Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit
Since founding The Stratbase Group and the Stratbase Institute for Strategic and International Studies in 2004, Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit has been a leading provider of strategic analysis and thought leadership on global issues in the Philippines. He identifies investment and business opportunities, gathers critical intelligence to navigate regulation, and cultivates deep relationships across key departments and agencies. Drawing on extensive experience, he advises private-sector leaders and the diplomatic community on the interplay between business and government, and on how legislative, regulatory, and geopolitical dynamics shape strategy.
As a public policy analyst and strategist, Professor Manhit looks beyond day-to-day politics, combining backward-looking, fact-based, data-driven analysis with forward-looking options. He champions independent, strategic, and pragmatic policy research to contribute to geopolitical debates and influence domestic and regional policy—an approach he applies amid today’s complex global challenges and the pressures of globalization on nation-states.
He concurrently serves as Philippine Country Head of BowerGroupAsia (BGA), a leading Asia-Pacific advisory firm. A former chair and retired associate professor at De La Salle University, he has authored numerous commentaries and papers on geopolitics, governance, and political reform. His expertise spans strategic studies and management, international politics, and public policy analysis. He writes for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and BusinessWorld.
Professor Manhit sits on the Armed Forces of the Philippines Multi-Sector Governance Council and chairs its Cybersecurity Committee. Within the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he chairs the Committee on Investment Policy and Promotion.
His public service includes roles as Undersecretary for External Affairs and Special Concerns of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports and Deputy Secretary for Administration and Financial Services of the Philippine Senate. He worked across the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 12th Congresses as Chief of Staff to the late Senate President Edgardo J. Angara and as senior policy research adviser in key Senate committees.
After government, he engaged diverse civil society networks, leading governance and environmental initiatives as Lead Convenor of Democracy Watch Philippines and Convenor of the Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST).
Internationally, he is Vice-Chair of the advisory board of We Protect our Seas – WPS, highlighting U.S.–Philippine economic ties as a foundation for enduring security, and serves on the Global Advisory Board of the European Values Center for Security Policy. He advises Asia Society Philippines and was appointed an ASEAN Regional Forum Expert and Eminent Person by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
He is a Fellow of the Foundation for Economic Freedom, a member of the Management Association of the Philippines, and of the Institute of Corporate Directors, where he serves on the Strategy Execution Pathway Committee. As a board member and adviser of the Philippine Trade Foundation (Phils., Inc.), he helps craft initiatives to attract investments and promote balanced trade.
Professor Manhit holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s in Philippine Studies (Political Science and History) from the University of the Philippines and is a member of the Phi Gamma Mu International Honor Society.
