essay about philippine political structure

Essay on Philippine Politics And Governance

Students are often asked to write an essay on Philippine Politics And Governance in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Philippine Politics And Governance

Introduction to philippine politics.

Philippine politics is a blend of democracy and a republic system. The Philippines is a democratic country, meaning the people have the power to choose their leaders. The republic part means that the country has a President, who is the head of state.

The Structure of Government

The Philippine government has three branches: the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial. The Executive branch is led by the President. The Legislative branch makes laws and is divided into two parts: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Judicial branch interprets laws.

Role of the President

The President of the Philippines has a vital role. They are the chief executive and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. They are responsible for implementing laws and maintaining peace and order.

The Election Process

Elections in the Philippines are held every six years. Citizens aged 18 and above can vote. They choose their leaders, including the President, Vice President, Senators, and Representatives. These leaders are expected to serve the people and the country.

Challenges in Philippine Politics

Understanding Philippine politics and governance is crucial. It helps us understand the country’s challenges and how they can be solved. It also helps us appreciate the role of citizens in shaping the nation’s future.

250 Words Essay on Philippine Politics And Governance

Politics in the Philippines is a complex subject. It is run as a democratic republic, which means the people have the power to choose their leaders. The President is the head of the state and the government.

Elections are important events in the Philippines. They happen every six years for the President and Vice President, and every three years for other officials. The people vote for their leaders, which is a way of saying who they want to run the country.

Political Parties

There are many political parties in the Philippines. These parties represent different views and ideas. They play a big role in the elections as they support their candidates and help them win.

Role of the Government

The government has a big job to do. It has to make laws, keep the peace, and make sure people have what they need. The government is divided into three parts: the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial branches. Each has its own duties and powers.

Challenges in Governance

Philippine politics and governance are interesting to learn about. They show how people’s choices can shape a country. It also teaches us about the challenges of running a country and the importance of good leadership.

500 Words Essay on Philippine Politics And Governance

Introduction to philippine politics and governance.

Philippine politics and governance are interesting subjects. They are based on a democratic system, which means that the people have the power to choose their leaders. The Philippines has a president who is the head of the state, and also a prime minister who is the head of government.

The Political Structure

Political parties in the philippines.

In the Philippines, there are many political parties. These parties represent different beliefs and ideas about how the country should be run. During elections, these parties present candidates for the people to vote for. The party with the most votes usually takes control of the government.

Elections and Voting

Elections are very important in the Philippines. They are a way for people to choose their leaders and have a say in how their country is run. Voting is a right of all citizens who are 18 years old and above. During elections, people vote for their preferred candidates for various positions such as president, vice president, senators, and representatives.

Efforts for Improvement

Despite these challenges, there are efforts to improve the political system in the Philippines. Some people are working to fight corruption and promote good governance. There are also laws that aim to limit political dynasties and promote fair elections.

In conclusion, Philippine politics and governance are shaped by the democratic system, political parties, and elections. Although there are challenges such as corruption and political dynasties, there are also efforts to improve the system. Understanding these aspects can help us appreciate the importance of active participation in the political process.

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Politics In The Philippines Essay

Politics is defined as the theory and practice of government, the interrelation between people who exercise and resist power, and the use of tactics and strategy to gain power in a certain number of people. However, a lot of deeper definitions have been correlated with the term “politics”, both in a positive and negative way. It is now said that politics is a gamble, dirty and decisive, that it already lost its noble meaning. It is once said that politics may be considered as the noblest profession, if only it is created for the service of the people.

Essay Example on About Politics In The Philippines

Ladies and gentlemen, politics covers a very comprehensive area, covering the physical, economical, social and moral aspect of a nation. And I would like to make the simplest yet profound presentation of this topic based on our very own. This is the anatomy of the Philippine Politics. The political system and the economical status are two inseparable factors on the growth of every country, and from there, we can say that we have no stable economic status because we have no stable government.

The economical status is displayed because there is the government that is supposed to manage and regulate the functions of the economy. Therefore, it is the government that plays a big part. The goal of the government MUST be to sustain its people the standard of living that every individual really deserves. But here in the Philippines, many Filipinos live in the upper class, more on the middle class, and MOST on the lowest class, just on or under the poverty line.

essay about philippine political structure

Proficient in: Asia

“ Very organized ,I enjoyed and Loved every bit of our professional interaction ”

Why is this so? Is everything the government’s fault? Of is it the masses? Let’s dissect each of these two.

The government is supposed to be composed of the government officials only, since it is called the government. But the fact that a lot of Filipinos do not see is that aside from the gluttonous government officials who fights for power, there is also some of the elite class, the greedy businessmen who have hidden agendas as they make deeper coordination with the government transactions and processes. They both hypocritically reach their left hands to the “ordinary citizens” while their right hands are mischievously getting money from the funds of the people.

A very good example of “multi-tasking” isn’t it? But while they are too busy tricking the people, there is the police, the armed forces, and the courts that had grown inefficient to restore peace and order in the country. There are the once blue seas now black. There are the little children who go to school barefoot with rotten books in their broken bags. There is the usual Filipino family with a dozen children eating once a day under a leaking roof. You see? As the fortunate ruling class is pacifying themselves with power and luxury, the poor ones are suffering.

Now, are the masses blameless? NO. The ordinary citizens were rightfully given the bill of rights and granted with full democracy. But that doesn’t mean that they have to react violently and dogmatically. They were living with genuine sovereignty, free to speak themselves and do whatever pleases them. But that was often the misconception about freedom. They keep on exercising their own independence without even thinking and considering the rights of the other person. Just days ago, the president of the SGC of the University of the Philippines kept on barking about the inept governance of

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Understanding Culture, Society and Politics

Political structures in the philippines (part i).

Teaching Resources

Author: Ruth Lusterio-Rico

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Lesson 1: Right to Rule and the Social Contract

Lesson Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the student is expected to be able to:

Define political structures;
Explain the concepts of power, authority, legitimacy, rights, social contract, constitution;
Appraise arguments about the bases of existence of political structures; and
Examine the functions of political structures, particularly, in Philippine society today.

Key Concepts

Political Institutions – system of behaviors occurring in governance; also “political structures”
Power – ability to do something in order to achieve a desired outcome
Authority – rightful or legitimate power
Social Contract – agreement made by the members of society with those with authority that determines their relations with one another
Political Obligation – responsibility of citizens to abide by or follow the government

Study Guide

Introduction to the Lesson:

To have an idea about who Thomas Hobbes was and what England was like during his lifetime:
Read this short article on the Life and Works of Thomas Hobbes by Duncan, Stewart, “Thomas Hobbes”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hobbes/#1
Watch this short video on Thomas Hobbes and England in the 17 th century, https://youtu.be/9i4jb5XBX5s .
Read the excerpts from the Leviathan in Curtis, ed. Great Political Theories , Vol. 1, pp. 296-315.
To know who John Locke was:
Read about the life and works of John Locke from this article from the International Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://iep.utm.edu/locke/#H1
Watch this video clip on the life and legacy of John Locke, https://youtu.be/b2NnEfhQ15M .
Read the excerpts from the Second Treatise of Civil Government (Curtis, ed. Great Political Theories, Vol. 1, pp. 337-354).
To learn more about Rousseau and his contributions:
Read about his life and works from this article, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rousseau/#Life ;
Watch this video, Jean Jacques Rousseau Biography https://youtu.be/VqOaG24aPSc ; and
Read the excerpts from the Social Contract (Ebenstein and Ebenstein, Great Political Thinkers, pp. 505-506, 508-520).

The Social Contract Theory

As we know, power is found in different types of social and political structures. In its broadest meaning, power refers to the ability to do something in order to achieve a desired outcome. Legitimate power – or one that is recognized to be rightful – is called authority . Thus, a person is obeyed by others because he or she is recognized as a rightful or legitimate leader. The sociologist, Max Weber (1864-1920) studied the transformation of societies and observed that the bases of the legitimacy of rule vary in different types of societies. Weber identified three pure types of authority: traditional, charismatic, and legal-rational. In certain cases, the type of authority may be a mix of these types.

Political structures in different societies have evolved over time. Historical experiences (such as having been colonized) and cultural practices are some of the factors that have influenced the development and functioning of political structures in various societies. The so-called Social Contract Theory from the ideas of three political thinkers who lived from the 16 th to the 18 th centuries, namely, Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke (1632 to 1704) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1788), offer some explanations about the nature of the state and its institutions, the power that the rulers of the state exercise, and the rights of the citizens. In a nutshell, these ideas provide explanations about why societies and governments were formed.

Oftentimes, a state is thought of to be synonymous with government. Many Filipinos, in fact, may tend to think of the state in this way. This is understandable because the state exercises its power through the government and its various institutions. However, the state, as defined above, is much more than the government.

There are many views regarding the origin and nature of the state. From the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle, we learn that the state is a natural institution. It is natural because it emerges from the necessity to work together so that certain needs can be met and goals can be achieved. Thus, the state exists because people need to live together.

Human beings are by nature social beings. Aristotle, for instance, believed that a person who does not live in a society is either a beast (animal) or a god (does not need another being to provide for their needs). Based on this perspective, a state exists not for the sake of itself but to achieve a higher good, such as the happiness of the entire community—what we call the common good. For his part, the Italian thinker, Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), argued that the state exists for the sake of itself, i.e., to get, collect, and expand power.

The Social Contract Theory presents another view: the state and the institutions of society are seen as products of a social contract – an agreement made by the members of society that defines and influences their interactions, particularly with those in authority. As mentioned above, there are three major ideas regarding the nature of the social contract. The English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, thought that the agreement came about because of the need to guarantee the security of the people. The main role of the political ruler was to maintain order and security within society. Another English philosopher, John Locke, thought that the social contract was needed to guarantee the fair and impartial enforcement of the law. For Locke, human beings lived in a state of nature governed by rationality and natural law. The primary function of the state, as defined by the social contract, is to guarantee that individuals exercise their natural rights to life, liberty, and property. A third view on the social contract, articulated by the French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, emphasizes the idea of the natural equality of human beings. Therefore, the only justified authority is one that emerges from an agreement among all in which each particular will has been submitted to the general will. What this means is that no person or entity possesses the right to rule over people unless everyone has agreed to such rule. The power exercised by the state is only made possible because the citizens have given their consent and have expressed their will to be governed. The ideas of the social contract are elaborated below.

Important ideas from Hobbes’ Leviathan

Thomas Hobbes’ masterpiece was the Leviathan, published in 1651. In this work, Hobbes wrote about his idea of a social contract and argued that it (the social contract) was necessary for men to live peacefully and securely under the absolute rule of the Leviathan (the ruler). Some scholars have commented that Hobbes’ social contract theory rests on his theory of human nature.

In The Leviathan (1651), Hobbes wrote on the following ideas:

Nature of the human being : for Hobbes, all human beings enjoy absolute equality; they desire the same thing: power. The “right of nature” is the liberty each man has “to use his own power, as he will himself, for the preservation of his own nature; that is to say, of his own life”.
State of nature : a state of war where there is no guarantee for one’s life; life in the state of nature is “nasty, poor, brutish, and short”.
Reason for the establishment of the social contract : self-preservation; people gave up their rights to protect their lives: they have transferred their natural rights to the ruler for the preservation of their lives; sovereign power has been transferred by the people to the ruler
Role of the Leviathan : to protect people from themselves; without the social contract (therefore, without the Leviathan), there can be no order
Obligation of subjects : preserve the social contract by following the ruler; disobedience or rebellion against the government is tantamount to going back to the state of nature, which is a state of war.

Political Obligation refers to the duty of citizens to obey a government that has the right to rule or is legitimate. The agreement that people have made for themselves (social contract) is a basis of political obligation. People obey their rulers because they have given political rulers the right to rule. Basically, this is used to justify absolutism and authoritarianism. Under such systems, citizens are viewed merely as subjects who have given up their rights and therefore have no right to resist or even question their rulers. For example, if one lives under this government described by Hobbes (i.e., an authoritarian or absolutist government), a citizen who is accused of rebellion or any crime would have no right to defend himself or herself. It would not matter whether the citizen is guilty or not.

| Self-Evaluation Form (Part I)

Answer the following questions.

1.What do you already know about the lesson/topic?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.What do you want to know more about the lesson/topic?

Sub-Lesson 1: Important ideas from Locke’s Second Treatise

The second version of the Social Contract Theory comes from another English philosopher, John Locke. Locke’s version of the social contract theory differs from that of Hobbes. Both Hobbes and Locke lived during the 17th century, which was a period of chaos in England. If Hobbes argued for absolutism in the Leviathan, Locke’s social contract theory justified the right of the people to resist tyrannical rule. Below are some of the important ideas from the work of Locke:

State of nature: a state of “perfect freedom”; but inconveniences arise from the practice of equality of all, i.e., in terms of their life, liberty, and possessions Nature of man: equal with other men; rational: man has reason that enables him to determine what is right from wrong and recognize the rights of other men Civil society: established by the social contract; to address the inconveniences that arise from the state of nature so that each man does not become the judge of his own case Social contract: does not mean that people have given up their rights, but the goal of the institution of civil society is the enhancement of one’s rights to life, liberty, and property. Role of government: not to rule absolutely but to rule over people as their trustee; sovereignty has not been given up by the people but has been entrusted to the government; people have the right to resist when the ruler has become abusive.

Comparing the ideas of the two English philosophers, we can clearly see the differences in their perspectives. In the Hobbesian version of the social contract, the citizens’ rights have already been lost, since they gave it up for the sake of securing their lives. What this means in practical terms is that the citizens’ right to express their views and be heard by the Leviathan has been lost. The Leviathan governs and all the people need to do is to follow. In contrast, for Locke, while the government exercises power on behalf of the people, they (the citizens) have not lost their rights to express their views and even to resist a bad government. As noted above, the people have not given up their rights but have only entrusted their rights to the government. Therefore, the citizens have every right to take back what they have entrusted to the government. Finally, as the trustee, the role of the government is to make sure that the people’s right to life, liberty, and property is enhanced. The role of government therefore is to make people’s lives better.

Sub-Lesson 2: Important ideas from Rousseau’s Social Contract

A third version of the Social Contract Theory emerged from one of the works of the French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Of the three social contract theorists, Rousseau was the only one who did not have close contacts with people in the aristocracy or work with people in power. The French writer had an interesting background, and unlike Hobbes and Locke, he did not attend prestigious schools or universities. The third version of the theory from Rousseau will, hopefully, enrich your assessment of views on the relationship between the state (particularly those who are in power) and society. The following are excerpts from Rousseau’s The Social Contract (1762).

– “Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains”. This was Rousseau’s way of expressing how the society of his time did not recognize the natural freedom of individuals.

– In the state of nature, man is free but ruled by his instincts or appetite. Therefore, he is not truly free.

