democracy essay in the philippines

What the Philippines tells us about democracy

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It’s more fun in the Philippines – observers of Philippine democracy could very well apply our tourism slogan to our political landscape. Hard-won after centuries of colonization, years of occupation and decades of dictatorship, Philippine-style democracy is colourful, occasionally chaotic – and arguably inspiring.

Take elections, for example, the cornerstone of democratic institutions. Voters see their power to choose their leaders as their strongest check on the behaviour of the government, their one chance to exact accountability.

Analysts and commentators have branded political campaigns in the Philippines as “highly entertaining”. The mix of old political clans, showbiz personalities and the ubiquitous song and dance that pepper the campaign trail provide plenty of amusement. But be not deceived; the power to choose is a right and responsibility that Filipinos hold dear.

Indeed, ballots are almost sacred in the Philippines. Voters have risked their personal safety to exercise the right. In many cases, the public has seen it as their one weapon against those who abuse their position.

Beyond balloting, democracy is a “government by discussion” (to quote the Indian economist Amartya Sen), characterized by public dialogue and interaction. The vibrancy of democracy in the Philippines hinges largely on the quality of this dialogue and interaction. A government that engages its citizens, is inclusive in its decision-making and, most importantly, enjoys the trust of its electorate, can almost certainly count on public support when making tough decisions. The reverse has also been seen, as in the case of a leadership facing a “crisis of legitimacy” that was seen to make decisions out of political expediency rather than the public good; in this case the people’s mandate, won squarely in an electoral contest, has proven itself to be a potent force for positive change.

The authors of a working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research argue that democracy is good for economic growth for various reasons, including the ability of democracies to implement economic reforms. They present evidence from a panel of countries between 1960 and 2010 showing that the “robust and sizeable effect of democracy on economic growth … suggests that a country that switches from non-democracy to democracy achieves about 20% higher GDP per capita in the long run (or roughly in the next 30 years)”.

We can see this in the case of the Philippines, which has enjoyed 60 straight quarters of economic growth since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Average GDP growth from 2010 to 2013 was recorded at 6.3%, significantly higher than the 4.5% average GDP growth registered from 2001 to 2009.  That this relatively higher rate of growth has happened alongside a series of economic reforms backed up by a strong electoral mandate should not be taken as pure coincidence. Closing loopholes in tax collection, an overhaul in customs administration, and passing key legislation on excise taxes – these would not have taken place in an environment which was not supportive of – or indeed, craving for – reform.

Outside of economic reforms, this strong mandate has also enabled the passage of social sector reforms – among them legislation allowing women access to vital information and facilities pertaining to their reproductive health, and a measure extending the education cycle to meet the global standard. These measures had passionate advocates on both sides, and a less committed leadership could have wavered at any point.

Improved government via more efficient tax collection and customs administration, access to vital information and services and a better standard of education: how could one argue that this is not what voters want when they take to the polls?

Of course, this is not always what voters get, even when they faithfully exercise their right to choose.  Roadblocks in the process remain, resulting in an occasional disconnect between what voters want, and what they are eventually given. Recent reforms – such as those automating the process and synchronizing elections in different parts of the country – have sought to lessen fraud, intimidation of voters and the exercise of patronage. These instances, however, are far from being wiped out completely. While incidents of poll violence were significantly lower in the most recent mid-term elections, putting an end to vote-buying and the general exercise of political patronage continues to be a challenge.

More significantly, while the Philippines has embraced the democratic traditions of participation and the freedom of choice and expression, the longer-term challenge remains to deepen the quality of its democracy. Building political parties on ideology and merit rather than personality, strengthening accountability mechanisms within government, creating alternative sources of reliable information, and enabling the electorate to make informed choices – there is clearly much more work that needs to be done, despite the progress that has been made.

The next step, however, has to be taken by the electorate itself. We have seen how a strong mandate for change has made change happen – now we just need to sustain it by demanding continuity.

Democracy may be more fun in the Philippines, but this is not a country that takes or makes its choices lightly. Stay tuned.

Author: Julia Andrea R. Abad is the Head of the Presidential Management Staff at the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines

Image: A man poses with his inked thumb after voting at the Philippines presidential election in Pasay City, Manila May 10, 2010. REUTERS/Nicky Loh

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Democracy in the Philippines Essay

Democracy in the philippines setting, travel and tourism scenario, organizational policy, public policies, problems in policy implementation, the policy of our organization.

The two questions to be answered and to form the main topic of discussion for this paper deal with democracy and the forms of government in a democratic society.

Chosen for an interesting topic of discussion is the country in the Philippines, as compared to the United States and its form of government.

The Philippines is chosen because of its unique background, the country having experienced two colonizers, one of which is the United States. The presidential form of government is a legacy of the American colonizers, while the Spaniards introduced Christianity.

Up to the present dispensation, the Philippines is a democratic society with a presidential form of government.

Over the years, there were attempts to change this form of government to parliamentary, but since the Filipinos have become accustomed to it, they have made their intention to oppose any move to change the status quo.

The second question is about a scenario which touches on Philippine tourism. The unique Philippines setting, with backdrops of heritage sites, unique architecture, beautiful scenic spots and islands the likes of the Caribbean, makes our scenario another interesting point of discussion.

A country whose people cherish democracy like the United States and Great Britain is the Republic of the Philippines. Filipinos are champions of democracy.

They introduced the term people power in the dictionary as a peaceful revolution when in 1986 they marched in the streets and opposed the guns and tanks of Marcos with their rosaries and flowers as peace offerings. Hours after that, Marcos fled to Hawaii.

The Philippines has a presidential form of government copied from the U.S. model. The branches of government, the bureaucracies and institutions are all U.S. made.

Democratic elections are being held for the president down to the barangay captain who is the head of a barangay, the smallest political unit.

But the democracy the Filipinos now cherish is the result of the sacrifices of heroes who fought in the battlefields of Bataan and Corregidor and the so-called ‘death march’ during World War II. (Canlas, 1999, p. 63)

In a presidential form of government, the people elect the president and vice president, and members of Congress. There are differences however in the manner of elections and the election of the higher and lower positions in government.

The Philippines is a multi-party system while the United States is a two-party system. The two parties are the Republican (GOP) and Democratic parties.

The executive branch in Washington is controlled by the party in power while in the Philippines the president can appoint cabinet secretaries who do not belong to their political party (Fernandez, 2007, p. 169).

More changes came in the style of governance in Washington, like instituting checks and balances within the executive branch itself. (Waldman, 1976, p. 260)

There are attempts to change the form of government from presidential to a parliamentary form of government, and this is through charter change.

