Ben Kritz

2 weeks ago | manilatimes.net | Ben Kritz

IT is a story so incredibly stupid that it defies belief, and even after I explain it, you are likely to wonder if I have omitted a large, important part of it, or have gone completely insane, or if you yourself have gone completely insane. I invite you to be as skeptical as you can be, and do whatever fact-checking you feel is necessary; in fact, I insist that you do. And you will inevitably find that, alas, it is completely true.

2 weeks ago | manilatimes.net | Ben Kritz

AT the beginning of October last year, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), along with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and the Department of Energy (DOE), announced an agreement with aerospace giant Airbus for the conduct of a feasibility study on the development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the Philippines.

2 weeks ago | manilatimes.net | Ben Kritz

LAST week, United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth paid a visit to the Philippines, a stop on a trip planned to help him evade a raging scandal back home. During his visit, he made a wild promise of up to $500 million in new military aid for the Philippines, which evidently began with the provision of another launcher for the US-built Typhon missile system.

3 weeks ago | manilatimes.net | Ben Kritz

I AM honored today to be moderating the discussion panel at the Philippine Electric Power Industry Forum (PEPIF) 2025, which is being held this year in Cagayan de Oro. The forum is put on annually by the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) and moves from place to place. Last year, we were in Iloilo, and the year before that, in Manila. That is a nice feature of the PEPIF.

3 weeks ago | manilatimes.net | Ben Kritz

BARELY a week after another of his Starship rockets exploded over the Gulf of Mexico a few minutes after takeoff — the second one so far this year — SpaceX chairman and unelected US prime minister Elon Musk confidently declared that the company would launch Starship on an unmanned mission to Mars by the end of next year, and that a manned mission could follow as early as 2029, but more likely in 2031.