– For Rousseau, the purpose of the social contract is “…to form an association which will defend and protect with the whole common force the person and goods of each associate, and in which each, while uniting himself with all, may still obey himself alone, and remain as free as before”. What this means is that, for Rousseau, the purpose of the social contract is the enhancement of one’s liberty. Like Hobbes and Locke, Rousseau believed that a person is naturally free. However, in the state of nature, such freedom possessed by a person cannot be considered real or true freedom. Why is this so? It is because such natural freedom is exercised by a person who is governed simply by his or her natural instincts. To become a better human being exercising true freedom, Rousseau believed that a person must live in a society. This is what it means when Rousseau wrote that, “Man can be forced to be free.” A person learns about true freedom – first, civil liberty, and then moral liberty – only when they live in a society. The product of the social contract, therefore, is a community that defends and protects the rights of each person. The citizen is thus both sovereign and subject. They are sovereign because they are part of the community. They are also a subject because they must follow what the sovereign wills. Concretely, what this means is that the people exercise sovereign power (for example, in choosing or electing the leaders of their country) and at the same time, follow the laws that are made by their government. To do these dual functions (sovereign and subject), Rousseau believed that citizens need to be developed and educated. They must know how to exercise the freedom they possess and not be ruled simply by their instincts. When citizens follow rules that their rulers make, they exercise civil liberty . When citizens follow laws that they made themselves, they exercise moral liberty . For Rousseau, the highest form of freedom is moral liberty. This is achieved when a citizen can identify their own will as that of the common good or the General Will.

– The purpose of the social contract according to Rousseau is to express the “General Will”, which is aimed at the good of all. It is different from the “will of all” which is the sum of particular wills. Rousseau also considered that people may identify the will of the majority (“will of all”) as the General Will. It is not necessarily so. What Rousseau meant by the General Will is not simply counting of votes, or determining how many are in favor of a certain position. Knowing the General Will requires the active participation of the citizens. What this implies is that the citizens are knowledgeable of the issue being discussed and can make an informed decision (not being ruled simply by their instincts). When citizens are active, they are sovereign, according to Rousseau.

– For Rousseau, the people remain sovereign. This means that they are the highest power. Once they enter a social contract, they do not lose this power. They do not give it up (“sovereignty is inalienable”). They also do not divide sovereign power and delegate the power to another body such as a small group of men and women (“sovereignty is indivisible”).

Overall, the Social Contract Theory presents the idea that society was formed as a result of an agreement among men. There may be different justifications from the different writers regarding the existence of the government and the extent of its power over its citizens. But the idea that sovereign power rests on the people who have made the social contract is common among the three thinkers. Moreover, many scholars acknowledge the influence of the ideas from the social contract theory, particularly from Locke and Rousseau, on the establishment of democratic societies that uphold the ideals of liberty and equality among citizens. To some extent, the idea of a social contract has also been associated with the existence of a constitution.

Self-Evaluation Forms (Part 2)

What have you learned from the lesson? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. How will you apply the knowledge you have learned in this lesson in improving Philippine society? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

List of Activities

Synchronous Activities (In-class)

Activity 1: Debate on the Social Contract Theory Instructions.

Step 1. Divide the class into two groups. Step 2. Give them ample time to prepare and to discuss the opposing arguments for this question: Is the right or wrong to resist a bad ruler part of the rights of men under a social contract? Step 3. Allow them to reflect on their stances at the end of the debate.

Activity 2: Discussion on Hobbes Instructions. Present the following questions to students: 1. What is Hobbes’s theory of human nature? What are human beings like? 2. How did he describe the state of nature? 3. What conditions in the state of nature led men to enter into a social contract? 4. What constitutes sovereign power? What are its rights?

Activity 3: Discussion on Locke Instructions. Present the following questions to students:

1. What do you think were the important influences on Locke’s ideas? 2. What do men possess in the state of nature that makes them distinguish what is right from wrong? 3. What are three characteristics of the state of nature according to Locke? 4. What are the two types of liberty for Locke? 5. What is the supreme power of the commonwealth? 6. What are the four limits to the power of government?

Activity 4: Discussion on Rousseau Instructions. Present the following questions to students:

1. How did Rousseau describe man’s life in the state of nature? 2. What does sovereignty mean? Who possesses it? What are its qualities? 3. What is the General Will? What is its significance in society?

Asynchronous Activities

Activity: Application of the Social Contract Theory

Part 1. Imagine yourself to be in a state of nature. Think of yourself as being in a situation wherein there are no rules that you must follow and that you are perfectly free to do whatever you want. 1. How would you imagine the situation would be? Would you want to be in such a situation? 2. Do you think that such an environment would be conducive for you to achieve your goals? Why or why not? 3. Imagine further the situation above to be the same situation of everyone else in your community. Do you think that such an environment where everyone can do as he or she pleases is desirable? Why or why not?

Part 2. After a careful reflection of the ideas of the social contract thinkers, write a short essay on the significance of the social contract for a community. Consider the following questions in writing your essay: 1. Who do you think should be the source of rules or order in your community? 2. Why do you think that person(s) be the source of rules or order in your community? 3. What should be the role of the rest of the people in your community? 4. What should be the relationship between the source of rules (leader) and the people in your community

Rubrics for Discussions and Debates

Lesson 2: The Constitution

Define the constitution; and
Explain related concepts to the lesson.
Constitution – system of rules which defines the responsibilities and powers of the government and its institutions, and the dynamics between the state and its citizens
Constitutionalism – political components which establish a system of check and balance

Study Guide

Introduction to the Lesson

To learn more about the Constitution:
Watch this short video on the constitution and its purposes, https://youtu.be/0UzKD8rZCc0 (video made by International Idea);
Read pages 501-518 of the book, Politics, 5th edition by Andrew Heywood; and
Get a copy of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and read the preamble and go through its different parts.
Constitution

A constitution is broadly defined as “a set of rules, written and unwritten, that seek to establish the duties, powers and functions of the various institutions of government; regulate the relationships between them; and define the relationship between the state and the individual” (Heywood 2019: 502-503). The term constitution is also narrowly used to refer to “the highest law of the land”, implying a “single, authoritative document or a written constitution” (Heywood 2019: 503). There are, however, constitutions that are not codified or are referred to as unwritten. In relation to the discussion on the concept of a social contract, the constitution is deemed to express the “fundamental law of the land that sets the principles, powers, organization and functions of the state and its government, the relations between state-government and the people, (the) rights and obligations of the people, (and the) relations among the people” (Rebullida in Philippine Politics and Governance: An Introduction, 2006:147). Thus, in a narrow sense, constitutionalism implies the practice of a limited government ensured by the existence of a constitution. More broadly, “ constitutionalism is a set of political values and devices that fragment power, thereby creating a network of checks and balances” (Heywood 2019: 512). The value of a constitution is widely recognized. Its existence serves a number of purposes other than ensuring the existence of a limited government. Heywood (2019:514) identifies the following purposes of constitutions:

Empower states
Establish unifying values and goals
Provide government stability
Protect freedom
Legitimize regimes

In this way, the constitution serves as the legal basis of government. It outlines the extent of the government’s power and the breadth of its responsibilities. Therefore, the constitution limits the power of the government in order to preserve and protect the rights of a nation’s citizens.

Activity: Discussion on the Constitution Instructions. Present the following questions to students:

1. What is a constitution? 2. How are constitutions classified? 3. What are examples of different types of constitutions? Where can these be found? 4. What is meant by constitutionalism? 5. What type of constitution does the Philippines have? 6. How is a limited government enshrined in the Philippine constitution?

Activity: Video Instructions. Watch this short video on the constitution and its purposes, https://youtu.be/0UzKD8rZCc0 (video made by International Idea) and provide your reflection in an essay of 400-500 words.

Heywood, A. (2019). Politics, 5th ed. L.I. London : Macmillan International Higher Education/Red Globe Press. Lowndes, V., Marsh, D. and Stoker, G. A. (2018). Theory and Methods in Political Science: Political Analysis (4th ed.). Red Globe Press. Tadem, T. S. E., & Morada, N. M. (2006). Philippine politics and governance: An introduction. Diliman, Quezon City: Dept. of Political Science, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines.

Learning Material

COMELEC (2012, May 2). 1987 Philippine Constitution Preamble. Retrieved from https://comelec.gov.ph/index.html?r=References/RelatedLaws/Constitution/1987Constitution/Preamble. International IDEA (2016). Constitutional history of Philippines. Retrieved from Constitutional history of the Philippines

Introduction
Rubrics for Grading

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The Ilustrados and their Contribution to Philippine Nationalism

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American Rule in the Philippines and Racism

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History of Philippines and Country Analysis

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Essay: Politics in the Philippines

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If we are to look at the history of the Philippines, we can see that there have been precedents and attempts towards a federal government. Looking through our pre-colonial history, we can see that we were composed of small polities named barangays. Since Spain’s conquest, the type of government dominant in the Philippines has been a unitary one, ruled from the capital of colonial Philippines until today, the so called “Imperial Manila”. Centuries have passed since then and so it simply is no wonder that there would be calls for decentralization and an interest towards federalism to many people. Such notions may just be a natural progress of society, or a sensible choice and idea to a people that have been ruled and exploited by the elites for centuries. But whatever the case is, there have been numerous cases and attempts towards federalization already as seen throughout our Filipino history. In fact, the precedent of the Philippine Colonial government can be also seen resembling some areas of federalization, specifically, the numerous barangays of pre-colonial Philippines. To note, Hutchcroft, (2017) states that these historical precedents are important in efforts for reforms towards federalism, stating it as one of the three basic principles for political reform. Continuing, the advent of the Spanish subjugated and made all these barangays as mostly autonomous polities, but swearing allegiance and tributes to the Spanish Crown. The efforts of the Spanish though have undermined the aforementioned precedent, dividing and turning these barangays against each other through their strategy of “divide and conquer”. It also didn’t help that the Spanish rule have and cooperation with the Spanish administrators and friars have tremendously helped these rulers now known as cabeza de barangay, ruling as little kings of their land. This has affected the solidarity among the barangays, which Cyr (2014) states to be the foundation for a successful federalism. The various barangays have been cultivated to hate other barangays as their enemy and to form an identity different from other barangays. This “distinction” of identity is seen not only in the conquered barangays, which would ironically be their common identity in revolt against Spain, but this distinction or separation of identity was also present in the southern barangays in Mindanao that resisted and were unconquered by the Spanish. The works of Rizal though have been instrumental in reigniting the solidarity among these barangays, which along with the help of the illustrados, have resulted in the formation of the Malolos Constitution. This was one of the most substantial attempts towards federalization if it would have succeeded.

While the Spanish colonization has resulted in the formation of the Philippine state, its legacy is akin to a vicious circle that still persists until today, reinforced during the colonial rule of the Americans. Due to the misconception of the Americans then of the Spanish rule being an “overcentralized” rule, a view still persisting until today but contested by some, the following reforms of the Americans were focused on decentralization (Hutchcroft, 2000). It is further stated in Hutchcroft’s paper that the political necessity to pacify the islands, beliefs and ideologies that the American’s possessed greatly influenced the decentralization effort. One example of this is the right to suffrage that was extended to the land-holding elites only for a long time. Further down the line, the American administrators rule was characterized by further decentralization and compromises with local politicians, powers misused by the local politicians as what it eventually led to was local authoritarianism. The amount of powers decentralized to the local politicians and their political advantage allowed for the formation and preservation of political dynasties. This was followed by further attempts to decentralize by opening national elections. This is of great significance to Philippine politics. Local politicians and political dynasties saw this as further opportunity to advance their own interests and political power through the use of their local power. It was also during this period that patronage politics flourished. While there are many valid analyses as to how patronage politics manifested and has stayed strong, with one analysis regarding the Filipino culture being the most prominent, there is also the perspective of Hutchcroft claiming it stemmed from the US’ efforts in “the particular configuration of the U.S.-crafted colonial polity”, rather than the result from “tradition” or culture (Hutchcroft, 2000). These were the main contributing factors to the formation of aan image of a national oligarchy. While there were still attempts by the American administrators to centralize, it was ultimately insufficient, and the American period saw not the removal or curbing of the elites, but instead the further legalization and consolidation of their powers that would allow them to maintain their rule for decades to come. The political system in the Philippines eventually developed, though not strictly in a good direction, with frameworks like Anarchy of Families (Mccoy, 1993), Bossism (Sidel, 1997), and Patron-client framework being the most influential in viewing contemporary Philippine politics. Later in the paper, the researcher would be mainly using the Bossism framework to analyze federalism’s potential grave effects on Philippine development and shifting of frameworks used to view Philippine politics. It is imperative, however, to first examine and analyze other viewpoints so as to avoid reinforcing of biases and cross-referencing of facts.

First and foremost, federalism is decentralization from national to local governments. If we are to tackle the age old problem that is “Imperial Manila”, it would seem that decentralization would be the solution for it once and for all. Mendoza (2017) however, disagrees with such notions, but does still support federalism. Mendoza clarifies that even with the Local Government Code of 1991, which is a monumental legislature towards decentralization, still did little to curb the “Imperial Manila”. Mendoza proposes instead that the enactment of federalism shouldn’t be treated as a silver bullet to all our political ills, but instead as an opportunity to greatly affect and reform our systems within, akin to the Marcos regime essentially a “reset button” to the country. One of the issues that should be tackled in this period of reform should also be the problem of political dynasties and their lacking accountability. Not only is there a problem regarding governance when dynasties are involved, but these political dynasties are also a problem in the legislature. In fact, Yusingco and Yusingco(2018) have pointed out this issue specifically. Not only does the strong presence of political dynasties in the Houses pose a strong impediment for laws to address their problem, but can even impede reforms on a constitutional level. Even in researches, there is still a divide as to whether federalism can bring economic growth, with researches backed with data stating that federalism can bring economic prosperity, and some claiming it only leads to further inequality and average poverty from all the observed countries (Hatfield, 2006; Uy, 2018)

The political landscape of the Philippines after the American Colonization was viewed for a long time to be explained and dominated by patron-clientelism framework (PCF). Mccoy’s (1993) theory of anarchy of families also offer a glimpse of Philippine politics, and may even see a greater relevance as seen in the trend of increasing political dynasties. While it may seem that Philippine politics is greatly dominated by personal factors as seen in the frameworks of Mccoy and the PCF, there is often the ignored “impersonal and non-clientelist” means that politicians employ during elections. Of course this is not to discredit personalistic features in politics, but there is also a need to see the impersonal things that are clearly present in Philippine politics, especially since most of the opinion pieces and literature have been citing mostly such personalistic features like political dynasties. The Bossism framework by Sidel is a great framework that focuses on such.

As discussed earlier, local politicians are no stranger to using autocratic means, due in part to the vast powers granted to them and lacking accountability to the people. They truly are no different to kings in their own domain. It is simply common to see the usage of violence, vote-buying, and coercion in local elections, most prominently in areas farther from Manila or non-urban areas. Access to these impersonal means however, are mostly reliant on access to state instruments. These local politicians, with methods akin to bosses, were only able to win and gain access to government instruments through powerbrokers from the national government, in exchange for their support in national elections. This is the relation between the local and national government, acting as bosses through the use of state instruments. This is, from my understanding, Sidel’s framework of Bossism. It is also imperative that while using this framework to view Philippine politics, to keep in mind Sidel’s interpretation of the State as an instrument. This is important as viewing the state as such removes the notion that the state is a “weak state”, rather ours is a strong, but fragmented state. In its function as an extractive tool or institution, it is very much efficient. Such extractive function though is not only limited to the granting of monopolies, regulatory laws, land grabbing, and extraction of natural resources, but also to the extraction of the state itself as a resource. Such nature of fragmentation is also important to address as solidarity, one of the basic principles of federalism, is evidently lacking due in part to the division created by the Spanish and by our geography itself. Politicians, local or national, are only interested in furthering their own localities like stationary bandits only for the purpose of exploiting it more in the long term (Olson, 1993).

