Philippine Democracy: Stuck at the Halfway House
June 28, 2016
Written by Basanta E. P. Thapa. The Philippines’ democracy is an unfinished project. The country’s strong civil society, which is usually considered a driving force of democratisation, has become a keeper of the status quo. A close look at three local chambers of commerce and industry and how they interact with their local governments makes …
Survey Fatigue and the Search for ‘Good’ Data: post-disaster strategies
June 2, 2016
Written by Claire L. Berja. Leyte in the Eastern Visayas of the Philippines was one of the areas hardest hit by Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. Tacloban, the city that became the ‘poster town’ of the disaster, is located in Leyte facing the Pacific Ocean at the head of the Leyte Gulf. Leyte is one of …
Philippine Election Blog 2016 – The End
May 13, 2016
Written by Francis Domingo and Pauline Eadie. In late 2015 we started musing over the idea of running a series of articles about the Philippine Elections in 2016 for Ballots and Bullets, a blog run by the School of Politics and International Relations at The University of Nottingham. We knew that the official campaign would …
Philippines 2016: How ‘Dutertismo’ can make a difference
May 11, 2016
Written by Roland G. Simbulan. The clear mandate given by the Filipino electorate for Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte as the next president of the Philippines in the 2016 elections is a clear signal that the nation urgently seeks meaningful social change. The Commission on Elections estimates that 84% of voters participated in the 2016 elections, …
Top 5 Things to Expect of a Duterte Presidency
Written by Vladimir Guevarra. Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency is upon us. The stance of the tough-talking mayor of Davao city on crime and corruption is pretty clear, but his policies on the economy are less so. Here’s the outlook for the Philippines under Duterte over the next six years: #1 On Society – Expect more discipline …
How the Philippines’ new strongman romped into office despite a shocking campaign
May 10, 2016
Written by Pauline Eadie. Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of Davao City in Mindanao is now president elect of the Philippines. His path to the presidency was controversial, riddled with expletives and reduced his detractors to mud slinging and comparisons with Hitler. But the mud failed to stick: with almost all precincts reporting, he looked to have …
The Coming Uncertainty: Philippine Elections
May 6, 2016
Written by Richard J. Heydarian. In coming days, the Philippines is set to elect a new roster of leaders. This is, arguably, the Southeast Asian country’s most important presidential election in recent memory, with potentially far-reaching implications in both domestic and foreign policy realms. In what has turned out as one of the most unpredictable …
Electioneering in the Promised Land: Payatas Dumpsite 2016
Written by Carmilita Morante. I am a community organizer in Lupang Pangako (literal translation ‘Land of Promise’) a scavenging community in Barangay Payatas, Quezon City (part of Metro Manila), host to the biggest open dumpsite in the Philippines. For five years now I have worked in the community and been exposed to the struggle against …
The Federal Alternative: Will Rodrigo Duterte clinch the presidency? Part II
May 5, 2016
Written by Erwin S. Fernandez. How can one explain the Duterte phenomenon? Firstly Duterte provides an option in which security of persons and property is guaranteed in an environment where they are taken for granted and the rule of law is followed only at the whims and caprices of authorities. Second, Duterte managed to ride …
The Federal Alternative: Will Rodrigo Duterte clinch the presidency? Part I
May 4, 2016
Written by Erwin S. Fernandez. Grace Poe’s citizenship and ten-year residency were legitimated in the heat of judicial bias. As a Pangasinan, I do not consider her a daughter of Pangasinan as her spindoctors would like to project her to Pangasinan voters. Mar Roxas will only continue a standard of incompetence that is the trademark …