But the people and the political leadership, along with the strong political opposition, are still not decided and there is a growing debate over this matter. I believe the Filipino is not ready yet for a parliamentary form of government.

Travel is an important human activity which affects our understanding of the world and our existence.

It is for this reason that we want to see and witness only the beautiful and pleasant things in the places we go, although there are people who want to see the bizarre and the unexpected.

In other countries, there are communities, human activities, wonderful things, or phenomena that we would like to personally see with our own eyes.

We want to record, write them down and video-tape them for posterity sake. Others consider them as part of their legacy to their children and grandchildren.

An outcome of travel is tourism, or shall we say, travel is a product of tourism. These two have become quite reciprocal, but I can consider it as synonymous.

Our organization considers travel and tourism as one. And our organizational policy must coincide with the policy of the country we conduct business with or guide travelers and tourists for the places they want to see and come in contact with.

We look at the Philippines in Asia with special attention because of its potential as a tourism destination which remains untapped for various reasons we would like to discuss here.

How the people and the government reacted to changes in the course of the country’s existence is an interesting point for discussion, considering that the political upheavals of this particular country influenced tourism policies.

The scenario created in those upheavals and history formed into what the country is today.

The Philippines is a developing country although in some respect it has been observed as more developed than some countries in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Politics and the quest of a few greedy politicians for power have put it in a stagnant position, perhaps deteriorating during the time of Marcos, who ruled with impunity and countless human rights violation. (Beirman, 2003, p. 254)

Our organizational policy we introduced in the Philippines is the same as the policies we introduced on other countries, i.e., we wanted to be a part in promoting tourism in the country by promoting the various tourist and scenic spots, heritage sites, the culture of the people, and other places of human-interest.

We have been in this business for some time now, and we know how to promote our business by promoting others.

Networking is part of our activities. We have always consulted government agencies in our promotional campaigns. Thus, we took some time contacting the tourism offices of the Philippines of which they were also happy to help and partner with us regarding our organizational policy.

We explained that promoting tourism in the Philippines is part of our agenda as a travel agency. Regular consultations have been conducted ever since. We have offices and people in the field, and quite a number of these are in the islands and beautiful places in the country.

We looked forward to promoting the entire archipelago of thousands of islands, the scenic spots, the baroque churches and unique architecture imported from Spain, Greece, and other European countries.

We also noted the uniqueness of the people, the different tribes and ethnic groups, and a ‘new’ race, which can be said as a blending of the east and the west.

Some of its women are holders of international beauty titles, and the workforce is composed of professionals and extraordinary artisans who have gone to different parts of the world to introduce their skills, talents, and professionalism.

To indulge in the Philippines and its people is a unique experience for us as a business organization and as career travel agents whose clients are the peoples of the world.

We consider ourselves and our organization as global, but we know we always want to ‘localize’ our operations to be successful in our business.

With these unique tourism attractions, we also outlined our policies for the country. Promotion and advertising are a part of our policy, but first, we also made it clear with the government agencies we have dealt with, that our organization also have to promote our travel agency.

The activity is reciprocal – we would promote the country, and they can help us by endorsing our agency. That said, we also enumerated objects which were really of interest to our country of destination, the Philippines.

Tourism is one of the major dollar earners of most countries in the world. It is also one of the largest industries in the world when it comes to output, investment, and employment.

Tourism cannot be talked about without mentioning other subjects involving contemporary culture which is influenced by globalization, multiculturalism, transnationalism, and so forth. (Ness, 2003, p. 3)

Tourism is a mix of cultural, economic and political factors (Burns and Novelli, 2007, p. 1), but there is now a renewed focus on it with the emergence of what is called international tourism (Huybers, 2007, p. 5).

The Philippines is an archipelago of thousands of islands, inhabited by many ethnic tribes and people who have experienced colonization from the Spaniards down to the Americans. Filipinos, young and old, know their heritage.

There are ethnic tribes in the mountains, but for those who have settled in the cities and suburban areas, they look like quite similar with their foreign ancestors – different colors of skin like white and brown but fair skin, blue and black eyes, and women with unique beauty, said to be of world class.

Because of the country’s historical background, it has formed its own unique culture but a government based on its experience with two colonizers.

The Spaniards were responsible for the Christianization of the Philippines while the Americans introduced democracy and the presidential form of government. (Schirmer & Shalom, 1987, pp. 1-2)

The presidential form of government was passed on to history by the U.S. during the time of General Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippine Republic in 1898, then during World War II, to the time of the dictator, and now the present leader, Benigno Aquino III, son of martyred political leader in the 1980s, Benigno Aquino Jr., who was killed during the Marcos era, and Corazon Aquino who succeeded Marcos after the people power uprising. (Official Gazette, n.d.)

To talk about Philippine tourism and the policies imposed upon it by the government and the people means to speak about its rich history, the culture, and the people.

The people experienced two colonizers and have ingrained in their national psyche the so-called colonial mentality. But they are happy and hospitable people. It is a common public policy to smile and be hospitable to any foreigner who comes in and visits one of their islands.

The Filipinos are a proud race. They smile when they see a tourist. That is tourism public policy number one, and the beginning of a scenario we would like to talk about.

The sad note, however, is this. The Philippines has a big portion of its population in poverty, and so promoting tourism is sometimes distracted with the slums and squatter colonies right in the heart of Manila.

Some laws of the country protect squatter colonies; they cannot just be sent away and their shanties demolished. Laws and regulations are most of the times ignored by ordinary citizens and motorists, and law enforcement is weak. Laws are not strictly enforced.

There are smoke belchers, illegal loggers and other environmental violators, and the government is infested by corruption. But the public sector sees the significant role of the tourism industry in the growth of the economy by providing local employment. (Bloom, 2009, p. 16)

Our organization sees tourism as a flourishing industry in the Philippines and an attractive business venture because of its beautiful scenic spots, baroque churches, white beaches, and various heritage sites, a legacy of the hundreds of years of Spanish colonization, and subsequent American colonization which led to Philippine independence on June 12, 1898.

However, the Philippine tourism industry has passed through various stages of decay and then development.

If public policies had been enforced to the letter, the Philippines could have been the number one tourist destination in Asia because of its rich heritage, historic spots, rich natural resources, and a hospitable people willing to receive any guests who have entered into their shorelines.

We have witnessed it, and we can testify to the beauty of a country. Something has to be done, and we have promoted this country for all of its natural beauty.

Politics and perhaps greed by politicians marred the history of a great nation. From the literature, we can read that tourism was used for political purposes during the regime of the despot Marcos.

Tourism policies were concentrated on government efforts to gain support from foreign governments, especially during martial law which lasted for more than a decade.