Sidel’s bossism framework also explains bosses and how political dynasties are established and maintained, which will be discussed later as to what federalism’s significance is in relation to these. Not all bosses necessarily employ violence, but grant monopolies to themselves and others to obtain support from local elites, and attempt to obtain propriety wealth. Most of the cases however, majority use an abundance of violence and coercion, resulting to these bosses also being called as “warlords”. These two are the most prominent types of bossism and the types examined in Sidel’s paper. These bosses that establish themselves mostly embrace this warlord identity. Their offspring or successor however, are educated and is prepared for politics that do not rely only on violence and coercive forces as a warlord does. Successive wins in election rely on the support of the superordinate power brokers, granting local bosses the previously discussed state apparatuses. It is also through this that these power brokers essentially hold control and support from local bosses. Thus the only alternative for these bosses to remove themselves from this state of uncertainty at the whims, victory, and decision of power brokers is to obtain power for themselves, wealth in this case, that is outside the control of the government. This is called propriety wealth, and without sufficient propriety wealth, even the longest standing political dynasties can still be toppled and simply replaced with another boss.

The researcher has picked the theory of Sidel’s bossism as this framework is not only one of the frameworks that can offer a detailed description of Philippine politics, but also due to the assumed effects of Federalism that will change the dynamics of this framework the most. The shift in power between the national or federal, and local government, as stated earlier, is the most important aspect of federalism. Viewing this matter through the lens of Bossism offers not only a different perspective from the PCF dominated views, but also examine the impersonal features of Philippine politics which arguably will be strengthened the most in a transition towards a federal government.

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Eurasia Review

A Journal of Analysis and News

Candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator, flashes a victory sign as he shows his certificate of candidacy after filing to join the May 2022 presidential race, in Manila, Oct. 6, 2021. [Rouelle Umali/BenarNews]

Shaping Of Political Structures And Institutions Of Philippines: Can It Be Redesigned Beyond 2022 Elections For Better Governance? – Analysis

By Rizal G. Buendia

Introduction

Chronicling the historical quest of the country to better governance has been marked by powerful continuities and discontinuities witnessed by both periods of development and regression. Seventy-four (74) years after the Philippines gained its independence from US colonial rule and 35 years since the people regained their power from Marcos authoritarian rule, the country has politically hobbled and has yet to achieve an ordered sense of national development and effective democratic rule. Given the limitation of space, the paper argues that governance remains compromised until structural, institutional, political, and electoral reforms leading to a more empowered government structure, mass-based institutional electoral system, and collaborative governance are institutionalized. Consequently, Philippine society would steer towards political decay and insulate the nation-state from the people it serves.

Conceptually, “governance” is the process of decision-making and the manner by which decisions are implemented/acted (or not implemented/unacted). It is a political process where power is derived, exercised, controlled, and allocated within and beyond the institutions of government. Further, an analysis of governance focuses on the formal and informal actors and institutions involved in decision/policy- making and implementing the decisions/policies as well as on formal and informal structures created or established by power-wielding conventions designed to arrive at and implement decisions.

As the “government” rules the state or local political community, “governance” pursues the defined goals in accordance with the proper functioning of state’s or community’s socio-economic and political institutions. Drawing from the convergence of paradigms, governance bring together interweaving institutional and political economy factors that shape the economic and social development of the country. Moreover, governance can be used inseveral contexts such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance.

Good governance is presumed to protect political, civil, and cultural rights and ensure a competent and non-corrupt and accountable public administration. The government’s ability to govern is gauged not simply on its capacity to pursue and realize development goals but more importantly on its capability to create the necessary social, political, economic, and cultural conditions where continuous processes of interaction between social actors, groups, and forces on the one hand, and public or semi-public organizations, formal institutions of government and authorities on the other hand, is allowed and guaranteed in co-managing and co-steering national development objectives, i.e. collaborative governance.

Collaborative or interactive governance does not only broaden institutional pluralism but also strengthen the centrifugal forces of social pluralism. It maintains a constant balancing process between the governing needs or problem situations as well as grasp of opportunities on one hand and governing capacities or mechanisms for problem-solving or strategy formulation on the other hand. In as much as no single actor, whether private or public, has the monopoly of knowledge and information required to solve complex, dynamic, and diversified problems nor a single actor exists who has sufficient overview to apply effective solutions to problems, it becomes imperative that state’s and society’s responsibilities be fused at the central level and at the same time diffused at the local level.

Owing to this effort the domain primarily of the state and civil society is made permeable. And the borderline between the state and non-state responsibilities becomes the object of interaction. Strengthening the participation and voice of people, through enhanced civic engagement with the state, can improve accountability and trust in institutions while ensuring responsive decision-making across governing political, economic, and social institutions. In a nutshell, empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality is critical to realizing good governance, strengthening regime’s legitimacy, and sustaining development. The issue of “good governance” has particular relevance today. What is more, democratization and good governance are constitutive of political development and that underpinned a sustainable economic and social development.

Institutions and structures in governance

An umbilical cord ties governance and socio-political institutions. As governance is the process or the power of governing, institution refers to the established organisation designed to provide society’s socio-economic and politico-cultural needs such as education, public service, culture or the care of the destitute, poor etc. and other services a government is obliged to deliver as mandated.

Distinguishing institutions, organizations, and structures is an important endeavour to determine how these notions are employed towards apprehending better governance. The UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office [FCDO] differentiates “institutions” from “organizations.” It states that institutions denote as the ‘rules of the game’ while organisations exemplify how players structure themselves to play (DFID, 2003, p. ii). Organisations are thus shaped by institutions, and in turn shape institutional change. North (1990, pp. 3, 5) declares that organisations are the material expressions of institutions circumscribed by “groups of individuals bound by a common purpose.”

Institutions are generally formal, i.e., written – laws, regulations, legal agreements, contracts and constitutions enforced by third parties, and informal, i.e., usually unwritten – norms, procedures, conventions and traditions that are often embedded in culture (Leftwich & Sen, 2010, p. 16). They can complement, compete with, or overlap with formal institutions (Jutting et al., 2007, p. 36; Leftwich & Sen, 2010, p. 17). Hodgson (2006, p. 2) imparts that “institutions are the kind of structures that matter most in the social realm, they make up the stuff of social life.” They are the systems of “established and prevalent social rules that structure social interactions.”

Institutions, moreover, are structures that are patterned on the basis of social needs. They include the family, education, religion, the economy, politics, and health care necessities and demands. Wells (1970, p. 3) avers that “social institutions form an element in a more general concept known as social structure” which generally refers to the social arrangements that organize a group or society. Giddens (1984, p. 25) contends that societies and practices are structured by institutions (“rules”) and power differentials over people and things (“resources”). They are the underlying cause of social patterns, “organized as properties of social systems” that exists only as structural properties. Structure, for Giddens, is both medium and outcome as it is created through a process.

Clearly, a brief survey of literature shows that social structures and institutions have a symbiotic relationship. Countries rarely succeed in their socio-economic and political development efforts with the absence of state institutions that can establish, advance, and enforce rules, collect revenues and finance development projects, and provide public goods and services in an effective and efficient way.

In recent years, the role of institutions for development has drawn considerable thought from development researchers, policy makers, and practitioners due to the collective awareness in advancing better governance and mitigating social and political conflicts. It is now widely accepted that institutions play a critical role in poverty reduction and growth. Political institutions have performed a significant role to safeguard the welfare and rights of citizens of the country and to ensure the unity and integrity of the nation. Strong institutions and good governance further result in the overall development of the country. It is against this backdrop that Philippine governance is examined by appraising the role of its public institutions – policies, legal frameworks, informal norms and codes of conduct – in sluggish quest to better governance.

Appraising socio-political structures and institutions in Philippine governance: today’s implications

The country’s colonial past – more than three centuries under Spain (333 years), almost five decades (46 years) under the Americans, and three (3) years under the Japanese – left an indelible impact into the country’s structures and institutions in politics and governance. Although direct American colonial rule in the Philippines is much shorter, the US can be credited for the development of the country’s democratic institutions. The Americans prompted political participation as the key process in training Filipinos for self-government.

In spite of the trappings of civil and political institutions introduced by the colonizers, Filipino values, norms, and characteristics of familialism, personalism, and parochialism persisted and failed to develop among the people the concept of social well-being or national welfare (Abueva 1971, pp. 1-24). Even if democratic institutions taught civil and political rights, the ideals of nationalism, patriotism, and social justice were either repressed or insubstantially inculcated in peoples’ consciousness and temperaments, especially among the country’s leaders.

Landes (1991, p. 71) aptly describes those institutions overlaid by developed countries to underdeveloped/developing ones suffer from institutional inadequacies and incapacities to perform their roles in the latter due to mismatch in the politico-economic and cultural systems and structures between the countries concerned. He says:

It is a fact of history that most developing countries are also new countries. They have young, untried institutions and administrative structures that fall far short of the task implicit in their ambitions for power and wealth. In many instances, they still have no firm identity, no sense of national purpose, no common interest. On the contrary, they suffer the pains and after-effects of colonial arrangements imposed without regard to reason or circumstances.Government is unstable or, even ifenduring, essentially brittle. The regime may call itself democratic, but the people are subjects rather than citizens . ( italics supplied).

Another key political institution introduced by the Americans was the electoral system which saw the conduct of the first local election in 1899. The Americans brought in the right of popular suffrage at the municipal, provincial, and later at national levels of government. The imposition of the system of voting in a predominantly feudal and agrarian society effectively extends the patron-client relationship, where the landlord is considered the patron and the tenant as the client, into an electoral relationship where a politician who has authority and wealth is deemed as the patron and one who benefits from their support or influence is the client (see Landé, 1966 for details). The former dispenses favours and the latter reciprocates it by providing services and bestowing loyalty. This relationship exemplifies a “debt of gratitude” type of reciprocity. Likewise, this interaction simulates a kinship dimension with paternalistic landlord acting as the father and the tenants as his children.

This relationship persists, survives, and continues to be practiced at the 21 st century’s elections with some few insignificant changes. Fundamentally, politicians act both as good and bad patron at the same time, depending on the circumstances. While on the one hand a candidate distributes goods, services (infrastructure, health and medical, and welfare), and cash (especially on the eve of election day), on the other hand, he or she may turn violent – threatening and terrorizing both electorates and the Commission on Elections’ (COMELEC) deputized registrars and inspectors (usually public-school teachers) and harassing their opponents and supporters. Historically, election-related harassment and violence can range from intimidating and threatening persons with bodily harm, to kidnapping and murder. It also includes arson and bombings of strategic locations. Hired goons, private armies, the police and military, as well as armed rebel groups, also figure prominently (Patino and Velasco 2004).

Beyond issues and platforms of government, a politician traditionally campaigns with promises of providing government jobs, financial assistance, educational support and other personal aids. In turn, the voter supports the politician who has the ability to produce tangible and material benefits (positive transaction) or capability to inflict harm or punishment to those perceived to be their “enemies” and “exploiters.” As stated earlier, this psychological make-up of Filipino electorates is rooted on a culture of patron-clientelism that is largely a reflection of skewed socio-economic mal-development where a few privileged classes use institutions and structures of government to lord over the many underprivileged and marginalized sectors of society.

Although several endeavours to reform and modernize Philippine electoral system have been done, hence laudable, it has to be accomplished in conjunction with the alteration of the current social, economic, and political iniquities. Unless this is resolved, modernization will simply serve the limited interest of the élite and powerful over the greater interest of the people and nation. Tangcangco’s (1997) classic study of the country’s modernization program reveals that electoral reforms will not eliminate fraud where unequal power between government and society exists. Thus, she concludes that the modernization of Philippine electoral system conforms with the “purposes of politicians, election officials, and interest groups to retain defective procedures and loopholes in election laws … rather than of nagging concern for fairness and commitment to democracy by the incumbents.” (Tangcangco 1997, p. 127).

The continuing attempt to unshackle the poor and marginalized sector from elite-controlled and perverted electoral system , i.e., riddled with corruption, fraud, and irregularities, has not bear fruit. Since the use of electronic voting system or e-voting in the 2010 and 2016 presidential elections and the 2013 and 2019 mid-term elections, the usual cheating and other election-related irregularities like vote-buying, intimidation and harassment of both voters and candidates, and the presence of armed goons in precincts have not been prevented.

It is indeed unfortunate that the character of elections in the Philippines, even after Corazon Aquino was catapulted to power as a result of the 1986 “People Power Revolution,” has not been principally altered. Democracy and elections linger to be weak institutions. Elections under the 1987 Constitution resembled not much different from the pre-martial law period. Philippine party system hitherto is largely a one-party/multi-faction system.

In spite the proliferation of political parties at the advent of the 5 th Republic (post-martial law period), they are neither different from each other in terms of party platforms and programs of government nor in ideologies, philosophies, standpoints, and viewpoints (Buendia 2021). Croissant and Lorenz (2018) characterize Philippine political system as highly ‘defective elite democracy’ more than 30 years since ‘democratic rule’ was restored in the country.

Electoral candidates’ commonalities lie in their class bases, elite origins, and interests they represent. Hicken (2018) attributes the oligarchic control of political parties and paucity of politically active citizenry or mass organizations to the “under-institutionalized” Philippine political party system. He contends that an under-institutionalized political party hinders democratic consolidation and good governance as it undermines the ability of voters to hold politicians accountable and produces ambivalence among voters on the merits of a democratic society.

Local clans and dynasties including warlords and regional kingpins endure and play an important part in Philippine electoral politics (Teehankee 2018, Sidel 2016, Tadem & Tadem 2016). They are considered as building blocks of politics. Given the size of Filipino families and matrix of interrelationships that bind them, they ensure not only the political continuity and dominance of a particular clan in local politics but also play a major role in supporting the ascendancy, continuity, along with downfall of local political leaders as well as Philippine presidents.

History has taught us that weak party system, patronage politics, and elitism, undermined the legitimacy not only of elected officials of government but also emasculated the processes and institutions of elections and democracy. Indeed, addressing these concerns are challenging yet the opportunity to resolve them lies in the sheer and unceasing determination of people to place their collective future into their hands.

The quest for better governance through effective institutions and appropriate structures in the Philippines is a continuing task in nation-building. A brief examination of the issues that inhibit the development and enhancement of public institutions expectedly to lead to good governance is traced to the country’s colonial history, carried over after national independence, and extends up to the 21 st century.

As noted in the paper, post-colonial governments ruled through the processes and institutions bequeathed by the former colonizer which were utilized not to expand the democratic space and enlarge the participation of people but served the economic and political interests of the more powerful sector of society. The same system of government and institutions were restored after the fall of Marcos’s authoritarian regime of 14 years. Unfortunately, despite 35 years of ‘democratic’ rule, the institutions and systems of governance were unable to shore up the nation from poverty, economic independence, and powerlessness.

