveness, July 25, 2014
Free Trade 36: Taxation, Regulations, Trade and Rule of Law in ASEAN, August 05, 2014
Citizen Watch 2: On Power and Jobs, August 30, 2014