There was no popular support or cooperation from the local community who had mixed feelings of fear, hatred, and remorse over the dictatorship. Human rights violations were rampant. Resorts, hotels and other business establishments were owned by cronies.

Rebel groups started to surface, and anarchy reigned. People power, led by Corazon Aquino, which was staged after the killing of her husband and opposition leader, Benigno Aquino Jr., led to the toppling of the dictatorship. Tourism was down at that time. (Gray, 2008, p. 369)

Similarly, the Philippines has a growing population and a bulging bureaucracy. There have been suggestions for it to adapt to the federal form of government.

The regional areas can become states with their constitutions, copy the U.S. model with states having their constitutions, and a supreme constitution.

Checks and balances in the Philippines seem to be not so effective, what with the rampant graft and corruption in the different branches of government as reported in the media.

The media, however, is also as effective in ousting erring officials. People power uprising seems to be the most effective way of punishing politicians who have erred in office and could not be ousted through legal means. (Mayton, 2009, p. 27)

The erring public officials could not be ousted because of the support that they still have in their political base or bailiwicks. Legal means seem to be not effective. But as in the U.S. model, the law is the people. In the EDSA uprising, the Filipinos spoke by denouncing the rampant graft and corruption. The U.S. model uses legal means because of its strong institutions, as mandated by the constitution and the people.

Corazon ‘Cory’ Aquino took over, and once again, her government used tourism as a tool to reassure the international community, particularly Japan and the United States, that she was in control and that her government had gained popular support.

There was a slight improvement in tourism programs though. The people showed support to the government and its programs, and the international community was convinced that there were peace and tranquillity in the islands.

Public policies for tourism centered on making the Philippines the ultimate destination of people seeking refuge from city life. Slowly, tourism was alive again. (Gray, 2008, p. 371)

However, the ‘honeymoon’ period between the new government and the new opposition did not last long.

Opposition to the new government continued to mount protests, a faction in the military staged coup d’états after coup d’états, making tourism once again a dream of people who always love peace. (Gray, 2008, p. 372)

At present, the new administration of President Benigno Aquino III, son of Corazon Aquino and martyred Benigno Aquino Jr., has some bright plans to jumpstart the tourism programs as envisioned by the newly created Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority formerly named the Philippine Tourism Authority. (Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, 2010)

However, tourism is at present going in an up-and-down trend because of terrorism and destabilization campaigns being staged by communist and secessionist groups from the south. Tourism in any country is always affected by threats of terrorism.

In the farther south, in Mindanao, there are various groups seeking to separate from the republic.

The Abu Sayaff group, which has links to Al Qaeda, the international terrorist group headed by Osama bin Laden, has been responsible for various kidnapping incidents involving tourists and businessmen, making tourism in the south down.

That portion of the country is supposed to be a tourist haven because of its natural habitats, but these habitats have become hiding places of terrorist groups. (Travelblog, 2006)

Unlike the other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Philippines cannot rely much on tourism as a dollar earner. The government has to institute measures to promote tourism.

The country is blessed with beautiful scenic spots, the likes of those in the Caribbean; but there are spots which are still not developed. (Richter, 2005, p. 255)

The constitution of the Republic of the Philippines provides for the conservation of lands and tourist parks and the promotion of tourist destinations which may include national parks and other natural resources. (Constitutional Commission, 1986)

The national agency that is taking the overall supervision of tourism is the Philippine Tourism Authority, which has recently been revitalized with a new name, the Tourism Infrastructure, and Enterprise Zone Authority.

It was created by law to develop and promote tourism destinations in the country, but it is under the Department of Tourism headed by a Cabinet Secretary who reports directly to the President of the Philippines. (Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, 2010)

The agency is mandated by law

• to enhance private sector participation in the development of tourism infrastructure in the country;
• to implement privatisation efforts of some government facilities in order to contribute to the government income;
• to maximise collection efforts of the government by promoting tourism destinations;
• to maintain a pool of talented professional and skilled employees and managers to handle tourism. (Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, 2010)

The public policy remains focused on acquiring foreign reserve for the economy to flourish.

The economy now depends on overseas-Filipino-workers’ (OFW) remittances and the volatile markets of a few products such as sugar, pineapple, cotton, coconut, and electronic products, being exported to major countries like the United States. OFW remittances remain the lifeblood of the economy.

The present administration of President Benigno Aquino III has yet to prove how the government can push through with new economic reforms.

Political will is difficult to impose, but the government has shown strength in instituting reforms in the midst of mounting terrorist threats and travel advisories from at least six countries including the United States for their respective citizens not to travel to the Philippines, particularly the provinces in the southern portion of the country which are being threatened by secessionist groups.

The local government units are composed of provinces, which are governed by governors; towns and cities, which are under the leadership of mayors; and barangays which are governed by barangay captains. The centralized form of government had barriers in local governance.

This was amended through the passage of the law known as the Local Government Code of 1991. It pushed for local autonomy where local government units were given a chance to govern.

Local autonomy enabled local officials to govern with authority and responsibilities for the resources of their local areas.

The Code transformed the provinces, towns, cities, and barangays into self-reliant and active local government units (LGU) by providing power, authority, responsibilities, and resources. (General Primer, 1991)

The local government units have the responsibility to promote tourism in their jurisdiction. Our organization has penetrated in these local areas. We have coordinated with the local tourism government agencies so that we could conduct business and promote our product.

Tourists are also guided accordingly. In other parts of the world, we have promoted the different localities of the Philippines as tourist destinations.

Tourism policies have not been clear. Past administrations have had difficulties in implementing the policies, not for lack of professional and expert policymakers, but due to politics. The present public policy is to promote these scenic spots and make them major dollar earners.

This is with the support and collaboration of the public and private sectors. The government acts as a catalyst and to help in what the private sectors are doing for tourism. The strategy is to develop a closer partnership and cooperation of all stakeholders involved in tourism.

The World Tourism Organization has recommended that the government should not duplicate what the private sectors are doing in tourism so that there will be no overlapping of functions. (Cruz, 2005, p. 49)

There are instances that conflicts arise between the government and private sectors due to the following:

• The private sectors refuse to finance some projects because they don’t believe that it will generate profit, but the government has given it a go and has prioritized it due to its potential as a tourist spot.
• A tourism project has no more market potential, and cannot be sold; the government may be forced to buy it, but conflict arises when the government has not enough money to buy the facility.
• The government is forced to build low-cost “social tourism” which is devoted to the poor, the sick, and the aged.
• The government encourages private sectors to develop tourism activities through pilot projects. (Cruz, 2005, p. 50)

In areas where there are no tourism plans, the government identifies tourism opportunities so that the private sector can invest and provide capital.

