Philippine Democracy

In this paper, I examine the radical approach to politics of President Rodrigo Duterte. I will retrace the roots of this radicalism to the colonial history of the Philippines in which the Spanish regime has established an elitist democratic system that engendered a social divide that has made the people of Mindanao felt betrayed by the capital. The politics of exclusion also gave rise to terrorism in the southern part of the country, the latest incident of which was the crisis in Marawi that has left the city devastated to the ground. Political analysts have been critical of the ‘War on Drugs’. However, Duterte stays popular due to his progressive approach to governance. Previous administrations have been accused as lacking the political will to disturb the elite. Duterte, in contrast, has the character of a leader who is not afraid to institute change in Philippine society.

The focus of this study is the radical politics of President Rodrigo Duterte. The leader has clashed with influential businessmen on critical issues. This investigation examines the president's battle against the oligarchy in the country. This research will try show that the rise to power of the first president from Mindanao is a reaction to elite rule. It seeks to reveal that the style of leadership of Duterte is reflective of the historical context that the critics of the president fail to account for. In arguing the case for Duterte's non-conventional approach in overhauling Philippine politics and society, the issues involving some conglomerates in the country are mentioned. In terms of method, the interpretive and analytical approach will be used, citing the available literature and documents to strengthen the article's arguments. The significance of this study has something to do with the idea of good governance. It argues that in the pursuit of a truly democratic society, the foundations of the basic structure must be strengthened. The pragmatic leadership of Duterte is a reflection of the deeper kind of radical change or substantive transformation that is needed to fight elite rule.

Las elecciones generales de mayo de 2010 traeran un nuevo presidente despues del largo mandato de Gloria Macapal-Arroyo. El futuro mandatario debera hacer frente a los grandes desafios en el bajo nivel de gobernanza y las deficiencias en el desarrollo. En mayo de 2010, tras casi una decada de gobierno, terminara la era Macapagal-Arroyo. Los sondeos presidenciales dan el primer puesto al liberal “Noynoy” Aquino, beneficiado por la gran popularidad de sus padres, seguido del nacionalista Villar, continuando a mayor distancia el populista Estrada, condenado hace pocos anos por cargos de corrupcion, y el oficialista Gilberto Teodoro. El desarrollo de la campana ha puesto en evidencia el poco peso de los partidos politicos frente a las personalidades que concurren en los comicios. A pesar de que las votaciones seran las primeras automatizadas en la historia, siguen persistiendo la violencia politica y la amenaza de irregularidades. Los candidatos han centrado su discurso en la solucion d...

In this paper, I examine the problem and history of Philippine democracy. It traces the root of the problem to the legacy of colonialism in the country which has resulted to the elitist nature of its politics that has excluded the poor and Mindanao. The two aspects of the problem appear to be political domination and the moral divide in the system, as explained by majority of scholars. It is argued here that the redistribution of wealth and the balance in the whole political structure can only commence through systemic reforms, which must include a shift to federalism to decentralize power and the strengthening of political parties as a way out of the grip of political dynasties.

The Covid-19 Pandemic manifests the important role of moral leadership in managing a crisis. In the light of the big disruptions to both public life and private enterprise, the need for an ethics of virtue becomes apparent. Most governments usually look into the consequences to the economy but disregard the meaningful role of moral character in making sound judgment. This article is an attempt to look into local experiences and values in contrast to institutional approaches in the West when it comes to the response to the Covid-19 public health emergency in the Philippines and elsewhere.

This article analyses some of the key issues in Philippine domestic politics and foreign policy during the years 2014 to 2015. The analysis is divided into two main parts. First, the article examines domestic politics from the lens of political corruption, President Aquino’s good governance programme, and electoral politics. Second, the article examines the principal patterns of power relations and key issues in regard to the Philippine government’s foreign policy and international diplomacy strategy — with a particular focus on bilateral relations with the United States, the rise of China and the territorial disputes, and regional economic integration in the context of the ASEAN. The main argument here is that the key patterns of domestic and foreign policies and strategies of the Philippine government under the Aquino administration reveal historically constituted shortcomings of the Philippine state in autonomously steering its own long-term development outcomes, primarily because of two factors: the internal struggles amongst various elite factions within the state-society nexus and the peripheral and US-centric roles that the country plays in the international system.