The institution of election was employed to safeguard political and economic power that further entrenched patron-client relationship. The nation, rather than be unified through the institutions and instrumentalities of the state, has been torn apart. The state has alienated itself from the people as corruption, centralization of power, and elitism have been unabated from the 4 th to 5 th Republic covering nearly three decades-and-a half under five (5) (excluding the current one) Presidents (Buendia 2021).

Powerful clans and political dynasties continue to hold power. Thus, the tools of democracy have become devices of violence—both naked and concealed—that drove the marginalized sectors of society to seek refuge to communist and separatist movements. The economic and political crisis that resulted from government’s neglect, abuse of power, and callousness on the nation’s welfare was aggravated under the so-called “democratic” regime.

The institution of Philippine election is beset with procedural problems taken advantaged by the old and emerging political élites to secure, protect, and perpetuate their interests. Moreover, the intense and frequently personal nature and character of Filipino politics has largely contributed to the growing corrosion of political institutions. The agrarian-feudal political culture of client-patron relationship, which views governance as an individual aﬀair, has yet to be transcended. The blurred dividing line between oﬃcial function and personal duty needs to be accentuated.

The relationship between democracy, empowerment, and popular participation on the one hand and corruption and centralism on the other hand is inversely proportional—as the former increases the latter decreases and vice-versa. Concomitantly, enlarging the capacity of civil society enhances accountability of public oﬃcials, cultivates transparency on the provision of relevant and reliable information aﬀecting public welfare, and strengthens predictability on the application of laws, regulations, and policies.

As exhibited by the country’s political history, the use of extra-constitutional, extra-legal, and extra-institutional means in asserting Filipinos’ legitimate right to rule and claim a government that embodies their aspirations and national goals as a people is not a strange political act. The demands for better governance that began in the country’s popular ‘People Power’ uprising, 35 years ago (more than the total period of 21 years that Marcos reigned in the country commencing in 1965), have yet to be fulfilled and its realization is contingent on the re-structuring of Philippine political institutions that would ensure that democratic space is meaningfully enlarged through a more inclusive and participative governance, better representative electoral system, and deeper national consciousness.

Given the country’s historical and current circumstances, it is highly unlikely that the 2022 Philippine elections would create the suitable political, economic, and cultural environment in reshaping the country’s structures and institutions for better governance, whomsoever will be the next President.

*About the author: Rizal G. Buendia, PhD (Political Science) Independent political analyst and consultant in Southeast Asian Politics and International Development based England and Wales, United Kingdom. He is the former Chair and Associate Professor of the Political Science Department, De La Salle University-Manila and Teaching Fellow in Politics at the Department of Politics and International Studies and Department of Development Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

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Rizal G. Buendia

Rizal G. Buendia, PhD, is an independent consultant and researcher in Southeast Asian Politics. Former Teaching Fellow in Security and Southeast Asian Politics and Governance at the Department of Political Science and International Relations, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London and former Chair and Associate Professor, Political Science Department, De La Salle University-Manila, Philippines.

Clan politics reign but a family is divided in the race to rule the Philippines

Julie McCarthy

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter Sara Duterte arrive for the opening of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018. AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter Sara Duterte arrive for the opening of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018.

A foiled succession plan, sensational allegations, and a family feud at the pinnacle of power — these are the ingredients in what promises to be a riveting race to succeed outgoing Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

The no-holds-barred contest scheduled for May 2022 has already produced what some observers see as an unsettling alliance: the offspring of two presidents pairing off in an unprecedented bid to run the country.

Taking full advantage of their prominence, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., has teamed up with Sara Duterte, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte in the national election.

He is running for president in this dynastic duo, while she vies for vice president.

Are dynasties and celebrities narrowing democracy?

Political dynasties in the Philippines are nothing new.

Richard Heydarian, an expert on Philippine politics, says they are such a dominant feature in the country that between 70% and 90% of elected offices have been controlled by influential families.

But even by those standards, this Marcos-Duterte coupling takes powerful clan politics to a new level, says University of the Philippines Diliman political science professor Aries Arugay.

Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is surrounded by supporters after attending the recount of votes in the 2016 vice presidential race at the Supreme Court. Marcos narrowly lost that contest to Leni Robredo, the current vice president. Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Speaking at a recent online forum of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Arugay says second generation dynasts are behaving like a "cartel".

He says their calculus is as damaging as it is simple: "Why can't we just share power, limit competition, and make sure that the next winners of the presidential and national elections come from us?"

Then there is the celebrity factor.

Heydarian notes a narrowing of democracy in the pairing of dynasties with the celebrity class, which includes former film stars, television personalities and sports figures. He says the two elite groups monopolize national office, putting elected office beyond the reach of a lot of ordinary Filipinos who he says may have the merit and passion to serve, but are effectively blocked from fully participating.

It makes a "mockery" of democracy, Heydarian says, but it's also a trend that could be difficult to reverse.

"After all, in politics you need a certain degree of messaging, communications machinery and charisma," he said. And, he added, especially in the age of social media, "It's not for dull people."

Running on a name, not a track record

Consider Manny Pacquiao.

His stardom as one of the legends of the boxing world has catapulted him into the race for president next year. He is currently a sitting senator and is in the running for the highest office not on the power of his record in the upper chamber marked by absenteeism, but on the strength of his career as the country's most acclaimed athlete.

So prized have name recognition and celebrity status become in winning Philippine elections that observers worry it's turning democracy into the preserve of the rich and well-connected.

Marcos is part and parcel of the phenomenon, according to Manila-based analyst Bob Herrera-Lim, who notes that his undistinguished career as a senator and congressman has been no barrier to his ambition for the presidency.

"[Marcos] is running on entitlement. He is running on the weaknesses of the system," Herrera-Lim said.

Sara Duterte poses for a selfie with city hall employees in Davao city, on the southern island of Mindanao. Manman Dejeto/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Sara Duterte poses for a selfie with city hall employees in Davao city, on the southern island of Mindanao.

Marcos' vice presidential partner Sara Duterte is an accomplished politician, occupying the post her father held for decades as the mayor of Davao City, the third largest in the country. But the fact the 43-year-old First Daughter, whose work is little known outside Davao, led in a presidential opinion poll this past summer can only be put down to the power of a famous family name.

Revisionism, a PR campaign of distortion — and fond memories of the Marcos era

Bongbong Marcos is now making waves, rewriting the past and embellishing his family's legacy.

It's been 35 years since his father was ousted by a popular uprising, exiled, and exposed for rights abuses and kleptocracy.

Marcos Sr. is believed to have amassed up to $10 billion while in office, and now his son has been resuscitating the family's image with a sophisticated social media campaign.

Marcos Jr. narrates seamlessly scored videos that cast his parents, Ferdinand and Imelda, as generous philanthropists, and his father as a great innovator who made possible new strains of rice and united the archipelago with infrastructure heralded as the "Golden Age" of the Philippines.

Critics decry what they call the revisionist history and systematic airbrushing of the sins of the father's 20-year rule that turned the country into his personal fiefdom.

Marcos Sr. engaged in land-grabbing, bank-grabbing, and using dummies to hide acquisitions from public view, according to Professor Paul Hutchcroft of the Australian National University, who has written extensively on the political economy of the Philippines.

The late dictator dispensed special privileges to relatives, friends and cronies, writes Ronald Mendoza, dean of the School of Government at Ateneo de Manila University, providing them access to the booty of the state, "even as the country failed to industrialize and was eventually plunged into debt and economic crises in the mid-1980s."

Activists wear masks with anti-Marcos slogans during a rally in front of the Supreme court in Manila in 2016 as they await the high court's decision on whether to allow the burial of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the "Cemetery of Heroes." Ted Aljibe/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Yet, despite all of it, the Marcos family is not without its loyalists among both the elites and ordinary Filipinos.

At a small community market in central Manila, where fishmongers congregate amid aquariums and chopping blocks, vendors and shoppers talk about the Marcos era with a sense of nostalgia.

Chereelyn Dayondon, 49, says she likes how Marcos Sr. ran the country before and she wants that to come back. The single mother earns $80 a month directing traffic and worries that the cost of living is getting too high.

"It's not going to be enough," she says. "You never know, maybe Bongbong can change the Philippines. Let's try him out."

Meanwhile, fish seller Teodora Sibug-Nelval, 57, reminisces about the old Marcos era and memories of cheap food and law and order.

"I had a good life. I was able to send my sibling to school ... I was able to buy a house," she says.

In the pandemic, however, Sibug-Nelval lost her home and her vending stall. And now she wants her life back. She says she believes that if Marcos wins the election, "our lives will be better."

Herrera-Lim also says that many Filipinos see a confusing, chaotic political situation: "There is no clear delineations, political parties don't work for our benefit, we are looking for order."

And that, he says, is what Marcos is offering.

"Bongbong Marcos is saying that during his father's time, there was this order. There was peace in the country, which again, is a myth," he says.

The challenger to the dynasty

Leni Robredo is the current vice president of the Philippines and a liberal progressive.

A lawyer by training, Robredo co-authored an anti-dynasty bill when she served as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives.

In the Philippines, the vice president and president are elected separately and Robredo is on the opposite end of the political spectrum from President Duterte, with whom she has repeatedly sparred over human rights, the handling of the pandemic and Duterte's close ties with China.

Among the many candidates for president, including a former police chief, the mayor of Manila and Duterte's closest aide, Robredo appears to represent the greatest challenge to Bongbong Marcos.

Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo gestures to a crowd of supporters in Manila on Oct. 7, 2021, the day she filed her candidacy for the 2022 presidential race. Jam Sta Rosa/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo gestures to a crowd of supporters in Manila on Oct. 7, 2021, the day she filed her candidacy for the 2022 presidential race.

Robredo defeated Marcos Jr. for vice president in 2016, and now she has pledged that if she wins the top office, she will recover the Marcos family's plundered riches.

Alluding to Marcos' perceived popularity, Robredo told a news conference last weekend that it was "sad that the people allow themselves to be fooled" into believing Marcos would save the country when the family's ill-gotten wealth "was the reason they are poor."

Yet Robredo may need more than tough rhetoric and moral rectitude.

Marites Vitug, the editor-at-large for the online news site Rappler, whose CEO won this year's Nobel Peace Prize , said the country was witnessing the "rehabilitation of the Marcos dynasty." Young people were especially susceptible to the Marcos rebranding, she said, because there were no standard history textbooks in the Philippines that explained the Marcos martial law years.

"I was shocked to hear from some millennials that this was never discussed in class," she said.

Vitug said the odd teacher or professor may present it, but it was not systematic.

"It should have been required reading," she said.

Political economist Calixto Chikiamco adds that the revived Marcos family fortunes represent a counter-revolution to the one that ousted Marcos Sr. in 1986. That so-called Yellow Revolution was a model that Chikiamco says has failed to deliver genuine change.

"Because our politics remain dysfunctional, our economy is still not doing so well, a quarter of the workforce is unemployed ... still a large number of people go abroad to seek better opportunities. So it is a revolt against their present situation," he said.

"That's the reason the Marcoses are making a comeback."

The Duterte dynasty is a house divided

The campaign promises to be one of the Philippines' most bitterly fought contests in years, not least because the Marcos-Duterte tie-up has not won the blessing of Sara Duterte's father.

Rodrigo Duterte did make the controversial decision to allow the late dictator's remains to be moved to the "Cemetery of Heroes," a decision confirmed by the Supreme Court. But the once-friendly relations between Rodrigo Duterte and Bongbong Marcos have frayed, possibly beyond repair.

Duterte had wanted his daughter to seek the presidency, not play second fiddle, to provide him protection from the International Criminal Court investigating his violent anti-drug war. The probe has been suspended for a procedural review, but court watchers expect the case of alleged crimes against humanity to resume. Meanwhile, Chikiamco says while Sara may talk of continuing her father's policies, by declining to run for the top job, she has gone her own way.

"The daughter is fiercely independent and didn't want to be under the thumb of President Duterte. And also she could not perhaps tolerate the president's men," Chikiamco said.

A grandmother and her grandchild light a candle beside mock chalk figure representing an extra judicial killing victim during a prayer rally condemning the government's war on drugs in Manila in 2017. Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Herrera-Lim adds that daughter and father apparently "did not see eye to eye on many things related to the family or on the governance of Davao."

Fundamentally, though, Herrera-Lim says President Duterte doesn't trust Bongbong Marcos to shield him from ICC prosecutors.

"On these matters, family is very important," he said.

And even if there were such a bargain between the two men, Herrera says Duterte would worry it might not hold.

In what analysts regard as a means to protect himself, Duterte is making a bid for a seat in the Senate in the 2022 election.

One authoritative poll shows Marcos the early frontrunner to succeed him. But not, it seems, if President Duterte has anything to say about it.

He ignited a stir earlier this month by declaring in a televised address that an unnamed candidate for president uses cocaine.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. AFP/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

Without identifying who, he said the offender was a "very weak leader" and that "he might win hands down."

Marcos took a drug test this past week, saying he was clean. Other candidates hurriedly lined up to clear their name.

Marcos is also under attack by groups eager to have him disqualified from running at all. The Commission on Elections is reviewing four separate petitions challenging his candidacy. At least one charges that Marcos misrepresented his eligibility to seek the presidency by stating he had no criminal conviction that would bar him from office. Petitioners argue that his 1995 conviction for failing to pay taxes for several years in the 1980s ends his bid for the presidency.

The Commission on Elections announced no ballots will be printed until the petitions are decided.

The campaign that officially begins in February is already generating drama enough for some to lament that the race for president is fast becoming a "political circus."

But Richard Heydarian says circuses are not always the worst thing. "Sometimes," he says, "they can produce a magical outcome. Let's see."

Correction Dec. 16, 2021

An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Aries Arugay was a professor at Philippine University. He is with the University of the Philippines Diliman. Also, Ateneo de Manila University was misspelled as Ateno de Manila University.

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Politics of the Philippines: From Rizal to Duterte

Introduction, brains of the nation.