The presence of beautiful ‘white’ beaches, mountains and thousands of islands, not to mention the declared UNESCO World Heritage sites, makes the Philippines an attraction to tourists from neighboring countries in Asia, Europe, and the United States. (World Heritage Convention, 2010)

Likewise, it has a rich cultural heritage that has never waned even during economic hardships, political upheavals, and natural calamities.

The eruption of the active volcano in Central Luzon, a major island where Manila is located, has produced new land formation, making the neighboring towns and cities a tourist attraction.

Our organization has promoted these places as a sight to behold. Once they were flood-prone areas but after the flow of ‘lahar’ (lava mixed with sand) coming from the volcano, the places seemed to have ‘grown,’ and the local folks have regarded it as a blessing in disguise.

Filipinos celebrate fiestas, holidays and anniversaries like they are a part of religious obligations. During Lenten season, the Catholic celebration of the Holy Week which observes and honors the Lord Jesus’ passion and death on the cross, Filipinos celebrate it with the actual crucifixion of some of their devotees.

Although this is not permitted by the Catholic Church, the penitents flag their bodies, and the climax is the crucifixion on a hilltop.

At least three penitents are crucified, their hands extended and the nails are pounded hard injuring the penitents who are tied to the three wooden crosses, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the two criminals beside him, more than two thousand years ago. (The Oxford Business Group, 2008, p. 128)

The Filipinos observe fiestas and Christmases which attract tourists from around the world. Tourism spots are everywhere.

If you go northward, you would be happy to pass by the ‘Hundred Islands’ in Lingayen Gulf, a constant feature in movies depicting World War II, but now a national park. But if you divert to the Visayas islands, there are several places attractive to tourists, one of which is Boracay.

The island is at the tip of the group of Islands, and it is equipped with fine ‘white’ beaches. It is also a constant scene of reality shows featuring local movie stars. Beaches of the world-class are sprawling everywhere in the Visayas and Mindanao.

In each of these tourist destinations, the local community has a big role to play in the promotion and catering to the needs of the tourists. Travel companies and guides also have a big role to play in the promotion of these tourist spots. (Philippines Board, n.d.)

Lingayen Gulf in Pangasinan is a historical site because it is the site of one of the fierce sea battles fought between the Japanese and American forces reinforced by Filipino guerrilla forces. The Hundred Islands is not a hundred islands, although the number is approximate.

These places are the source of livelihood of most of its inhabitants, aside of course from fishing. (Hundred Islands National park, n.d.)

Being an archipelagic country, the Philippines has porous borders. The islands in the south, which are known as the ‘backdoor’ because they are not closely guarded and you can easily travel to other countries like Indonesia by way of a small commercial boat, are a tourists’ haven.

The Philippines has purged partnerships with neighboring Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, and Malaysia, to make Davao, the ‘backdoor’ city, and surrounding places, as development areas. (Ness, 2003, p. 113)

Puerto Princesa in the island Palawan, itself a province and which is just near Davao, has also been developed, with the help of the UNESCO Development Programme.

The strategy involves community-based tourism in which the local folks, the young and the old, the public and private sectors, join hands to promote tourism destinations. (Gray, 2008, p. 375)

Still in the south of the country, in Zamboanga City, there are beautiful tourist spots being taken care of by residents. The city is inhabited by an ethnic group who speaks ‘Chabacano,’ a dialect which has some semblance to the Spanish language.

The city, however, is a melting pot because of the presence of other ethnic groups. Economic activity is very much alive in this city.

It is also home to the regional headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which keeps guarding the presence of kidnap-for-ransom groups and other criminal elements. Foreign tourists are advised by their respective governments not to venture into this city. (Travelblog, 2006)

The situation affects tourism. Over the past years, tourists from different countries had been kidnapped. Some were killed while others were released on ransom. It is the duty of the government to safeguard the lives of the people, local and foreign.

The local inhabitants, no matter how they want that tourism should improve in their community, could do nothing except rely on the government and to God for peace and unity.

Our organization has a big role to play in the promotion of this beautiful country as a tourist destination. We have recruited tourist guides who are well knowledgeable of the areas tourist are more attracted to go and see the places and human activities which can fulfill human interest.

The present government has a present policy of establishing tourism infrastructure through a close partnership between the public and private sectors. We have taken hold of this opportunity.

It has proven to be effective in developing tourism as a major source of income for the local folks and the government in the form of taxes. This is demonstrated in the various examples of public policies in the Philippines setting.

During a recent dialogue with a government agency in charge of promoting tourism, we have made some suggestions.

It is of great importance to any place or country to develop first the community, emphasizing on the capability of the natives or inhabitants to promote tourism and to have an active part in dealing or living with tourists and tourism. It has to be a part of their lives. Tourism can alleviate poverty.

The folks have to perform a hands-on role in formulating those policies because they are the ones directly involved. Tourism affects their livelihood, family, and the whole society in general.

Where there are tourists, there is economic activity. This close coordination between the different sectors of the community has proven to be effective in developing tourism as a major source of livelihood for the local population, and income in the form of taxes for the government.

The most recent public tourism policy the Filipino people are crying and pushing for is to allow the eight-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao to be a part of the tourist attraction; in fact, it has already happened.

The world champ, who has been hailed by the Filipinos as a hero, is a boxing phenomenon when he earned the eighth belt upon defeating former world champion, Antonio Margarito. (Sports Newscaster, 2010)

Our organization hailed this recent development in the country and has helped in promoting Pacquiao as another tourist attraction.

Our guides have been instructed to mention Manny Pacquiao and his hometown in Sarangani province. Pacquiao can boost economic activity and tourism, at the same time promote the Philippines and erase all the negative news about the country. This is what the Filipino people want.

Beirman, D. (2003). A comparative assessment of three Southeast Asian tourism recovery campaigns: Singapore Roars: Post SARS 2003, Bali Post- the October 12, 2002 Bombing, and WOW Philippines 2003. In Y. Mansfeld and A. Pizam (Eds.) 2006, Tourism security and safety: from theory to practic e (p. 254). Oxford, UK: Elsevier Inc.

Bloom, G., (2009). Philippines . Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet Publications Ltd.

Burns, P. & Novelli, M. (2007). Tourism and politics: introduction. In P. Burns and M. Novelli, Eds. Tourism and politics: global frameworks and local rea lities (p. 1). Oxford, UK: Elsevier Ltd.

Canlas, L. P. (1999). Philippines’ 2 millennium history . United States of America: Infinity Publishing.com.

Constitutional Commission (1986). The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines . Quezon City, Philippines: National Government Center.

Cruz, Z. (2005). Principles of tourism part II (Updated edition) . Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store, Inc.

