Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ended 2017 on a self-satisfied note, openly contemplating and promoting his successor after his six-year term ends in 2022.
In the country’s tempestuous and often volatile politics, where leaders have historically been overthrown in angry street protests, only a confident and powerful president would talk about succession so early in his tenure.
In less than two years, Duterte has chipped away at the country’s democratic institutions with temerity and contempt. He has not only exposed the hollow nature of Philippine democracy, but also placed the country on what seems to be an ineluctable path towards full-blown authoritarian rule.
Duterte’s audacity to challenge the country’s traditional pillars of power stems largely from his strong and enduring popularity. Pulse Asia, a local pollster, showed in its latest survey that as many as 80% of Filipinos approve of his performance.
The Filipino public also seems to be warming to the idea of one-man rule. According to a recent Pew Survey, half of Filipinos support an authoritarian leader who exercises supremacy over other branches of government with limited accountability.
Scholarly research also shows that a majority of Filipinos prefer a decisive leader who doesn’t bother with electoral competition, so long as he or she delivers basic public services and ensures law and order.
This largely explains why Duterte’s repeated threats to declare nationwide martial law, establish a “revolutionary government”, or abolish the legislature hasn’t solicited a strong public backlash.
Crucially, he can also count on the support of like-minded popular figures, including world boxing champion cum senator Manny Pacquiao, who Duterte endorsed as “president to be” at the pugilist’s December 16 birthday celebration, to fulfill his vision of authoritarian rule.
As veteran Filipino journalist Vergel Santos recently warned of the slide towards authoritarianism, “If we’re not already there, we’re looking right down on it.”
On the surface, the Philippines is still a largely free and democratic nation. Mainstream media is persistently full of critical coverage of Duterte’s presidency and those around him, including his family members.
On December 25 Duterte’s eldest son, Paolo Duterte, resigned his post as vice mayor of Davao after a public spat over social media with his teenage daughter, Isabelle, in which the latter implied he had beat her.
Isabelle was earlier the subject of controversy when she used the presidential palace, known as Malacanang, as a backdrop for a high-fashion photo shoot.
The media responded by emphasizing the decadent and “Imeldific” nature (reference to former First Lady Imelda Macros’ extravagant life style) of the whole affair, openly questioning the integrity of the Duterte family which relishes its carefully constructed image as folksy populists.
Paolo’s resignation also comes amid accusations heard by the Senate he has ties to Chinese drug smugglers. Duterte, in take-no-prisoners fashion, said he would have his son killed if the allegations were proven true.
“I told [Paolo], ‘My order is to kill you if you are caught,” Duterte said according to press reports. “And I will protect the police who kill you if it is true.” Paolo Duterte has consistently denied the unproven allegations.
Even with that scrutiny, independent voices are being gradually silenced across state institutions and beyond.
Journalists brave enough to try to expose corruption within the Duterte family have received death threats or, in milder cases, systematic harassment by the president’s well-oiled cyber army of trolls and celebrity propagandists.
The tough-talking leader has threatened to shut down the country’s leading newspaper, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, media broadcasting conglomerate ABS-CBN, and social media-based news outlet Rappler based on what independent observers see as dubious accusations and charges aimed ultimately at silencing criticism.
With his supermajority in the legislature and virtual control of the Supreme Court packed with his loyalists, Duterte has targeted with a vengeance the few remaining checks and balances on his rule.
For instance, Duterte has recently threatened Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Ombudswoman Conchita Carpio-Morales with impeachment.
Leading critics such as Senator Leila de Lima, who is currently in jail based on what human rights groups believe are politically-motivated drug charges, have already been silenced.
Independent senators such as Risa Hontiveros, who has led investigations into extrajudicial killings by the Philippine National Police as part of Duterte’s lethal drug war, could also face trumped up charges by what is widely viewed as a politicized Department of Justice.
Vice-President Leni Robredo, another key opposition leader, has been completely sidelined from government functions since she has no mandated office beyond the prerogative of the president.
She has been at the receiving end of non-stop negative propaganda by Duterte supporters, who portray her as a stooge of former President Benigno Aquino III’s liberal administration.
The squelching of independent voices and co-optation of democratic institutions has gone hand-in-hand with the empowerment of the Marcos clan, which has been among the president’s key allies.
Duterte has openly supported former Senator Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr, who is challenging his narrow defeat at last year’s vice-presidential race at the Duterte-leaning Supreme Court.
The Filipino leader has also controversially moved ahead with abolishing a government agency tasked with recovering the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth, while deciding to bury the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Cemetery of National Heroes last year.
2017 was by all accounts a dark one for Philippine democracy. But as Duterte moves to consolidate a strongman personality cult in the image of ex-dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the Filipino public is seemingly cheering him along.
The basis for democracy has always been – Majority rules.
Just open your eyes, wag maging bulag, pipi, bingi at manhid.
Ei JASON CASTANEDA, where did you get the 20,000 deaths? Are they all attributable to Duterte? I don’t know who this Southeast Asia website is, but I suggest you vet your contributors. This JASON CASTANEDA is spreading fake news.
