As the Philippines braces for months of drought and shortages amid the deleterious effects of El Nino, questions are mounting over whether it could have been better prepared to deal with a crisis that had been predicted well in advance. The government’s haphazard response to the climate phenomenon reflects its persistent track record of failing to adequately plan, according to climate and risk specialists. El Nino is a weather phenomenon that triggers changes in winds and rainfall patterns,...

Lorelai Jacinto had worked as a domestic helper in Riyadh for two and a half years before she flew home to the Philippines on September 19, increasingly worried that the conflict in the Middle East was making it unsafe to stay. “When the conflict with Iran happened, I started feeling like it wasn’t safe there any more because I was right there in Riyadh myself, so the bombing, the missiles, were closer to us,” Jacinto told This Week in Asia. “I got worried, I got scared that maybe I wouldn’t be...