"Fighting the Oligarchs: President Duterte and the Argument against Elite Rule." In South East Asian Journal of General Studies. Volume 21, Number 1 (2020): 34-46. (original) (raw)
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Philippine Political Science Journal, 2020
Two influential explanations of Duterte’s surprising rise and rule are his “penal populist” leadership style and a structural crisis of oligarchic democracy. The populist leadership perspective explains “too little” about the extreme violence of Duterte’s illiberal rule and the vulnerability of the prevailing political order to it. The oligarchic-democracy-in-crisis view, on the other hand, explains “too much” because it is overly generalized and determinist, thus unable to account for what in particular triggered Duterte’s rise despite political stability and economic growth. The article offers a third explanation that integrates a leadership perspective into an oligarchic framework using a “structuration” approach. It focuses on how Duterte’s leadership style enabled him to take advantage of a disjunctive moment in the country’s “liberal reformist” political structure, a distinct subset of oligarchic democracy.
The radical approach to politics in the Philippines did not begin with President Rodrigo Duterte. Rather, such can be traced to the struggles of past revolutionary leaders that include the likes of Macario Sakay, Julian Montalan, and Luciano San Miguel. But a deeper plot needs to be uncovered since the Philippine Revolution was not the kind of struggle that it must be-it was predominantly Tagalog and middle-class, as correctly claimed by Orlino Ochosa. In this sense, Duterte is that act of defiance of the Bisaya. It will be argued that the president's radical anti-establishment attitude is symptomatic of the Bisaya's resistance to the traditional centers of power. An alternative narrative to the Western-bred view of liberal critics is necessary. This study theorizes that Duterte's method or style is rooted in some form of tribal politics meant to liberate the Filipino from elite rule.
Two Faces of Dutertismo-Two Visions of Democracy in the Philippines.pdf
Social Ethics Society Journal of Applied Philosophy, 2018
In this paper, I present Randolf “Randy” David’s and Christopher Ryan Maboloc’s readings of President Duterte’s politics and leadership style. The former sees Duterte’s politics and leadership style as a form of authoritarianism while the latter views it as a form of radical politics. While their views can be brushed aside as grounded on their personal taste about the president, this does not do justice to their scholarship and personal integrity. In order to render a meaningful interpretation of their respective views, I propose to read their opposing analyses as two visions of democracy in the Philippines. David’s reading implicitly calls for political actors to stay within the democratic process, which succumbs to the vision of the ruling elite where any move to substantiate democracy must go through a process. On the other hand, Maboloc’s reading maintains that some “undemocratic ways” are important to shake the prevailing political order to move towards its substantive form.
Introduction. The Early Duterte Presidency in the Philippines
Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 2017
After only a little over a half year in power, as of this writing, Rodrigo’s R. Duterte presidency already represents a sea change in Philippine politics. Despite the personal popularity of Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III (who had the highest opinion poll ratings among post-Marcos presidents), Duterte has quickly replaced a “liberal reformist” political order with its emphasis on civil liberties, if limited political participation, with an illiberal “law and order” regime.
Duterte's Presidency: New Politics, Same Politicians
2018: The Duterte Presidency, 2018
A new hope has sprouted from the southern part of the Philippines. Politicians outside the Manila-circle felt that they were vindicated when Duterte won the presidency. Of course, the entire nation rejoices with the coming of a "non-traditional" politician, and self-proclaimed leftist and socialist president. But the first two years of Duterte's presidency compel Filipinos to ponder what's going on with the country. Thus, this paper focuses on the incongruity of Duterte's promises with his implementing policies: first, his being leftist and socialist with neoliberal policies implemented; second, democracy with looming tyranny; third, independent-foreign policy while remaining subservient to U.S.A.; lastly, integrating Rousseau's Social Contract Theory, the country's representative democracy i s dealt with the government's insensitivity to its own polity. Concluding, the paper argues that Duterte's new politics maintain, if not worsen, the socio-politico economic problems he inherits from the preceding presidents.
Weak State, Strong Presidents: Situating the Duterte Presidency in Philippine Political Time
The Philippine presidency is the first and most durable in Asia. As a political institution, it has been rendered enough constitutional power to have a formal semblance of a " strong presidency " but apparently not enough to totally control strategic interests in Philippine society. Applying the concept of " political time, " this article will discuss the rise of the 16th president Rodrigo Duterte within the cycle of presidential regimes in the Philippines. Furthermore, it will analyze the nature of presidential power in the Philippines by identifying the strategic moments that lie between structural regimes and agential choices. Lastly, it will delineate the emergence of regime narratives as " governing scripts " that bind together a coalition of interests within a particular institutional context.
Mayor Duterte's Political Ideologies as a Strategy: Prelude to being a President
Rodrigo Roa Duterte, former Davao City Mayor and elected as the current and 16th President of the Philippines, has always been a self-proclaimed leftist and socialist in his entire years of being a political leader. Socialism and his left-wing political views greatly influenced his strategy in dealing with the affairs of the city he ruled for more than twenty years. Now as the Head of State, he remains to have the same set of political ideologies that shape his actions and decisions concerning the Filipino people under his administration. The purpose of this research is to shed light to people all over the world as to why the current Philippine President has an unconventional strategy in administering all matters of the entire Filipino nation. This research aims to provide better and clearer understanding on how Mr. Duterte's political ideologies affected his tactics and approaches in his political career during his rule as a Mayor of Davao City, and now as the Philippine Supreme Leader. The aspects explored in this research paper are the socialist and leftist sides of Mr. Duterte as a political leader, his way of governance as a mayor, his early presidency, as well as an analysis on his political standpoint on certain issues with regards to his position and ideologies. Through data analysis of documentary videos and written report, the research team was able to assess former Mayor Duterte's political ideologies used as a strategy, and provide answers on why and how he was able to continue his socialist and leftist views in managing a whole country. Ultimately, the very essence of this research is to enlighten everyone on what could be in store for Filipinos during President Duterte's six-year term, since this paper provides facts and evaluation on his previous and current rule.
In this paper, I examine the radical approach to politics of President Rodrigo Duterte. I will retrace the roots of this radicalism to the colonial history of the Philippines in which the Spanish regime has established an elitist democratic system that engendered a social divide that has made the people of Mindanao felt betrayed by the capital. The politics of exclusion also gave rise to terrorism in the southern part of the country, the latest incident of which was the crisis in Marawi that has left the city devastated to the ground. Political analysts have been critical of the ‘War on Drugs’. However, Duterte stays popular due to his progressive approach to governance. Previous administrations have been accused as lacking the political will to disturb the elite. Duterte, in contrast, has the character of a leader who is not afraid to institute change in Philippine society.