Fernandez, L. H. (2007). A brief history of the Philippines . United States of America: University of Michigan.

General Primer (1991). The local government code of 1991. Philippines: Republic of the Philippines Press.

Gray, J. (2008). Responsible destination development: Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. In J. Cochrane, Ed. Asian tourism: growth and change (p. 369). UK: Elsevier Ltd.

Hundred Islands National Park (n.d). Web.

Huybers, T. (2007). Tourism in developing countries: economics and management of tourism 2 . UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.

Mayton, D. M. (2009). Non violence and peace psychology . United States of America: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Ness, S. (2003). Where Asia smiles: an ethnography of Philippine tourism. United States of America: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Official Gazette (n.d.). Philippine official papers & documents. Web.

Oxford Business Group (2008). The Report: the Philippines 2010 . Manila, Philippines: Oxford Business Group.

Philippines Board (n.d.) Tourist spots in Bacolod – Philippines. Web.

Richter, L. (2005). The Philippines: the politicization of tourism. In Y. Apostolopoulos, S. Leivadi and A. Yiannakis (Eds), The Sociology of Tourism (p. 255). New York, USA: Routledge.

Schirmer, D. B. & Shalom, R. S. (Eds.). (1987). The Philippines reader: a history of colonialism, neocolonialism, dictatorship, and resistance. United States of America: South End Press.

Sports Newscaster (2010). Pacquiao vs Margarito results and post game boxing fight analysis. Web.

Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Philippine Tourism Authority) (2010). Pushing tourism ahead: a message from the general manager. Web.

Travelblog (2006). Mindanao: Abu Sayyaf the MILF and a bloke called Joe. Web.

Waldmann, R. J. (1976). The domestic council: innovation in presidential government. Public Administration Review. Web.

World Heritage Convention (2010). Philippines. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2020, March 13). Democracy in the Philippines. https://ivypanda.com/essays/democracy-in-the-philippines/

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Essay on Democracy In The Philippines

Students are often asked to write an essay on Democracy In The Philippines 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.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Democracy In The Philippines

Introduction.

The Philippines is a country in Southeast Asia known for its democratic system. Democracy means the power is in the hands of the people. They can elect their leaders and express their opinions freely.

History of Democracy

The Philippines started practicing democracy in 1946, after gaining independence from the United States. The country’s constitution guarantees people the right to vote and stand for elections.

Democratic Elections

In a democratic election, every citizen above 18 years can vote. The Philippines holds elections every six years for the president and vice-president, and every three years for other officials.

Democratic Challenges

Despite being a democratic country, the Philippines faces challenges. These include corruption, poverty, and political dynasties. These issues sometimes limit the people’s power to choose their leaders.

Democracy in the Philippines is a work in progress. The country continues to strive for a more fair and just society where every citizen’s voice matters.

250 Words Essay on Democracy In The Philippines

The Philippines is a country in Southeast Asia known for its democratic form of government. Democracy means that the people of the country have the power to choose their leaders and make important decisions.

The Birth of Democracy

The Philippines became a democratic nation in 1946 when it gained independence from the United States. Since then, the people have been using their votes to elect their leaders. This is a big part of democracy because it means that the leaders have to listen to what the people want.

Democratic Practices

In the Philippines, the President is the head of the state. The people elect the President every six years. The country also has a Congress made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The members of these groups are also elected by the people. This shows how democracy works in the Philippines.

Like any other country, the Philippines also faces challenges in its democracy. Sometimes, the elections are not fair and there are cases of corruption. Some people also feel that their voices are not heard. These are issues that the country needs to work on to make its democracy stronger.

Democracy in the Philippines is a work in progress. While it has its challenges, it also has its strengths. The people of the Philippines have the power to decide their future through their votes. This is the beauty of democracy. It gives power to the people. It is up to the people to use this power wisely to make their country better.

500 Words Essay on Democracy In The Philippines

Introduction to philippine democracy.

The Philippines is a country in Southeast Asia known for its rich culture, beautiful islands, and vibrant democracy. Democracy is a system where the power is in the hands of the people. They can choose their leaders and express their views freely. In the Philippines, democracy plays a big role in shaping the nation.

History of Democracy in the Philippines

The history of democracy in the Philippines started in 1898 when the country gained independence from Spain. The United States then took control, introducing democratic principles. In 1946, the Philippines became fully independent, marking the start of its journey as a democratic nation.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the country faced a dark period under the rule of Ferdinand Marcos. He declared martial law, which led to the loss of many democratic freedoms. After his rule, the Philippines returned to democracy, and it has been improving ever since.

Philippine Democracy Today

Today, the Philippines is a democratic republic. The president is the head of state and government. The people elect the president, vice president, and members of Congress. This allows citizens to have a say in who leads them and makes important decisions.

The Philippines has a vibrant civil society, with many groups working to promote democracy. They help to educate people about their rights and responsibilities as citizens. This active participation of people is a key feature of democracy in the Philippines.

Challenges to Democracy

Despite these positive aspects, there are challenges to democracy in the Philippines. Corruption is a big problem. It makes it hard for the government to serve the people effectively. There are also issues with human rights and press freedom. Some people and groups face threats and violence, which can limit their ability to participate in democracy.

Future of Democracy in the Philippines

Looking to the future, the Philippines must work to strengthen its democracy. This means fighting corruption, protecting human rights, and promoting free speech. It also involves educating people about the importance of democracy and their role in it.

In conclusion, democracy in the Philippines has a rich history and plays a crucial role in the country today. Despite facing challenges, the Philippines continues to strive towards a more robust and inclusive democracy. As citizens, it is important to understand and participate in this process to ensure the future of democracy in the Philippines.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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A member of the Marcos family is returning to power – here’s what it means for democracy in the Philippines

Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

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Some 36 years after the People Power Revolution restored democracy to the Philippines, a member of perhaps the most brutal and corrupt political dynasties in the nation’s memory is set to return to the Philippine presidency.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., has won the presidential election , according to preliminary results. It will return him to the Malacañang Palace where he lived as a child and from which his parents fled in 1986 . His running mate, Sara Duterte, the daughter of current President Rodrigo Duterte, is also set to win the vice presidency by a landslide.

Both candidates hail from political dynasties with long histories of abuses of power. The human rights offenses of the first Marcos regime, from 1965 to 1986, are well documented, involving an estimated 3,257 deaths and over 50,000 victims who were tortured and detained during the martial law period alone. Also well documented is the estimated US$10 billion Marcos plundered .

Meanwhile, the outgoing Duterte administration is notorious for its so-called “war on drugs ,” during which his infamous death squads killed more than 6,200 as of 2022 .

The election has been mired in tax scandals , bureaucratic corruption and voter suppression .