American Empire and Philippine Politics
Historiography and Politics
Caudillos and the Authoritarian Temptation
Administration and Government
Politics and Society
Reference Works
Philippines’ International Politics
Politics of the Periphery

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Cross-National Surveys of Public Opinion
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Politics of the Philippines: From Rizal to Duterte by Richard Javad Heydarian LAST REVIEWED: 21 April 2021 LAST MODIFIED: 21 April 2021 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756223-0333

The heartland of former Spanish East Indies and once America’s sole colony in Asia, the Philippines is a land of mind-bending paradoxes, where swift changes have gone hand in hand with obstinate continuities. The Southeast Asian nation witnessed the birth of Asia’s first modern nationalist movement, initially led by the progressive sections of the Creole class and the so-called ilustrado mestizos, but reaching its apogee in the final years of the 19th century under the command of (Tagalog-dominated) provincial gentry and a broad coalition of petty bourgeois nationalists. In contrast, advanced state-formation came relatively late to the island nation, which has a limited history of large-scale polities in the precolonial era compared to neighboring Indonesia (Majapahit Empire) or Cambodia (Khmer Empire). A century since the advent of ‘first Filipinos,’ the country’s nation-building project remains glaringly unfinished, hobbled by persistent ethnolinguistic divides and Islamist and Communist movements that are among the world’s longest-running such insurgencies. For almost five centuries, Catholicism stood as the dominant religion in the country, but recent decades have seen homegrown evangelical groups become major forces in the country’s political landscape with the advent of denominational ‘bloc voting.’ A major entrepot during the trans-pacific Galleon Trade, the country became a regional economic powerhouse from the late 18th century up until the mid-20th century. Building on bouts of liberal reforms during Spanish colonialism and Commonwealth institutions under American tutelage, the Philippines also boasts among the oldest democratic institutions in the postcolonial world. The past half century, however, witnessed the country’s decline to the “Sick man of Asia” following decades of political instability and absence of sustained economic development. Amidst massive inequality and rampant corruption, the country has repeatedly relapsed into various permutations of authoritarian rule, from the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship to the resurgent populism of Rodrigo Duterte in recent years. In international politics, the Philippines has undergone a similarly turbulent trajectory, repeatedly caught in between rival empires, from Spanish–American Wars in the late-19th century to its strategic flirtation with a rising China despite its formal military alliance with America. What has remained largely constant is the composition of the country’s ruling elite, thanks to its remarkable geopolitical adaptability. The upshot is a weak state enfeebled by powerful interest groups and checked by a vibrant civil society. Accordingly, the study of Philippine politics should cover its troubled nation-state-formation, cacique-dominated political economy and attendant authoritarian temptations, as well as the unique brand of populist and liberal topes in its political discourse.

Unique among its neighbors but similar to its Latin American cousins, as Anderson 2007 explains, the Philippines’ founding fathers were largely a mixture of creole, Chinese-Filipino mestizo and upwardly-mobile “Indigenous” intelligentsia, who were steeped in Enlightenment values and came of age under the shadow of post-1848 revolutionary movements in Europe. Schumacher 1973 , Joaquin 2005 , and Mojares 2006 cover the flowering of the fin de siècle “Propaganda Movement” and its main publication, La Solidaridad , in the late 19th century, while Anderson 2007 explores the nexus between Spanish anarchism, Latin American revolutions for independence, especially in Cuba, and the Philippine Revolution of 1896. The period also saw the publication of the Philippines’ most influential political novels, namely Jose Rizals’ Noli me tángere (1887) and El filibusterismo (1891), which irrevocably reshaped the country’s political imagination and its place in an emerging postcolonial world; the reprinted and English translations, Rizal 2006 and Rizal 2011 respectively, are accordingly annotated here. Guerrero y Francisco 2010 discusses the social milieu and broader political and intellectual relevance of Rizal’s works. In contrast Ileto 1997 discusses the broader role of masses and mass culture in resisting Spanish colonialism. The section also includes arguably the first work on political economy and administrative reforms by a Filipino scholar, Gregorio Sancianco Y. Goson’s El progreso de Filipinas , which was originally published in 1881 in Madrid; accordingly, Sancianco 2010 is a reprinted version of the 1923 edition of the book. On his part, another Filipino illustrado , Isabelo de los Reyes, published what is arguably the country’s first ethnographic study, the award-winning El folklore Filipino (1889), which would inform the author’s as well as his country’s radical politics and first modern labor movements in the early 20th century, from Union Obrera Democratica to the Union del Trabajo de Filipinas and its many Marxist derivatives throughout the century. De los Reyes 2012 is the English translation of the pioneering work annotated here.

Anderson, Benedict. Under Three Flags: Anarchism and the Anti-Colonial Imagination . London: Verso, 2007.

A pioneering work on the influence of international anarchism on Filipino revolutionaries, including Jose Rizal, as evidenced in his second and more radical novel, El filibusterismo , and the direct impact of late-19th-century Cuban War of Independence on the Katipunan movement and especially its leader, Andres Bonifacio, who opted for a timely armed revolt against a collapsing Spanish empire.

De los Reyes, Isabelo. El folk-lore filipino . Translated by Maria Elinora Peralta-Imson and Salud C. Dizon. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 2012.

In this republished and translated edition, the author provides a pioneering critique of what, a century later, Edward Said would famously describe as “Orientalism”—namely the essentialization of Indigenous cultures through the prism of European colonialism. The work also provides deep insights into the adoption and adaptation of superstitious beliefs from the Iberian Peninsula and Europe into the Philippines; distinct, hybrid and entwined aspects of Indigenous folklore across various ethnolinguistic groups; and the Husserlian “lifeworld” of the Filipino people.

Guerrero y Francisco, Leon Ma. The First Filipino . Manila, the Philippines: Guerrero Publishing, 2010.

First published in the early 1960s, the award-winning biography of Jose Rizal by this statesman-writer remains a classic account of the late-19th-century Filipino revolutionaries and their contribution to the creation of a Philippine nationhood.

Ileto, Reynaldo. Pasyon and revolution: In Popular Movements in the Philippines, 1840–1910 . Quezon City, The Philippines: Ateneo De Manila University Press, 1997.

Widely considered as a masterpiece in historical study of the emerging Philippine nation, the book analyzes the multifarious resistance to Spanish political and ideological colonialism throughout the 19th century, and, most crucially, the role and agency of masses in adapting European religious traditions to distinctly precolonial belief systems and local practices.

Joaquin, Nick. A Question of Heroes . Quezon City, The Philippines: Anvil Publishing Co, 2005.

Widely seen as the most influential Filipino novelist of the 20th century, Nick Joaquin provides a unique and unorthodox account of ten figures, from Father Jose Burgos to Artemio Ricarte, who contributed to development of the Filipino nation. The author leverages his mastery of the Spanish language and deep familiarity with original materials from the Spanish colonial era for a highly nuanced and granular analysis of the life and times of Filipino revolutionaries.

Mojares, Resil. Brains of the Nation: Pedro Paterno, T. H. Pardo De Tavera, Isabelo De Los Reyes and the Production of Modern Knowledge . Quezon City, The Philippines: Ateneo De Manila University Press, 2006.

Arguably the most comprehensive analysis of the circumstances as well as the unique character of key intellectual and political figures who contributed to the creation of a common Filipino consciousness. It’s arguably the best survey of the emerging “intelligentsia” or ilustrado class in the second half of the 19th century in the Philippines.

Rizal, Jose. Noli me tángere . New York: Penguin, 2006.

In Harold Augenbraum’s authoritative translation of this late-19th-century classic, the Philippines’ preeminent founding father and most prominent novelist, Jose Rizal, provides the most devastating and consequential critique of “friarocracy,” namely the hegemonic influence of clerical establishment in Spanish-controlled Philippines. The publication of the book spurred protests and a widespread desire for greater national autonomy, if not outright independence from Madrid.

Rizal, Jose. El filibusterismo . New York: Penguin, 2011.

Building on his first novel, which remains his best known work, Rizal explores the temptations of a more radical and anarchist response to colonial oppression in the Philippines. Eerily prescient, the book seemingly foresaw the tragic outcome of a violent revolutionary movement and reflects the author’s ambivalence toward a full-fledged revolt against Spanish colonial rule—a clairvoyance for the violent, authoritarian tendencies that will emerge under a long series of Filipino strongmen and self-styled nationalists over the next century and beyond.

Sancianco, Gregorio. El Progreso De Filipinas . North Carolina: Charleston: Nabu Press, 2010.

In this republished edition, in the original Spanish, the author provides a pioneering critique of the Philippines’ political economy in the final decades of Spanish imperium. The author’s analysis of the Philippines’ colonial economy and its oppressive, extractive patterns of production would inspire future works, including Jose Rizal’s famous Sobre la indolencia de los filipinos (Manila: Nueva Era, 1890), which, in turn, served as a foundation for influential postcolonial works such as Al-Atlas’s The Myth of the Lazy Native (London: F Cass, 1977).

Schumacher, John N. The Propaganda Movement, 1880–1895: The Creation of a Filipino Consciousness, The Makers of a Revolution . Manila, The Philippines: Solidaridad, 1973.

A classic account of the ‘Propaganda Movement’ and illustrado nationalists in the final decades of the 19th century.

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[185.148.24.167]
185.148.24.167

Southeast Asia
Philippines - Government and Crime

POLITICS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Politics in the Philippines has traditionally been dominated by clans and political bosses and patronage and is characterized by law makers that make decisions based on fiscal incentives rather that beliefs and voters that make choices based on personality rather than reasoned policies. Under the traditional “itang na loob” system of patronage, or obligation earned through favors, voters expect money or jobs in return for their political support. In many cases politician’s performance was based on dole-outs not on programs or policies. Philippine concepts about debt repayment and kinship responsibilities plays a major role in how political networks are set up and run (See FILIPINO CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY: HIYA, AMOR PROPIO Under People).

Personalities are more important than parties in Philippine politics. Movie stars and other celebrities have enjoyed considerable success. In addition1, several prominent families play a disproportionate role in politics. The support of the military and the Catholic church are key to political survival and success in the Philippines. Promises are generally not kept. Arroyo, for example, pledged to bring cheap power to the poor as a campaign pledge and then doubled power rates after she was elected. She also promised not to run for a second time but changed her mind because she said God made her decide to run.

The Philippines is known for its rough-and-tumble political scene. Politicians are rountinely killed and sometimes they even do the do the killing themselves. Every now and then it seems the entire country is on the verge of collapse because of a coup attempt, People Power protest or impeachment effort. On the day-to-day level, politicians are unable to achieve many of their goals and carry out programs they proposed due to political opposition, mainly from the ruling elite. Arroyo and her cabinet said that political fighting and sniping exhausted and frustrated them deeply.

Carlos H. Conde wrote in the New York Times, “In the Philippines, politics is a blood sport. Here, politicians often behave like gladiators: To survive they have to entertain the spectators. The turmoil from the [Arroyo] scandal has once again brought Filipinos and their unique brand of rambunctious democracy to international attention, providing a sideshow to the more pressing problems. Filipinos are no longer surprised by election fraud. Thanks to the damage Ferdinand Marcos, the dictator, did to the democratic institutions that American-style democracy helped establish after World War II, and the prevalence of an almost feudal political structure, particularly in the provinces, Filipinos have come to accept election cheating as normal. [Source: Carlos H. Conde, New York Times, July 2, 2005]

Pollster Social Weather Station and Pulse Asia.

Development of Philippines Politics After the Marcos

In 1991 Philippine politics resembled nothing so much as the "good old days" of the pre-martial law period — wide-open, sometimes irresponsible, but undeniably free. Pre-martial law politics, however, essentially were a distraction from the nation's serious problems. The parties were completely nonideological. Therefore, politicians and office-holders switched parties whenever it seemed advantageous to do so. Almost all politicians were wealthy, and many were landlords with large holdings. They blocked moves for social reform; indeed, they seemed not to have even imagined that society required serious reform. Congress acquired a reputation for corruption that made the few honest members stand out. When Marcos closed down Congress in 1972, hardly anyone was disappointed except the members themselves. *

The February 1986 People's Power Revolution, also called the EDSA Revolution had restored all the prerequisites of democratic politics: freedom of speech and press, civil liberties, regularly scheduled elections for genuine legislatures, plebiscites, and ways to ensure honest ballot counting. But by 1991 the return to irrelevant politics had caused a sense of hopelessness to creep back into the nation that five years before had been riding the euphoric crest of a nonviolent democratic revolution. In 1986 it seemed that democracy would have one last chance to solve the Philippines' deep-rooted social and economic problems. Within five years, it began to seem to many observers that the net result of democracy was to put the country back where it had been before Marcos: a democratic political system disguising an oligarchic society. *

Powerful Families in Philippine Politics

Hrvoje Hranjski of Associated Press wrote: “Philippine elections have long been dominated by politicians belonging to the same bloodlines. At least 250 political families have monopolized power across the country, although such dynasties are prohibited under the 1987 constitution. Congress — long controlled by members of powerful clans targeted by the constitutional ban — has failed to pass the law needed to define and enforce the provision. "Wherever you go, you see the names of these people since we were kids. It is still them," businessman Martin Tunac, 54, said after voting in Manila. "One of the bad things about political dynasties is they control everything, including business." [Source: Hrvoje Hranjski, Associated Press, May 13, 2013 |=|]

“School counselor Evelyn Dioquino said that the proliferation of political dynasties was a cultural issue and other candidates stood little chance because clans "have money, so they are the only ones who can afford (to run). Of course, if you have no logistics, you can't run for office." Critics worry that a single family's stranglehold on different levels of government could stymie checks against abuses and corruption. A widely cited example is the 2009 massacre of 58 people, including 32 media workers, in an ambush blamed on rivalry between powerful clans in southern Maguindanao province. |=|

Ana Maria Tabunda from the independent pollster Pulse Asia said that dynasties restrict democracy, but added that past surveys by her organization have shown that most Filipinos are less concerned about the issue than with the benefits and patronage they can receive from particular candidates. Voters also often pick candidates with the most familiar surnames instead of those with the best records, she said. "It's name recall, like a brand. They go by that," she said. |=|

The American anthropologist Brian Fegan, writing in "An Anarchy of Families," a book published in the 1990s, told the New York Times that "the Filipino family is the most enduring political unit and the one into which, failing some wider principle of organization, all other units dissolve." Filipinos look at political continuity as merely the transfer of power among family members, Fegan said. Thus, they also look at political competition in terms of rivalry between families. "A family that has once contested an office, particularly if it has once won it, sets its eye on that office as its permanent right," Fegan said. [Source: Carlos H. Conde, International Herald Tribune, July 16, 2005 \~/]

Political Family Dynasties in the Philippines

Politics in the Philippines has been dominated by powerful families for as long as anyone can remember. Aquino was the wife of a opposition leader. Arroyo was the daughter of a president. In 2004, Arroyo’s son and brother-in-law held Congressional seats and five relatives of Aquino were in Congress and one was a Senator. Even the Marcos family remains powerful and influential in Philippines politics, especially in northen Luzon. Many local positions and governments are dominated by clans and powerful and wealthy families.

One Philippine political analyst told the Washington Post, “Some dynasties have made positive contributions, but by and large the dynastic system in the Philippines has stunted the growth of real democracy. It is not representative of the broad majority in any place.” Efforts to reduce the hold on power of local families by establishing term limits has meant that families hand over power from one family member to another.

The system of family dynasties has its roots in U.S. colonial rule when initially voting rights were only granted to Filipinos with property and education, allowing the landed aristocracy to attain a monopoly of power in the provinces. The United States also put in place a Congressional system that allowed families to establish local fiefdoms rather than fostering competition through an electoral list system.

This trend is beginning to change in some places. Grace Padaca, a former radio commentator, was elected governor of Isabela Province in 2004. She moved into the mansion of the former governor, from the powerful Dy family, thought he had built for himself. Padaca won by nonstop campaigning and dedicated grassroots volunteer movement.