NO ONE PUTS DOWN A COMPETENT AND TRUSTED LEADER. WE THE 80% WHO BELIEVE IN THE LEADERSHIP OF PRES. DUTERTE CAN NEVER BE WRONG BECAUSE WE ARE THE ONE WHO CAN TELL IF HE IS WRONG OR RIGHT. WE CAN ALWAYS COMPARE THE PAST AND PRESENT. SO ANTI-DUTERTE MEDIA PLS. BACK OFF!
An honest analysis would reveal the Philippines is an Oligarchy controlled by a small group of elite since the days of Spanish rule. The people intuitively know, Duterte has a sophisticated media aligned against him doing. They do the dirty work of their masters in the Oligarchy. Yet this jouralist seems oblivious to this fact. That is not only shameful, it is hypocrisy of the highest order.
cumbersome to read your article because of so many ads.
Asia times we are not trolls…trash report!!!! Those people u are mentioned against our president…we will get rid of them coz they are a burden to our countries moving forward..get your fact straight…..
Obviously a people that elects a leader that does not toe US agenda is misguided and under the influence of Lúcifer.
As expected, Duterte’s troll farm is hard at work. As if Asia Times would care whatever hate, lies and propaganda you are all spewing out.
The reason I support Duterte is that despite articles like these and mainstream media does show biased opinions and incomplete truths portraying the government as demons , I still stumble upon the good news brought about by the current administration. It says autocratic but I believe that the president is just using his powers more effectively than the previous administration. It says autocratic but I believe the democracy brought upon the west is not the democracy the Philippine needs. If ever there is revision of the constitution to have reelection, I would gladly vote for Duterte this time, not being forced to but of my own will, that is the democracy I believe is more appropriate in the Philippines.
People like Duterte because she show them real hopes like local crime fightings unlike other cronies who will line their pockets after using their hard earnings on arms purchases for overseas containment.
The "DUMMY" author of this FAKE NEWS article does not have the BALLS to say one important point————President Duterte is a LEADER not a COWARD——–BUT this schmuck does not understand the virtues of a LEADER———-a LEADER like Duterte will pull the Philippines out ot the poverty, drug infested hell hole into a STAR in this new GLOBAL world we live in. He has the people on his side and no one can argue the SPIRIT and can do attitudes that make the people of the Philippines very special. Again I implore the Asian Times to have some standards with articles like this that are just FAKE NEWS!!
I guess all you guys provided the answers. But the main point I want to make is whats the big deal about democractic principles vs what the population wants?
President Duterte unique style make him so popular in the Philippines and around the world is he tell it as it is, regardless if it is the US President or head of the Philippines Catholic Church. Another factor is the success in the war on drugs and terrorism. Two million Filipinos under rehabilitation and saved from an early death. He has successfully get along with the Muslim rebels, MNLF and MILF. The war against ISIS/Daesh has reduced their strength with 80%.
Surprisingly, the Philippines was not able to get a peace agreement with the Communists CPP/NPA, this despite they have many common goals and the Communist was offered a sweet deal.
US President Trump seem to get along with President Duterte, they both have the same enemy, the US State Department and the US “Deep State”. It looks like Duterte’s huge popularity will save him from any coup attempt with or without a US sponsor.
President Duterte has decided to build another building at Bicutan Bureau of Immigration detention center were the foreign detainees live in conditions worse than animals. The U S Embassy in Manila has not seen it is as a priority to take care of their own citizens in the Bicutan concentration camp, the US seems more interested to smear President Duterte for the deaths in the war on drugs. Critics ignore the fact there is vigilantes and not the police that do most of the killings. The critics never mention the 85+ officers that has been killed by the drug dealers.
The future for the Philippines looks promising. The Philippines has a lot of resources and human capital that will make the goal to zero poverty by 2040 achievable. The obstacle might be the USA paranoia of losing influence sponsor a coup and the super-rich Filipino Oligarch’s to share their blessings to reduce poverty.
If the people who is criticising and fighting Duterte are better people that who they are… maybe they can have better results than what they have now. the problem is the better people know better than to act like a mad dog…… criticising a president voted by people to be their king. yes.. their king… thats what happened when ..for a long time the word DEMOCRACY has become so worn out that it overrides the RULE OF LAW. … thats what happened when so many POLITICAL TRAPOS contnuously rule a country with total HYPOCRISY and CORRUPTION….. When you enumerate the flaws of Duterte Administration you should also add the murders and treason and corruption of the past administration.
The writer of this piece, Jason Castaneda is an anti duterte to the core.in the name of press freedom, all of his write-ups about the president are all inclined to the negative side.He called the 80% of the population "trolls" because they love the president. This man is really "righteous, very righteous".
Hoy Asia times. I support Pres. Duterte. We OFW Support him and you call us lwell- oiled trolls. I support him because he is the kind of President I want/we want.
ASIA TIMES FAKE NEWS
This is fake news. It is like saying 80% of Filipinos who supports Duterte are wrong and the 8% who don’t are always right. Where is the 12%? There are just contented watching from the sides.The west and its instrumentalities like this paper is trying very hard to paint a gloomy and dirty picture of the Duterte administration afraid that they are losing the formerly ever loyal democratic poster dog. The present administration still has 4.5 years to go and a lot of time to forge a distinct Filipino democracy.
wow what a polemical hit piece …