But despite these scandals both past and present, dynastic families remain in full force in the Southeast Asian archipelago.

As a scholar of Philippine history , I know this “rule by dynasty” dates from the days of American colonial rule. But it has been enhanced by a more modern curse: media manipulation and disinformation.

The political economy of dynasties

The tenacity of political dynasties of all political orientations to outlast the Philippines’ halted revolutions – both in 1986 and a later uprising in 2001 – shows that popular mobilization did not lead to a more democratic government.

The late political scientist Benedict Anderson famously called the Philippines a “ cacique democracy ” – a fusion of popular electoral power and feudal, dynastic rule.

While landowning elites existed during the 19th century, this “cacique democracy” – cacique referring to local political bosses in Latin American countries – developed during the American colonial rule of the Philippines between 1898 and 1942 . The aim was to cultivate an Indigenous leadership that could collaborate with American colonial rule.

To establish loyal allies among the local population, the U.S. expropriated 400,000 acres owned by the Catholic Church between 1898 and 1941 and auctioned it to landowners and economic elites. These same leaders, bolstered by their consolidated agricultural economic base, formed a new political class in Manila, as they participated in the new legislature of the colony.

With their wealth and political influence strengthened under American occupation, these ruling families held disproportionate sway over the development of the fledgling nation following independence in 1946 .

These “caciques,” or native feudal lords, went on to become the ruling class of today. The Marcos family is descended from regional landowners in Ilocos Norte, in the north of Luzon, the Philippines’ most populous island. But unlike his forebears, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. rose from regional leader to national prominence, first as the president of the Philippine Senate in 1959, then as national president in 1965. Through his own charisma – and the popularity of his wife, Imelda Romualdez Marcos – the family consolidated their political base.

At the opposite end of the political spectrum are the Aquino family , hailing from a clan of elite landowners in Central Luzon, whose patriarch was one of the original members of the republican government formed after the 1896 Philippine Revolution. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., a senator and outspoken Marcos critic, was assassinated in 1983 . His wife, Corazon Aquino, was elected on the back of the mass fervor of the 1986 Revolution, and later their son reached the presidency.

Dynasties have long dominated Philippines politics. But the fact that the Marcos name not only survived the overthrow of its patriarch but managed to become rehabilitated in the following decades hints at the tenacity of dynastic politics in the Philippines.

Media and disinformation

Despotic power cannot be shored up by birthright claims alone. So it is no coincidence that the return of the Marcos family has coincided with large-scale attacks against journalism, waged by the national executive and its allies .

In 2022, the Philippines was ranked by Reporters Without Borders 147th out of 180 countries for press freedom. This is a stark contrast to the period before the election of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1965, when the country’s press was considered the most free in Asia .

During the six years of Duterte’s rule since 2016, the president developed a reputation as someone who used social media disinformation – especially via Facebook – to cultivate support for his brutal “war on drugs.” At the same time he frequently attacked the work of journalists and critics of his regime.

Duterte made a deliberate attempt to undermine the free press . In December 2020, after months of systematic targeting by President Duterte, the Philippine Congress voted to shut down ABS-CBN – the country’s largest broadcasting network.

The Philippines remains one of the most dangerous places for reporters. As recently as December 2021, journalist Jesus Malabanan was shot by gunmen in his own home . Malabanan, a well-respected reporter who worked on Reuters’ coverage of the Philippine drug war, was the 22nd journalist murdered during the Duterte regime.

The weakening and intimidation of independent journalism and media paved the way for disinformation to flourish .

Bongbong Marcos’ presidential run has been widely criticized for media manipulation . And disinformation has been central to the shift in public opinion toward the family.

In 2019, Rappler, the independent news website founded by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Ressa, ran a three-part investigation that revealed the extent to which Marcos deployed digital propaganda to propel himself into public favor through the use of disinformation spread on other social media platforms, and through various fan pages and other viral content. The first Marcos regime was recast in misleading propaganda that portrayed the era as a time of progress while denying its human rights abuses.

And in 2020, Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Barbara Kaiser alleged that Marcos had reached out to the firm – known for its harvesting of Facebook users’ data for political campaigns – in an effort to further bolster his family’s image. The Marcos campaign denies this connection.

Never again?

The election of Bongbong Marcos comes close to 50 years after his father declared martial law, on Sept. 23, 1972.

That original Marcos era – with its extrajudicial killings and rampant corruption – has been subjected to revisionism , with many Filipinos looking back at the Marcos years as a time of stability and growth while ignoring the abuses. The $10 billion plundered by the Marcoses – which once dominated headlines – gets talked about less. Imelda Marcos, herself a notorious kleptocrat , has been transformed into an object of fascination.

Meanwhile the voices of survivors of the martial law era and the activists who oppose authoritarian rule have grown less effective in the face of President Duterte’s popularity. Their message of “never again” failed to disrupt the Marcos family return to power.

In 2018, on the 35th anniversary of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, Imee Marcos – Bongbong’s sister – stated that “the millennials have moved on [from Ferdinand Marcos’ history], and I think people at my age should move on as well.”

The electoral victory of her brother seems to have have proved Imee Marcos correct.

• Dictatorship
• Philippines
• Authoritarianism
• Martial law
• Rodrigo Duterte
• South East Asia
• US-Philippine relations
• Philippine war on drugs
• Ferdinand Marcos
• Philippines dictatorship
• Philippines martial law
• Imelda Marcos
• Philippines' People Power Revolution
• Bongbong Marcos

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Democratic expressions amidst fragile institutions: Possibilities for reform in Duterte’s Philippines

Subscribe to this week in foreign policy, nicole curato nicole curato associate professor, centre for deliberative democracy and global governance - institute for governance and policy analysis at the university of canberra @nicolecurato.

January 22, 2021

• 14 min read

Executive Summary

Despite the intensification of authoritarian practices in the Philippines, there remains robust albeit fragmented democratic expressions in the form of standout local mayors, digital innovations, and electoral resilience. These micropolitical democratic practices may have limited scope, but they are meaningful in consequence. The primer concludes by offering possibilities for scaling up these seemingly mundane yet nevertheless powerful expressions of counterauthoritarian practices.

Introduction

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte registered an approval rating of 91%. A vast majority of Filipinos support the government’s pandemic response, despite the Philippines recording one of the highest numbers of infections and COVID-19-releated deaths in Southeast Asia.

The debate continues about the reasons behind the president’s popularity, but one thing is for certain: that public satisfaction lends legitimacy to Duterte’s authoritarian project. The Senate opposition did not win a single seat in the midterm elections. The Supreme Court is packed with Duterte’s appointees. The media is facing increasing constraints. Indeed, there are fewer obstacles for the current administration to mainstream authoritarian practices.