Filipino Clans, Celebrities Dominate Midterm Polls in 2013

Hrvoje Hranjski of Associated Press wrote: “From Imelda Marcos to Manny Pacquiao, familiar names of Philippine political clans and celebrities dominated the ballots for congressional and local elections, which will gauge popular support for the president's anti-corruption drive and other reforms. [Source: Hrvoje Hranjski, Associated Press, May 13, 2013 |=|]

“Among 33 senatorial candidates are two of Aquino's relatives, Binay's neophyte daughter, Estrada's son, a son of the sitting chamber president, a son of a late president, a spouse and children of former senators and there's a possibility that two pairs of siblings will be sitting in the me house. Currently, 15 senators have relatives serving in elective positions. The race for the House is even more of a family affair. Toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos' widow, the flamboyant 83-year-old Imelda, is expected to keep her seat as a representative for Ilocos Norte province, the husband's birthplace where the locals kept electing the Marcoses despite allegations of corruption and abuse during their long rule. Marcos' daughter, Imee is seeking re-election as governor and the son, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., is already a senator. Boxing star and incumbent Rep. Manny Pacquiao is running unopposed and building a dynasty of his own: his brother Rogelio is running to represent his southern district and his wife Jinkee is vying to become vice-governor for Sarangani province. |=|

Palakasan System" in the Philippine Government

Iamthur.blogspot.jp reported: “How to get a job in the Philippine Government provided that there is a vacancy? First, you must be a Filipino citizen. Then, you should have a bachelor's degree related to the job, certification of eligibility from Civil Service Commission, experience related to the job, and other documents as the office/agency concerned may require. But in these days, there is a big problem. In a partisan system if they suspect you for not voting for a certain winning candidate, your chances to get hired even though you're qualified is lame. That's sad but true. [Source: iamthur.blogspot.jp ==]

“This scenario has been the headache for long a time. The recent official that being seated on certain position will going to terminate all people that being hired under the term of previous official. I can say this because, I already witnessed this when I visit our municipality. I've noticed that there are new faces working there, and old employees are replaced already. ==

“Nowadays in Philippines, it is very difficult to acquire a job in the government. Even though you have the qualities, abilities, and capabilities that match the criteria for a certain job you're applying for, sometimes it just not enough to get the job. That's because you don't have what they call a "backer", it's a certain people in the government with a high position or ranking that supposedly one of your relatives, friends or acquaintances. There are lots of people getting hired easily in the government even though they don't have what it takes for that certain position, but they made it possible because of their contacts(red tape) in the government. It is what you called the "Palakasan System" that run for so long. It's very unfair and disappointing to those honest and deserving Filipino job-seekers who aim to work for the government. ==

“The government now is full of corrupt people. I'm still hoping that someday this system will be changed. All corrupt must be washed out, and let the honest and dignified people work for their beloved county, who looks equally to all people under their good governance.” ==

Old-Style Politics in the Philippines Countryside

Philippine politics, along with other aspects of society, rely heavily on kinship and other personal relationships. To win a local election, one must assemble a coalition of families. To win a provincial election, the important families in each town must be drawn into a wider structure. To win a national election, the most prominent aristocratic clans from each region must temporarily come together. A family's power is not necessarily precisely correlated with wealth — numbers of followers matters more — but the middle class and the poor are sought mainly for the votes that they can deliver. Rarely will they be candidates themselves. [Source: Library of Congress *]

The suspension of elections during martial law seemed at first to herald a radical centralization of power in Manila, specifically in the Marcos and Romualdez clans, but traditional provincial oligarchs resurfaced when Aquino restored elections. To the dismay of her more idealistic followers, Aquino followed her brother's advice and concluded agreements with many former Marcos supporters who were probably going to win elections anyway. About 70 percent of the candidates elected to the House of Representatives in 1987 were scions of political dynasties. They included five relatives of Aquino: a brother, an uncle, a sister-in-law, a brother-in-law, and a cousin. Another brotherin -law was elected to the Senate. The newly elected Congress passed a bill prohibiting close relatives of government officials from becoming candidates, but it did not take effect until after the 1988 local elections. Many of the same prominent families who had dominated Philippine society from the Spanish colonial period returned to power. Commonly, the same two families vie for control of provinces. The specific reason for social and political bipolarity is not known, but it nourishes feuds between rival clans that are renewed generation after generation. *

Coercion is an alternative to buying votes. Because the population of the Philippines has multiplied by a factor of nine in the twentieth century, there is not enough land to go around. As a result, tenant-landlord relationships have become more businesslike and less personal, and some old elite families now rely on force to protect their interests. Article 18 of the constitution directs the dismantling of all "private armies," but it seemed unlikely that it could be enforced. *

Failure of People in the Philippines

Jim Gomez and Oliver Teves of Associated Press wrote: “The world watched in awe in 1986 as Filipinos, clutching rosaries and flowers, mounted a human barricade against tanks and troops and brought dictator Ferdinand Marcos down without a shot. What they did gave birth to the term "people power." Fifteen years later similar forces toppled President Joseph Estrada over alleged corruption, and even now, the nation's democracy remains fragile.” In the late 2000s, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo faced impeachment proceedings over allegations of vote-rigging and corruption and declared a state of emergency to quashed a coup plot. She said the political opposition and extremists on both left and right were determined to bring down her elected government. [Source: Jim Gomez and Oliver Teves Associated Press, February 25, 2006 +^+]

“Has "people power" gotten out of hand in the island nation where it was born? Even its most prominent beneficiary, Corazon Aquino, who succeeded the ousted Marcos in 1986, thinks so. "I would still prefer that we do it through a constitutional process," she said recently when asked if she would join an uprising against Arroyo. "Things are different now, we have other options." Besides democracy, little has changed in this nation of 86 million. It remains mired in appalling poverty, rural backwardness, chronic inequality, long-running Marxist and Muslim insurgencies and chaotic politics. Imelda Marcos, the dictator's widow once reviled for the extravagance epitomized by her vast shoe collection, retains political clout and still shows up occasionally to work the Manila social circuit. +^+

“The images of "people power" are fading into history, but remain iconic: nuns kneeling in prayer in front of tanks, and unarmed civilians trying to push back military vehicles with their bare hands. Historian Maria Serena Diokno said the administrations of Aquino and Arroyo, both from wealthy landowning clans, faced the same accusations as their predecessors - human rights violations, massive corruption and failure to enforce effective land reform. +^+

Carlos H. Conde wrote in the International Herald Tribune, “If there is any consensus it is that the system has to go, says Manuel Quezon 3rd, a political analyst and historian. "The problem is, no one agrees what system to replace it with," Quezon said.Experts on politics and governance do agree, however, that the families and politicians who have a lock on government here have been the bane of Filipinos, thriving on so-called patronage politics that keeps democratic processes in a state of dysfunction. The result is a faulty electoral system, a low level of political awareness among the populace and a degree of corruption that has seriously damaged Philippine society and hobbled economic development. [Source: Carlos H. Conde, International Herald Tribune, July 16, 2005 \~/]

“All of these factors conspire to push the country near the edge of chaos in a kind of cyclical pattern that has decayed what was once among the region's most promising democracies. Worse, the few new and young leaders who emerge are frequently co-opted by traditional politicians. These new leaders then establish political dynasties themselves or fortify existing ones, perpetuating a vicious circle.” \~/

Why the Powerful Family and Patronage System Endure in the Philippines

Carlos H. Conde wrote in the International Herald Tribune, “The reality here is that the same old faces, the same old families and the same old interests continue to hold sway over the political life of this country. The Philippines, which once boasted an intelligentsia that was deemed the most sophisticated in Southeast Asia, is still going through what one Filipino columnist recently called "the most drawn out political adolescence in modern history." [Source: Carlos H. Conde, International Herald Tribune, July 16, 2005 \~/]

“Why do a few oligarchic families continue to dominate the political life of this former Spanish colony, in a pattern once familiar in many Latin-influenced countries? To put the question another way, why has the Philippines failed to produce a leader like Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, a figure who springs from the bottom up and who, for better or worse, ushers in new politics that, on the surface at least, promise a better life for the people? \~/

Clarita Carlos, an expert on governance and politics at the University of the Philippines, said she believed that Philippine politics merely facilitated the "circulation of elites, people who have mastered how to be economically and socially mobile by taking advantage of the limitations of the system." As a result, the Filipino political class "has become so inbred that they've become detached from the concerns of the majority," said Quezon, who is himself the grandson of a former president. \~/

“In a healthy political environment, Quezon said, the oligarchy would relinquish power to a new political class. "Sadly, this is something most Filipino oligarchs never did," he said.Steven Rood, the country representative here of The Asia Foundation and an expert on local governance, thinks it is not so much a question of why Philippine politics has the same faces but why the situation has not changed over many decades. "I would say that the basic fundamental reason is that the people who run the system are the ones benefiting enough from it that they're worried about change," Rood said. That has been the case for decades and, as Steven Rood of The Asia Foundation explained, "there's an enormous amount of historical continuity at play" in the present crisis. Rood traces this back to the period of Spanish colonization and the American colonization that followed it. \~/

"The two decades of Marcos blocked off a generation of young, emerging leaders," said Nereus Acosta, a 39-year-old congressman who teaches public policy at the Ateneo School of Government. After Marcos was toppled in 1986, the political families that he cultivated were replaced by new ones allied to the next regime, that of Corazón Aquino. As if that were not enough, the lines that at first separated Marcos and anti-Marcos politics became so blurred that it is not surprising today to find a former Marcos foe hobnobbing with the scions and friends of the former dictator. Switching sides thus became widespread. Filipino political parties had intermarried to such an extent that, today, it is difficult to know which party is allied with whom. "We're paying for this damage now," Acosta said. \~/

“Given this, Acosta said, it would be difficult for idealism to evolve. "You may have new guys coming out, yes, but unfortunately, wealth and power being so confined to a few, this new generation will have limitations," he said. There has never been a shortage of idealistic Filipinos who can provide the kind of strong leadership the country needs. "Believe me, there are many Filipinos who are competent," said Carlos, the political science professor. The problem is, officials said, once they are inside the system, they are easily compromised. \~/

Is the U.S. to Blame for the Philippines’s Political Failures

Steven Rood of The Asia Foundation told the International Herald Tribune that the Americans did not change the Filipino social structure. "They imposed a political system that allowed this social structure to gain political power," he said. "It's been the marriage of social position and political power ever since that produced essentially the same state that we have now." [Source: Carlos H. Conde, International Herald Tribune, July 16, 2005 \~/]

Luis Teodoro, the executive director of the Center for People Empowerment in Governance, a political research institute in Manila, told the International Herald Tribune that the Americans had a hand in this predicament. They supported regimes led by powerful political families who, in turn, furthered American interests and helped suppress the nationalist politicians who tended to undermine them. "To a great extent, the United States is responsible for keeping these political dynasties in power," Teodoro said. Without U.S. support, he said by way of example, the regime of Ferdinand Marcos would not have lasted as long as it did and Marcos would not have been able to inflict the heavy damage on political institutions here that he is generally held responsible for. \~/

Carlos H. Conde wrote in the International Herald Tribune, “Marcos persecuted the oligarchs who went against him and befriended those who were willing to cooperate with his regime. While he used these families to prop up his regime and amass the wealth for which he would later be infamous, these families went on to exploit their ties with him, widening and strengthening their political bases and enriching themselves even more. Marcos, in turn, used these power bases, particularly in the provinces, to keep himself in the presidential palace. This resulted in a kind of political interregnum. Because the dictator, his wife, Imelda, and his closest cronies were the only kingmakers, they either corrupted young and idealistic politicians or made sure that those who could challenge them did not stand a chance. \~/

Philippine Mayor Killed at Manila Airport

Political violence is not confined to candidates running in elections that threaten the oligarchy status quo. It can strike sitting politicians—and innocent bystanders. In December 2013, Al Jazeera reported: “Gunmen have shot dead a town mayor and three other people at the airport in Manila, sending travellers fleeing for safety, authorities said. Ukol Talumpa, the mayor of the town of Labangan in Zamboanga del Sur province, was killed together with his wife, an 18-month-old baby and one other person, Al Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan reported from Manila on Friday. Four other people were wounded in the incident, airport manager Jose Honrado said. [Source: Al Jazeera, December 20, 2013]

“Honrado said that Talumpa was waiting for a ride with his family outside an airport terminal when the gunmen on a motorcycle shot him and others at close range. Airport security force chased the gunmen but they escaped on their vehicle in the heavy late-morning traffic outside the terminal, Honrado said. He added that the authorities did not know the identity of the attackers nor the motive for the attack "Government agencies are trying their best to determine the perpetrators and bring them to justice," the airport manager said. Talumpa, a member of the political opposition, won a hotly contested electoral contest for mayor of Labangan in last May's local elections. [Ibid]

Politicians in the Philippines

Personality and image count for a lot on Philippines politics. Presidential candidates have included high school drop out movie stars. In some cases they have had no public service experience before running for office. It is common in Philippine politics for movie stars, basketball players and comedians to be elected to public office. The two top vote getters in a 1992 Senate election were a former action-movie star and slapstick comedian. In the 1998 election, more than 100 candidates in national elections were former entertainers. Former police chief and Manila mayor Alfredo Lim was nicknamed "Dirty Harry" for having little respect for civil liberties.

According to everyculture.com: “Men of rank in the military also move into the political arena. Joseph Estrada, whose term as president is 1998–2004, entered the public eye as a popular film star. He then became the mayor of a large city and went on to become vice president in the Ramos administration. Previous presidents have had political or military backgrounds, with the exception of Corazon Aquino, the president from 1986 to 1992, who became politically active after her husband was assassinated. [Source: everyculture.com]

It is also not unusual for Philippines politicians to have a criminal record. The top politician on the island of Palawan, Edward Hagedorn. who has been greatly praised for his can do achievements, himself grew up as a petty criminal and became a gambling lord who was jailed for allegedly killing two policeman in a shootout and abandoned his wife and child to live with a showgirl he met at a bar. Using managment skills that he may have picked as a gangster he got roads paves, cracked down on illegal logging and fishing, and delivered on promises of bringing low-cost housing, clinics and garbage collection to remote villages. Hagedorn became so famous his life was made into a film staring future presidential candidate Edward Poe.