The rise to power of Rodrigo Duterte is perhaps one of the most astonishing political developments in our time. It is a radical revolution that is rooted in the language of dissent of the Bisaya. However, the critics of the president insist on the sociology of power as the real motive behind the man. Using Chantal Mouffe's theory of modern democracy, it will be argued that Duterte's radicalism is symptomatic of the political tensions in nation-states. Mouffe believes that the logic of identity in the modern state has disappeared. This approach to politics does not arise out of a consensus, but in the necessity of conflict and antagonism that characterizes the politics of nation-building in post-colonial Philippines. Drawing from the intent to pursue the Mindanao agenda, it is argued that critics misunderstand the nature of Duterte's radical politics.

A popular jargon in Philippine political sphere nowadays, the “rule of law” dogma draws people to mythically believe of it as the truest of truth.  Anything, thus, inconsistent with it is counterfeit.  Politicians, lawyers, businesspeople, and even church leaders – whom ordinary citizens look up with highest esteem – express varied, more often contradicting, stance on burning issues where they comfortably justify their position as grounded on the  “rule of law”.

This paper ventures into understanding the “rule of law” concept in relation to the democratic experiences of selected Asian countries.  This is significant as there appears an urgency to examine the extent of the Philippine’s adherence to democratic ideals and philosophy vis-à-vis the issue of public governance and the delivery of social services to the people. 

By exploring the relevant practices of neighboring Asian nations, the Philippines may be able to find applicable models to strengthen its unstable and often compromised system of public governance.

Understanding the concepts of “rule of law” and of public governance in relation to the concept of the “democracy”, as “majority” and often misconstrued as “tyranny of the majority”,  is essential.  Internalizing them empowers people and enhances their strength, determination and commitment to succeed in any form of endeavor.

Institutional clashes are catalysts for sociopolitical change, as illustrated by the five-hundred-year history of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The church remains instrumental in the conscientization process after the EDSA People Power Revolution (1986). However, the challenge now facing the church—in particular, President Duterte’s “war on drugs”—requires a more resolute approach. This article examines the role of the Catholic Church beyond its institutional obligations. I argue that ecclesiastical movements in small communities, more than the pronouncements of institutional leaders, provide the moral voice for the church as it responds to the cries of ordinary citizens for social justice.

In this paper, I use the concept of biopower to reflect on the strategy of President Rodrigo Duterte when it comes to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Philippines. A term that originated from Michel Foucault, "biopower" refers to the idea in which the state controls the physical bodies of the population by employing rules, laws, and basic protocols enforced in the name of public health. In the Philippines, the government has imposed lockdowns and restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus. The type of Biopolitics practiced in the country has been described by his critics as a form of "medical populism". However, such an assessment lacks a thorough recognition of the reality of power relations in Philippine society. Why must we understand the reality of structural injustice in Philippine society, as well as the hegemonic nature of global politics, in the middle of a public health crisis?

This essay aims to examine various expressions and interpretations of the zero-sum conception of the relationship between the state and civil society manifested by civil society organizations, leftwing groups and NGOs by framing - and critiquing - their activities within the counterweight, hegemonic and associational notions of civil society. This essay aims to show how all three interpretations of the zero-sum mentality hinder long-term, progressive political change in the Philippines. First, such mentality results in a failure to invest in local politics as a strategy in sustainably and effectively challenging the recurrence of old patterns of an oligarchic, elite democracy. Most different cases scenario will be one such framework employed to show this. Second, it exposes itself to the phenomena of crossover and semiclientelism, which if viewed from the Gramscian discourse on co-optation, results merely in the prolonging of the cycle of changelessness. Third and finally, the tendency of these groups to de-politicize themselves weakens and ignores the value of political contestation central to the contested democracy framework. Given these, this paper suggests the need for civil society groups to rethink and temper their zero-sum mentality to pave way to strengthening of local strategies and political contestations for a more participatory and egalitarian Philippine democracy.

What is the role of religion in politics? Jurgen Habermas enunciates that religion plays an important role in the formation of public opinion. John Rawls makes a distinction between the public and non-public use of reason and proposes the insulation of public reason from religion. The Catholic Church in the Philippines was a powerful voice of dissent during the Marcos regime. However, the radicalized communitarian politics of President Duterte threatens the fundamental principles of deliberative democracy. For instance, the disruptions brought about by Duterte’s vitriolic attacks on the Catholic Church now present a perilous challenge to the position of the institution in the moral formation of Philippine society. Yet, the hierarchy is also divided and its reluctance to engage with the adversarial ways of Duterte has resulted in its inability to advocate a resolute and effective moral stance against a violent drug war.