This primer begins by providing an inventory of authoritarian practices by the Duterte regime and reflect on their implications to democratic institutions. The term “ authoritarian practice ” is deliberately used to refer to patterns of action that disable voice and accountability. Instead of using the catch-all term “authoritarianism,” which confounds rather than clarifies political transformations in the Philippines, the term authoritarian practice lends precision in identifying political decisions, policies, and rhetoric that undermine democratic contestation and scrutiny of power. The key message in the first part of the primer is that authoritarian practices corrode the quality of democratic institutions by rendering them vulnerable to abuses of power.

But this is not the whole story. As the Philippines witness the intensification of authoritarian practices, there remains room for democratic action that facilitate participation and creative forms of co-governance. These not only serve to push back against authoritarian practices but also develop democratic projects that fit the Philippines’ youthful, global, and digital participatory cultures. This primer spotlights these democratic expressions as opportunities for reform, and concludes by considering possibilities to scale up these counter-authoritarian practices in the remainder and in the aftermath of the Duterte regime.

Fragility of democratic institutions

The Philippines has an uneven trajectory of building democratic institutions. Three decades after the 1986 People Power Revolution that put an end to Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship, the country appears to have developed an electoral habit of rotating power between populist and reformist presidents. 2016 was a populist leader’s turn, but instead of perpetuating a rich-versus-poor narrative, Rodrigo Duterte amplified the latent anxiety of many Filipinos that pit the virtuous citizens against unscrupulous criminals. Duterte referred to Davao — the city where he was mayor for over two decades — as Exhibit A. With unconventional methods of governance, Duterte, so the story goes, was able to transform Davao from the murder capital of the Philippines to a peace and order paradise. Becoming president allowed him to scale up this effort. “It will be bloody,” he warned the nation.

Four years into his term, President Duterte did fulfill his campaign promise. He empowered the Philippine National Police to lead his “war against drugs” which has resulted in over 8,000 deaths, as reported by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Even the pandemic did not halt drug-related killings.

The drug war is not only Duterte’s landmark policy. It also serves as the organizing logic of his rule.

The drug war is not only Duterte’s landmark policy. It also serves as the organizing logic of his rule. A nation at war justifies authoritarian practices, for due process is a slow-moving process, and protests of “ bleeding heart liberals ” get in the way of the president’s law and order agenda.

The policy and rhetoric of the drug war have vast implications. They create fragile democratic institutions that are prone to abuse. Three key areas of concern are worth highlighting.

Coercive institutions

First, the drug war mainstreamed the securitization of social issues. Coercive institutions such as the police have been at the forefront of implementing social policies. Addressing the issue of illegal drugs is a clear example, with the Philippines bucking the global trend of treating substance abuse as a public health issue rather than a law and order issue.

The logic of securitizing social issues extended to pandemic response. The police were among the most visible front-liners enforcing curfew and social distancing policies with punitive measures. Protesters were dispersed and arrested with the police wearing full battle gear. Military tanks were deployed in Cebu City to communicate strict lockdown policies. A little over a month since Manila went on lockdown, over 30,000 people were arrested for breaking quarantine restrictions. Cases of police brutality surfaced. Some violators were locked in dog cages while others were made to sit under the sun. The tone from the top guarantees impunity for the state’s security forces. “ Shoot them dead ” was the president’s order for violators, just like the “ permission to kill ” in the drug war.

The result of the president’s rhetoric is the culture of impunity in the police force. Decades-long efforts at institutionalizing democratic control over security forces are being undermined, where a new generation of police officers is socialized to an unaccountable institution where police offers who killed suspects on drug raids were hailed as heroes and rewarded with promotions. A greater role is also accorded to ex-military generals who sit in key sites of power including the task force in charge of pandemic response. The growing power of the military is further legitimized by legislation such as the Anti-Terror Law , which broadens the definition of terrorism and legalizes detention without charge for 14 days. These developments, among others, illustrate the reach of authoritarian practice as far as curtailing prospects for accountability and democratic control of security forces are concerned.

Monitory institutions

Second, authoritarian practices compromise monitory institutions or bodies designed to scrutinize power. Among the earliest signs of monitory institutions’ fragility is the complicity, if not active participation of lawmakers, to the prosecution of opposition Senator Leila De Lima. As former human rights commissioner, De Lima led a Senate investigation into Duterte’s death squads a few months after Duterte assumed the presidency. Sixteen of her fellow senators voted to oust her as chair of the Senate Committee on Human Rights , followed by a series of humiliating investigations that suggested De Lima had taken money from drug lords. De Lima has been in detention for three years based on what appears to be politically-motivated charges.

De Lima’s case is a clear manifestation of authoritarian practice. It constrains accountability by subverting the role of the Senate as a check to executive power. It also constrains voice as De Lima was made an example of how far the state can go in retaliating against critical voices. Following De Lima’s detention is the ouster of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, also a former human rights lawyer, justified based on her failure to disclose financial earnings when she was first appointed to the Supreme Court. Threats and humiliation of critical voices extend outside formal political institutions. Other controversial examples include a military general who tagged female celebrities who speak up for human rights as communist sympathisers and threatened they would “ suffer the same fate” as activists killed in military encounters. The cases of Senator De Lima and Chief Justice Sereno serve as a reminder that such threats may be carried out. This sends a strong signal to watchdogs and whistleblowers to think twice about scrutinizing power.

The public sphere

Third, authoritarian practices create a fragile public sphere. The Duterte regime is notorious for its systematic distortion of public discourse. Academic studies as well as investigative reports have uncovered the administration’s mobilization of state-sponsored troll armies, which  creates a toxic online environment that punishes dissenting voices. Press freedom in the Philippines is also eroding , as news organizations not only face threats of being shut down but have actually been closed by congressional votes and judicial rulings. As in previous sections, these authoritarian practices are given the green light from Duterte, who labelled journalists as “ presstitutes ” and propagators of fake news. Meanwhile, the Philippines’ protest culture is confronted by pandemic-related restrictions, leading to arrests of activists despite protestors practicing social distancing.

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The fragility of the public sphere, however, is not the sole creation of the Duterte regime. Long before Duterte assumed power, the Philippines already suffered from a patchy track record of press freedom. The Philippines is widely celebrated as having a vibrant media environment and robust commentary culture, especially when compared to its neighbours in Southeast Asia. This reality, however, uncomfortably co-exists with the country’s track record as the deadliest peacetime country for journalists. Similarly, increasing mistrust of news organizations has made the public sphere more vulnerable to disinformation.