Ferdinand Marcos was accused of killing a man. President Joseph Estrada and popular politician and president candidate Edward Poe were popular actors. See History

Speaker Jose de Venecia: the Consumate Filipino Politician

Bong Austero wrote in his blog: “Speaker Jose de Venecia says he now wants to spend the last years of his life building his legacy to the Filipino people. The speaker is 70 years old. He is the longest-serving speaker of the House of Representatives. He could have been president of this country had it not been for the fact that someone more popular and more in touch with the common man was also running for the post in that particular election. He lost to Joseph Estrada, the actor. His running mate, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, however, won the vice presidency. Estrada would eventually get booted out of office, tried, and convicted for plunder. And as fate would have it, De Venecia’s running mate became President. [Source: bongaustero.blogspot.jp, October 22, 2007 /=]

“For quite sometime, De Venecia’s political fortunes were in limbo. But he eventually bounced back from the pits and reclaimed his seat as speaker of the House of Representatives, proof of the man’s resilience and tenacity as a political animal. This is a man who has fought many battles; a man who speaks with the wisdom of not only the aged, but of someone who has been a constant fixture in the political scene in the last four or five decades. In another time and place, when someone of De Venecia’s stature and experience speaks of moral regeneration and of the urgency of reclaiming the country’s pride and honor, we should be compelled to sit up and listen. /=\

“Sadly, this does not seem to be the case today. It has become difficult to empathize with the man. Not only because in all his TV appearances last week the speaker came across as a forlorn figure, of someone betrayed and on the brink of defeat. There was no fire in his eyes and his rhetoric lacked conviction. This is sad because what De Venecia is saying is true. This country needs moral regeneration. But corruption has not only become systemic and widespread, brazen and so unspeakably scandalous. We also know theoretical solutions and intellectual discussions won’t be enough. What we need are drastic and more effective courses of action. /=\

“It is difficult to empathize with De Venecia and his cause because despite the grand pronouncements, it is clear that the man is simply fighting for political survival. This is evident in the way De Venecia continues to hem and haw about where his political loyalties now reside. Despite thinly veiled threats about possible courses of actions that he might take if the current dispensation continues to marginalize him, we know that his main motivation is self-preservation. He wants to retire as speaker and this is only possible if he plays his cards right. It’s a political zarzuela. De Venecia is saying all the right things but unfortunately fails to buttress his rhetoric with the necessary actions indicative of moral courage. Thus, we can be forgiven for not trusting him at this point.” /=\

Political Parties in the Philippines

Political parties and leaders: 1) Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (Struggle of Filipino Democrats) or LDP [Edgardo Angara]; 2) Lakas ng EDSA-Christian Muslim Democrats or Lakas-CMD [Manuel "Mar" Roxas]; 3) Liberal Party or LP [Manuel Roxas]; 4) Nacionalista Party or NP [Manuel "Manny" Villar]; 4) Nationalist People's Coalition or NPC [Frisco San Juan]; 5) PDP-Laban [Aquilino Pimentel]; 6) People's Reform Party [Miriam Defensor Santiago]; 7) Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (Force of the Philippine Masses) or PMP [Joseph Estrada]. The United Nationalist Alliance or [UNA] - PDP-Laban and PMP coalition for the 2013 election. Political pressure groups and leaders: Black and White Movement [Vicente Romano]; Kilosbayan [Jovito Salonga] [Source: CIA World Factbook]

Philippine political parties are essentially nonideological vehicles for personal and factional political ambition. Ruling party: The Liberal Party is the party of Benigno Aquino III, the current president of the Philippines. The Liberal Party, a democratic-elitist party founded in 1946, survived fourteen years of dormancy (1972 to 1986), largely through the staunch integrity of its central figure, Senate president Jovito Salonga, a survivor of the Plaza Miranda grenade attack of September 1971. In 1991 Salonga also was interested in the presidency, despite poor health and the fact that he is a Protestant in a largely Catholic country. Former President Macapagal-Arroyo is a member of the conservative Lakas-Christian Muslim Democratic Party (Lakas-CMD).

Political parties are not that strong in the Philippines. Rewriting the constitution to eliminate term limits and establishing a strong two-party system are the reforms that are discussed most often. Politicians move from party to party as the needs of their constituencies dictate because the political parties have no ideologies. [Source: everyculture.com]

Senate - percent of vote by party for 2013 election - UNA 26.94 percent, NP 15.3 percent, LP 11.32 percent, NPC 10.15 percent, LDP 5.38 percent, PDP-Laban 4.95 percent, others 9.72 percent, independents 16.24 percent; seats by party after 2013 election - UNA 5, NP 5, LP 4, Lakas 2, NPC 2, LDP 1, PDP-Laban 1, PRP 1, independents 3; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LP 38.3 percent, NPC 17.4 percent, UNA 11.4 percent, NUP 8.7 percent, NP 8.5 percent, Lakas 5.3 percent, independents 6.0 percent, others 4.4 percent; seats by party - LP 110, NPC 43, NUP 24, NP 17, Lakas 14, UNA 8, independents 6, others 12; party-list 57 [Source: CIA World Factbook]

After the May 2004 election, Lakas controlled the largest faction in the House of Representatives (100 seats). Lakas-CMD has formed a governing coalition with the Liberal Party (32 seats). Others major parties in the House at that time were the Nationalist Peoples Coalition (47 seats), led by the business tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco; Struggle for Democratic Filipinos (nine seats); Nationalista Party (six seats); Akbayan (three seats); Association of Philippine Electric Co-operatives (three seats); Bayan Muna (three seats); Power of the Filipino Masses (three seats); Aksyon Demokratiko, Promdi, and Reporma, which have formed an alliance (two seats); Philippine Democratic Party (two seats); and Philippines Democratic Socialist Party (two seats).

The Communists (NPA) split among the ranks.

Political Parties After the Ouster of Marcos

Political parties grew in profusion after the Marcos martiallaw regime (1972-81) was ended. There were 105 political parties registered in 1988. As in the pre-Marcos era, most legal political parties were coalitions, built around prominent individuals, which focused entirely on winning elections, not on what to do with the power achieved. There was little to distinguish one party from another ideologically, which was why many Filipinos regarded the political system as irrelevant. [Source: Library of Congress *]

The party system in the early 1990s closely resembled that of the premartial law years when the Nacionalista and Liberal parties alternated in power. Although they lacked coherent political programs, they generally championed conservative social positions and avoided taking any position that might divide the electorate. Each party tried to appeal to all regions, all ethnic groups, and all social classes and fostered national unity by never championing one group or region. Neither party had any way to enforce party discipline, so politicians switched capriciously back and forth. The parties were essentially pyramids of patronclient relationships stretching from the remotest villages to Manila. They existed to satisfy particular demands, not to promote general programs. Because nearly all senators and representatives were provincial aristocrats, the parties never tackled the fundamental national problem — the vastly inequitable distribution of land, power, and wealth. *

Ferdinand Marcos mastered that party system, then altered it by establishing an all-embracing ruling party to be the sole vehicle for those who wished to engage in political activity. He called it the New Society Movement (Kilusang Bagong Lipunan). The New Society Movement sought to extend Marcos's reach to far corners of the country. Bureaucrats at all levels were welladvised to join. The New Society Movement offered unlimited patronage. The party won 163 of 178 seats in the National Assembly in 1978 and easily won the 1980 local elections. In 1981 Marcos actually had to create his own opposition, because no one was willing to run against him. *

Pro-Government Parties After Marcos

In 1978 the imprisoned former senators Benigno Aquino and Lorenzo Tañada organized a political party named Lakas ng Bayan (Strength of the Nation; also known by its abbreviated form, LABAN, meaning fight). LABAN won 40 percent of the Manila vote in parliamentary elections that year but was not given a single seat in Marcos's New Society Movement-dominated parliament. After Aquino went into exile in the United States, his wife's brother, former Congressman Jose Cojuangco, managed LABAN. Cojuangco forged an alliance with the Pilipino Democratic Party (PDP), a regional party with strength in the Visayas and Mindanao, that had been organized by Aquilino Pimentel, the mayor of Cagayan de Oro City. The unified party was thereafter known as PDP-LABAN, and it — along with UNIDO conducted Corazon Aquino's presidential campaign against Marcos. [Source: Library of Congress *]

In its early years, PDP-LABAN espoused a strongly nationalist position on economic matters and United States base rights, aspiring to "democratize power and socialize wealth." Later, after Aquino became president, its rhetorical socialism evaporated. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, PDP-LABAN had the distinct advantage of patronage. Aquino named Pimentel her first minister of local government, then summarily dismissed every governor and mayor in the Philippines. Pimentel replaced them with officers in charge known personally to him, thereby creating an instant pyramid of allies throughout the country. Some, but not all, of these officers in charge won election on their own in the January 1988 local elections. *

PDP-LABAN was not immune from the problems that generally plagued Philippine political parties. What mainly kept the party together was the need to keep Aquino in power for her full sixyear term. In June 1988 the party was reorganized as the Struggle of Filipino Democrats (Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino). Speaker of the House Ramon Mitra was its first president, but he resigned the presidency of the party in 1989 in favor of Neptali Gonzales. *

In 1990 Aquino announced the formation of a movement called Kabisig (Arm-in-Arm), conceived as a nongovernmental organization to revive the spirit of People's Power and get around an obstinate bureaucracy and a conservative Congress. By 1991 its resemblance to a nascent political party worried the more traditional leadership, particularly Mitra. Part of Aquino's governing style was to maintain a stance of being "above politics." Although she endorsed political candidates, she refused to form a political party of her own, relying instead on her personal probity, spirituality, and simple living to maintain popular support. *

Opposition Parties After Marcos

The New Society Movement fell apart when Marcos fled the country. A former National Assembly speaker, Nicanor Yniguez, tried to "reorganize" it, but others scrambled to start new parties with new names. Blas Ople, Marcos's minister of labor, formed the Nationalist Party of the Philippines (Partido Nationalista ng Pilipinas) in March 1986. Enrile sought political refuge in a revival of the country's oldest party, the Nacionalista Party, first formed in 1907. Enrile used the rusty Nacionalista machinery and an ethnic network of Ilocanos to campaign for a no vote on the Constitution, and when that failed, for his election to the Senate. Lengthy negotiations with mistrustful political "allies" such as Ople and Laurel delayed the formal reestablishment of the Nacionalista Party until May 1989. Enrile also experimented with a short-lived Grand Alliance for Democracy with Francisco "Kit" Tatad, the erstwhile minister of information for Marcos, and the popular movie-star senator, Joseph Estrada. In 1991 Enrile remained a very powerful political figure, with landholdings all over the Philippines and a clandestine network of dissident military officers. [Source: Library of Congress *]

Vice President Laurel had few supporters in the military but long-term experience in political organizing. From his family base in Batangas Province, Laurel had cautiously distanced himself from Marcos in the early 1980s, then moved into open opposition under the banner of a loose alliance named the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO). Eventually, the UNIDO became Laurel's personal party. Aquino used the party's organization in February 1986, although her alliance with Laurel was never more than tactical. UNIDO might have endured had Aquino's allies granted Laurel more patronage when local governments were reorganized. As it was, Laurel could reward his supporters only with positions in the foreign service, and even there the opportunities were severely limited. The party soon fell by the wayside. Laurel and Enrile formed the United Nationalist Alliance, also called the Union for National Action, in 1988. The United Nationalist Alliance proposed a contradictory assortment of ideas including switching from a presidential to a parliamentary form of government, legalizing the Communist Party of the Philippines, and extending the United States bases treaty. By 1991 Laurel had abandoned these ad hoc creations and gone back to the revived Nacionalista Party, in a tentative alliance with Enrile. *

In 1991 a new opposition party, the Filipino Party (Partido Pilipino), was organized as a vehicle for the presidential campaign of Aquino's estranged cousin Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco. Despite the political baggage of a long association with Marcos, Cojuangco had the resources to assemble a powerful coalition of clans. *

In September 1986 the revolutionary left, stung by its shortsighted boycott of the February election, formed a legal political party to contest the congressional elections. The Partido ng Bayan (Party of the Nation) allied with other leftleaning groups in an Alliance for New Politics that fielded 7 candidates for the Senate and 103 for the House of Representatives, but it gained absolutely nothing from this exercise. The communists quickly dropped out of the electoral arena and reverted to guerrilla warfare. As of 1991, no Philippine party actively engaged in politics espoused a radical agenda.

Catholic Church and Politics in the Philippines

During the Spanish colonial period, the Catholic Church was extensively involved in colonial administration, especially in rural areas. With the advent of United States control, the Catholic Church relinquished its great estates. Church and state officially were separated, although the church, counting more than 80 percent of the population as members, continued to have influence when it wanted to exert it. For much of the Marcos administration, the official church, led by archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Jaime Sin, adopted a stance of "critical collaboration." This meant that although Sin did not flatly condemn Marcos, he reserved the right to criticize. Below the cardinal, the church was split between conservative and progressive elements, and some priests joined the communistdominated National Democratic Front through a group named Christians for National Liberation. Cardinal Sin was instrumental in the downfall of Marcos. He brokered the critical, if temporary, reconciliation between Aquino and Laurel and warned the Marcoses that vote fraud was "unforgivable." In radio broadcasts, he urged Manileños to come into the streets to help the forces led by Enrile and Ramos when they mutinied in February 1986. The church, therefore, could legitimately claim to be part of the revolutionary coalition. [Source: Library of Congress *]

Aquino is a deeply religious woman who has opened cabinet meetings with prayers and sought spiritual guidance in troubled times. Although there were reports that the Vatican in late 1986 had instructed Cardinal Sin to reduce his involvement in politics, Aquino continued to depend on him. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines issued a pastoral letter urging people to vote yes in the 1987 constitutional plebiscite. In March 1987, Sin announced that he was bowing out of politics, but two months later he broadcast his support for ten Aquino-backed candidates for the Senate and recommended that voters shun candidates of the left. In 1990 Sin defined his attitude toward the government as one of "critical solidarity." *

The church was very pleased with provisions of the 1987 Constitution that ban abortion and restore a limited role for religion in public education. The Constitution is essentially silent on the matter of family planning. The church used its very substantial influence to hinder government family-planning programs. Despite the fact that the population grew by 100,000 people per month in the late 1980s, Cardinal Sin believed that the Marcos government had gone too far in promoting contraception. He urged Aquino to "repeal, or at least revise" government family-planning programs. In August 1988, the bishops conference denounced contraception as "dehumanizing and ethically objectionable." For churchmen, this was an issue not to be taken lightly. One bishop called for the church to "protect our people from the contraceptive onslaught" and the bishops conference labelled rapid population growth a "nonproblem." In 1989 the United States Department of Commerce projected the Philippine population at 130 million by the year 2020 — in a country the size of California. *

Catholic Leaders and Politics in the Philippines

The Catholic church is one of the strongest institutions in the Philippines and major player in Philippine politics. Support of the Catholic church, and the military, are key to political survival and success in the Philippines. The Catholic is very involved in fighting poverty and in some cases some of its members have been involved in supporting poor tenant farmers in their battles against their rich landlords.