One cannot overstate the worry of seeing an increasingly fragile public sphere. The Philippines may not have well-established political parties, but the highly networked and vibrant public sphere has always been a political force in sparking change, whether it was ousting the Marcos dictatorship or calling out the corruption of Presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Many observers find it curious that dissent against the Duterte regime has not crystallized to date. At best, protests have been fragmented and fleeting. Could this be an indication of the normalization of authoritarian practices?

There are two ways of answering this question. A pessimistic answer is yes, all these developments signal the normalization of authoritarian practices. The Philippines’ pathway to democratization has long been undermined by political elites’ refusal to institutionalize reforms that strengthen political competition and accountability. President Duterte, one could argue, is simply a beneficiary of clan politics that has long defined electoral democracy in the Philippines. With political families dominating all sectors of government, including Duterte’s own family in Davao City, there is little space for alternative voices — whether in the form of opposition parties, social movements, or civil society groups — to offer credible democratic projects that can withstand the political machinery of political elites that benefit from the Duterte regime.

Democratic expressions and political transformation

On the other hand, a less pessimistic take, is no, the fragmented and fleeting contestation of the Duterte regime does not signal the normalization of authoritarian practices. What it could signal, however, are less spectacular expressions of democratic participation today. This section of this briefing, therefore, places a spotlight on some of these democratic expressions. These, one could argue, are plausible efforts at sustaining democratic action amidst authoritarian practices. Three bright spots are worth paying attention to.

Standout mayors

The first bright spot can be found in local governance. The pandemic has generated attention to standout local mayors whose open and participatory approaches to governance stand in contrast to the Duterte regime’s centralised and militarized approach. Vico Sotto — the thirty-year-old mayor who put an end to the three-decade reign of a political clan in Pasig City — has established a reputation for institutionalizing good governance practices inspired by participatory practices in cities like Naga in the Bicol region. Sotto focused on democratizing government data — from creating Freedom of Information kiosks to soliciting citizen-centred scorecards that monitor and assess the local government’s delivery of public services. He also championed inclusive governance during the pandemic. He granted financial aid to LGBTQ families and converted hotels to quarantine facilities for communities living in poverty. The young mayor is not the first and certainly not the only local chief executive that has embraced the language and practice of inclusive and participatory governance. But what is curious about his governance style is it is pitched not as an opposition to the Duterte regime — indeed the mayor has been cautious in not condemning the Duterte administration — but an alternative way of governing effectively without an iron fist. This is worth spotlighting for it invites observers to notice practices that are not overtly oppositional but nevertheless creates pockets of democratic innovations even in challenging times.

Digital innovations

The second bright spot rests on the emergence of digital governance cultures in the Philippines. The rise of troll armies has been diagnosed as an outcome of a tech-savvy generation left with little choice but to engage in precarious digital labor. The flipside of this development, however, is the rise of a generation confident in proposing technological interventions to complex governance problems. Millennial data scientists have creatively used mobility apps like Waze and Google Maps to track the spread of COVID-19, while others focused on developing a dashboard that allows citizens to monitor government spending during the pandemic. These examples, among others, lend insight into the character of democratic innovations embraced by young Filipinos today. Beyond expression of dissent in social media, the digital public sphere is also made alive by seemingly depoliticized yet nevertheless important behind-the-scenes work that promote open data critical for inclusive governance.

Electoral resilience

Despite the fragility of democratic institutions, one can argue that elections remain as one of the most resilient features of the Philippine democracy.

The third, final, and undoubtedly most obvious avenue for democratic expression are elections. As the Duterte administration’s rule draws to a close in 2022, speculations about “no election” scenarios are being raised, while questions about succession increasingly heat up. Despite the fragility of democratic institutions, one can argue that elections remain as one of the most resilient features of the Philippine democracy. It not only serves a mechanism for peaceful transfer of power but it has, in local culture, been celebrated as a “ ritualized gamble .” Elections, as anthropologists describe, are “hugely popular, are taken seriously, and draw very high participation rates.” It is therefore important to focus attention towards identifying political actors that enhance competitive elections, such as grassroots movements and community leaders that can challenge entrenched political clans. The Philippine legislature continues to be controlled by a handful of families but there are exceptional success stories of so-called “ dragon-slayers ” that challenge the configuration of local power.

Paths for reform

The three avenues of democratic expressions discussed in the previous section send a key message — micropolitical reforms may have limited scope, but they are meaningful in consequence. This briefing concludes by offering three possibilities for scaling up these seemingly mundane yet nevertheless powerful expressions of counter-authoritarian practices.

First, champions of participatory governance at the local level warrant support, but this must go beyond idealizing individual leaders. The success stories discussed above are not singlehanded achievements of heroic politicians, but are built on a cadre of professionalized and committed civil servants who not only have the technical skills to manage day-to-day problems of running local governments but also have the sensibility to listen and engage with the feedback of ordinary citizens. A critical space for reform, therefore, rests on normalizing this ethos of civil service and drawing attention to collective achievements rather than glamorizing individual leaders.

Second, it is critical for the Philippines’ large population of digital natives to serve as main defenders of the digital public sphere. Doing this goes beyond campaigns of digital literacy and education against disinformation. As the previous section suggests, the thriving disinformation industry was a beneficiary of a precarious class of digital workers left with little choice but to work for shady clients. A polluted public sphere cannot be rescued without addressing the political economy of disinformation.

Finally, expanding field for electoral competition remains a challenge for the Philippines. Large-scale efforts at voters’ education remain futile if voters are left with a narrow field of candidates to choose from. The discourse of voter-blaming does little to deepen democratic practice. Advocacies on party building and reform remain relevant today, as well as a more serious recognition of cultural agents that shape citizens’ views on democracy and politics. While celebrities and influencers have been disparaged as insignificant voices in politics, it is worth recognizing that some of the most successful albeit fleeting campaigns against authoritarian practice, especially disinformation, are sustained by supporters of these cultural actors who are key vectors in shaping public conversation.

As authoritarian practices in the Philippines’ national politics continue to unfold, increasing attention is needed to consistent, behind-the-scenes, less spectacular forms of democratic labor. These, as this primer argues, have the power from preventing fragile democratic institutions from completely breaking apart.

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Home / Essay Samples / Government / Democracy / Philippine Democracy: Current State and Challenges

Philippine Democracy: Current State and Challenges

• Category: Government , World
• Topic: Democracy , Philippine Government , Philippines

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Introduction

Democratization represented transition of regime from authoritarianism to democracy, challenges: oligarchic dominance in philippines, challenges: ill-developed political party system and corruption, opportunity or challenges the phenomenon of rising populism in philippiness.

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• Heydarian, R. (2018). The Rise of Duterte: A Populist Revolt against Elite Democracy. Singapore: Springer Singapore.

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