Priests and bishops and other religious leaders are powerful figures in the Philippines. Local priest and ministers are so highly respected that requests from them take on the power of mandates. A family considers having a son or daughter with a religious career as a high honor. Personal friendships with priests, ministers, and nuns are prized. Clerics take an active role in the secular world. An example is Brother Andrew Gonzales, the current secretary of DECS. [Source: everyculture.com]

The Catholic Church and, to a lesser extent, the Protestant churches engaged in a variety of community welfare efforts. These efforts went beyond giving relief and involved attempts to alter the economic position of the poor. Increasingly in the 1970s, these attempts led the armed forces of President Marcos to suspect that church agencies were aiding the communist guerrillas. In spite of reconciliation efforts, the estrangement between the churches and Marcos grew; it culminated in the call by Cardinal Jaime Sin for the people to go to the streets to block efforts of Marcos to remain in office after the questionable election of 1986. The resulting nonviolent uprising was known variously as People's Power and as the EDSA Revolution. [Source: Library of Congress, 1991 *]

The good feeling that initially existed between the church and the government of President Aquino lasted only a short time after her inauguration. Deep-seated divisions over the need for revolutionary changes again led to tension between the government and some elements in the churches. *

Catholics fall into three general groups: conservatives who are suspicious of social action and hold that Christian love could best be expressed through existing structures; moderates, probably the largest group, in favor of social action but inclined to cooperate with government programs; and progressives, who do not trust the government programs, are critical both of Philippine business and of American influence, and feel that drastic change is needed. In the past, progressives were especially disturbed at atrocities accompanying the use of vigilantes. They denied that they were communists, but some of their leaders supported communist fronts, and a few priests actually joined armed guerrilla bands. There appeared to be more progressives among religious-order priests than among diocesan priests. *

Cardinal Sin

Cardinal Jaime L. Sin was the top Catholic figure in the Philippines for decades until his death in 2005. Arguably one of the most powerful men in the Philippines and one of the most powerful Catholic clerics in the world, he was mentioned as a possible successor to Pope John Paul II. The son of Chinese immigrants, Cardinal Sin is well-known for his sense of humor, his name and his jokes about his name. When asked what his chances are of becoming the Pope, he says, "First of all, my name is bad." He often greets guest to his residence with "Welcome to the House of Sin" and is notorious for his bawdy comments.

Hrvoje Hranjski of Associated Press wrote: Cardinal Sin “shaped the role of the church during the country's darkest hours after dictator Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law starting in 1972 by championing the cause of civil advocacy, human rights and freedoms. Sin's action mirrored that of his strong backer, Pope John Paul II, who himself challenged communist rulers in Eastern Europe. Three years after Benigno Aquino Sr., a senator opposing Marcos, was gunned down on the Manila airport tarmac in 1983, Sin persuaded Aquino's widow, Corazon, to run for president. When massive election cheating by Marcos was exposed, Sin went on Catholic-run Radio Veritas in February 1986 to summon millions of people to support military defectors and the Aquino-led opposition. Marcos fled and Aquino, a deeply religious woman, was sworn in as president. Democracy was restored, but the country remained chaotic. [Source: Hrvoje Hranjski, Associated Press, January 3, 2013 ]

Cardinal Sin influence goes back to the Marcos era. Once when he sitting between Marcos and his wife Imelda in the back seat of the presidential limousine, Marcos asked him why he was so quiet. "Because," he said, "I feel like I am being crucified between two thieves." Marcos reportedly thought comment was funny but Imelda wouldn't speak to the cardinal for three months after that.

Michelle O'Donnell wrote in the New York Times, “Cardinal Jaime L. Sin, the powerful Roman Catholic archbishop of Manila, used his influence to champion the rights of the poor and rally the widespread popular resistance that brought down the presidencies of Ferdinand E. Marcos and Joseph Estrada Cardinal Sin led the nearly 40 million Catholics in the Philippines for almost three decades, through political upheaval that brought martial law, repressive dictatorship and democratic rule. A round-faced, bespectacled man, he was known for his sense of humor that included poking fun of his own name. But it was through his withering and unwavering public criticism of the Marcos regime in the 1980's that Cardinal Sin became an international figure. [Source: Michelle O'Donnell, New York Times, June 21, 2005 +++]

“At a time when reform-minded clergy in other developing countries were targets of assassination, Cardinal Sin tirelessly used his pulpit first as bishop, then archbishop, to attack Mr. Marcos' martial law, corruption and policies that oppressed the poor. Yet unlike Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, a contemporary who also worked to empower the poor and was fatally shot as he delivered a homily in 1980, Cardinal Sin seemed insulated from personal harm. "If you compare him to Romero, he spoke out as much as Romero did," said the Rev. Paul L. Locatelli, the president of Santa Clara University. "He saw justice as making sure that the poor had a voice." But he was not witho Under the cardinal's tenure, the church was shaken by accusations of sexual misconduct by some of its priests, according to The Associated Press. Two years ago, Catholic bishops apologized for grave cases of sexual misconduct by priests and pledged to act on complaints. +++

During his long career, the cardinal was not without his critics. He staunchly opposed artificial means of birth control, which some critics said left the country overpopulated and mired in poverty. Under the cardinal's tenure, the church was shaken by accusations of sexual misconduct by some of its priests, according to The Associated Press. Two years ago, Catholic bishops apologized for grave cases of sexual misconduct by priests and pledged to act on complaints. +++

See Religion

Protests and Demonstrations in the Philippines

Describing a Manila protest against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2006, Nicola Menzie of CBS wrote: “Riot police used water cannons and truncheons to break up a rally by more than 1,500 protesters as they demanded President Arroyo be removed from office. The protesters appeared emboldened by the success of similar protests in Thailand that led to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's resignation from office. The demonstrators reported several injuries as a result of police using wooden sticks, fiberglass shields and water cannon spray in order to force them away from a bridge leading to the presidential palace. Rallies have been banned in the area, which has been the scene of recent clashes between police and demonstrators. Leftist groups have vowed to continue protests and are calling for Arroyo's ouster over corruption and vote-rigging allegations. [Source: Nicola Menzie, CBS, April 6, 2006]

The next day, Fight Back! News reported: “Riot police in the Philippines attacked and broke up a demonstration by human rights activists marching near an international parliamentarians' conference. The protesters were gathering at the Malate Church in Manila en route to the Philippine International Convention Center. The police injured various people, including Catholic priests from the organization Promotion for Church People’s Response (PCPR). Baton-wielding police charged into the protesters near the conference site for the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) assembly where about 1,400 lawmakers from 145 countries were meeting. Human rights activists led by several priests and nuns marched on the conference to protest widespread human rights violations in the Philippines under the Arroyo government, including a number of recent killings of political activists. [Source: Fight Back! News, April 12, 2005]

Filipinos Grow Disillusioned with People Power Protests

The Philippine middle-class, instrumental in the overthrow of presidents Marcos and Estrada, is fed up with political turbulence and wants stability, political analysts say. In 2005, Alan Sipress wrote in the Washington Post, “Jennifer Santos's eyes gleamed as she recalled her days as a young housewife staring down government tanks ordered to the streets by longtime dictator Ferdinand Marcos. For the better part of a week in 1986, she and tens of thousands of other Filipinos, carrying flowers and rosary beads, camped along the capital's gritty Edsa Boulevard until Marcos fell. She remembered with less enthusiasm returning to the boulevard four years ago when another graft-tainted leader, Joseph Estrada, left office after a single night of protests. "By the next morning," Santos recounted, "I was in Starbucks drinking coffee, and we had a new president." [Source: Alan Sipress, Washington Post, July 10, 2005 ^/^]

“Now, that president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is facing a crescendo of calls to step down due to allegations she cheated in national elections last year. But like the vast majority of other Edsa veterans, Santos, 44, is not very interested in joining the few protesters on the streets. "I got tired. It happens over and over again," Santos said. "Our political system never changes." Across Manila, disappointment in Arroyo is surpassed only by a weary recognition that the Philippines' celebrated protest movement known as "people power" has run its course, and that no new political savior is at hand to rally the masses. ^/^

“Only several thousand flag-waving demonstrators joined the main anti-Arroyo rally in Manila's business district. Local office workers appeared almost oblivious to the event. The six-lane Edsa Boulevard was clogged with traffic. Not a protester was in sight and the adjacent plaza at the heroic People Power monument was empty. ^/^

“Luzviminda A. Santos, 52, a compact woman with intense brown eyes and shoulder-length black hair streaked with gray, was invited by several friends to join a small anti-Arroyo demonstration Saturday morning outside the local Santo Domingo church. She told them she would try to make it, but instead stayed home drinking coffee and watching the dizzying political developments on television. "I said to myself, 'What for?' " Four years ago, Santos said, she was among the first to reach Edsa Boulevard and demand Estrada's ouster. But this time there was little idealism, and the ascension of Arroyo, a product of the wealthy landed classes, was an immediate letdown. "Everyone is fatigued now with people power. It can't snowball to people power again," she said. But now, she said her family is less interested in the current political showdown than the basketball game Sunday between the country's two premier universities. She predicted the Manila sports coliseum would attract more people this weekend than any demonstration. "Are there people in Edsa now?" she asked. "Is anything happening now? I don't even care." ^/^

Image Sources:

Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Philippines Department of Tourism, Compton’s Encyclopedia, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, Foreign Policy, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications.

Last updated June 2015

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[OPINION] The unfolding reality of Philippine politics

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Philippines Political Hierarchy

Philippines exercise a well-organized and well structured political system which is balanced by its democratic republic, representative and presidential elements. In nutshell, the government of Philippines can be regarded as constitutional democracy headed by the President of the country.

In the Philippines political hierarchy, the President is both the head of the state and the head of the government and the country showcases a Pluriform multi-party system. The political hierarchy of Philippines cannot be regarded as a vertical hierarchy but instead the country’s political system showcases a horizontal hierarchy with three levels – Executive, Legislative and judicial which further are subdivided in a vertical hierarchical format.

The political hierarchy starts with national level political figures and officials which are divided into separate sections for effective execution, which are then followed provincial, city and town level hierarchy.

Executive Level

The executive level in the Philippines political hierarchy comprises of the President and the Vice – President. The executive level holds the responsibility and authority forthe day to day administration of the country. This level is responsible for executing the law. The President acts as the head of the state and is assisted by the Vice President in his responsibilities.

The President is responsible for heading the government, overseeing the country’s administration, bureaucracy management, foreign policy administration and management and for commanding the defence forces of the country.

The cabinet members & the secretary department also come under executive level of government and these are also headed by the President.

Legislative Level

This is the second level in the Philippines political hierarchy and comprises of two houses – House of Senate and the House of representatives. The House of Senate is headed by Senate President and House of representatives by Speaker.

These two houses work at the national & state level and are responsible for passing, amending and repealing laws & regulations for the people of the country. Apart from developing and amending laws, these two houses are also responsible for tax management, tax rates and for budget & money bills.

Judicial Level

The judicial level comprises of the system & hierarchy of courts and is responsible for interpreting & applying the law throughout the country. The topmost levels in the judicial system are acquired by the Supreme Court of the country and then are the other courts in the hierarchy. These courts are – Court of Appeals Sandiganbayan, Court of Tax Appeals Ombudsman and other lower courts of state & district level.

After the national level political arrangement lie the Provincial level political hierarchy. These also work in a similar manner as national level government does. This political hierarchy is headed by Governor, Vice Governor and SangguniangPanlalawigan Members.

The politics of town and cities of Philippines is headed by Mayor. The Mayor is followed by Vice Mayor who is followed by Sangguniang Bayan Member. These levels are then followed by Barangay, Barangay Captain and Barangay Kagawad Members.

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The Philippine Government

Updated 30 September 2022

Subject Politics

Downloads 33

Category Government

Topic Philippine Government

The Philippines' political elite is highly adaptable and resilient. Though a president is only allowed to serve for a maximum of six years, his influence is still substantial. He wields influence in policymaking, elections, and regulatory bodies. He also has influence in jurisprudence and the distribution of government resources.Power is divided among three branches of government The Philippine government is divided into three main branches: the executive, the judicial, and the legislative. The executive branch is composed of the President and Vice President and is responsible for enacting laws. It also has the power to declare war. The executive branch has a chief justice and a cabinet. The President is the head of state and leader of the national government. He serves for six years and is not eligible for reelection. The legislative branch includes the House of Representatives and Senate.The first branch is the Parliament. The Congress of Deputies has 350 members. All bills must pass the Congress's committees before they are submitted to the Senate. If the president vetoes a bill, the Senate has the power to amend the text. Only after a new examination can the Senate make a final decision. The Congress is responsible for the investiture of the President of the Government. A motion of censure by the Congress of Deputies or the Senate can lead to the President's resignation.The Senate is the highest legislative branch. Its members are elected to six-year terms. They can be re-elected, but cannot serve for a third consecutive term. If there is a vacancy in a legislative seat, a special election may be called. If the seat in the Senate becomes vacant, the House of Representatives will vote to fill it with a new member. If the position is vacant before the regular legislative election, a special election will be held. In this case, the new member of the Senate will serve out the unfinished term of the district representative who left. This election is only held for senatorial seats that are vacant ahead of the regular legislative election. The current president of the Senate is Bongbong Marcos, while Sara Duterte is the vice president.Influence of oligarchic clans on politics Philippine politics are dominated by oligarchic clans, who hold considerable economic and political power. These clans have prevented the country from making the necessary reforms toward democracy and a market economy. Even the president, Duterte, has failed to challenge these power structures and has even used these to his advantage. However, this situation must change if Philippine politics are to undergo significant transformation.The rise of oligarchic clans in Philippine politics is not a recent phenomenon. The country was dominated by a few clans in the past, and these clans were able to consolidate their power base by creating new power networks. After the Japanese occupation, local strongmen reorganized themselves and created powerful client networks. In addition, they seized control of the military, which was once apolitical. Local warlords swept into power, and by 2000, one such warlord was able to seize control of the national state.Although Philippine society is very poor, the oligarchic clans have significant social capital. They dominate local and national politics. As a result, elections are dominated by individuals and families with political interests. In addition, the country's political system is susceptible to electoral fraud and corruption. In addition to the political influence of oligarchic clans, the Philippine military, Catholic Church, and the United States are heavily involved in Philippine politics.Growing authoritarianism under Rodrigo Duterte Duterte's era has marked a profound decline in human rights and civil liberties. His brutal campaign against drugs and illegal immigrants, often carried out by vigilante groups, has increased police power and political influence. His anti-drug measures have also reduced freedom of speech and led to the deaths of opposition activists.In spite of the Philippines' formal democracy and separation of powers, the Philippines has become increasingly authoritarian. President Rodrigo Duterte presents his rule as based on the principle of law and order, and has undermined checks and balances. His actions against the Senate and the Supreme Court have also increased his power.Although Duterte's administration has attempted to address these problems, it has not succeeded in doing so. It has also failed to implement many of the reforms required for a democracy and a market economy. This is largely due to the oligarchic nature of the government, and the inability of the Duterte administration to challenge the dominance of family clans.Need for infrastructure improvements The Philippines faces a number of challenges when it comes to infrastructure development. For example, the Philippines lacks the adequate financial resources to undertake large infrastructure projects. In addition, there are several challenges associated with public expenditure management. Moreover, the country's poor coordination among agencies limits the effectiveness of infrastructure projects. For these reasons, the Philippines must increase public participation and improve efficiency of government spending on infrastructure projects. The government can also encourage private sector participation by developing domestic capital markets.Investments in infrastructure will boost the country's economic growth and improve the lives of ordinary citizens. For instance, better roads and internet services will allow farmers to sell their products and raise the living standards of rural people. Improved infrastructure will also reduce costs of doing business and improve productivity. In addition, these investments will help the country compete in the global market.Improved infrastructure is crucial for the Philippines to achieve inclusive growth. It will help promote business, trade, and job creation, as well as alleviate poverty. There are several reforms that will be needed in order to achieve these goals. Infrastructure development in the Philippines marks an exciting phase of the country's development. This investment is a critical step towards bringing more Filipinos out of poverty.

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