Mohammad A.

Mahmoud   POSC 40043

Reflection Paper #3
The elections in the Philippines is one of the catalysts for the Filipino people in trying to
achieve any structural changes in their lives. The fondness of Filipinos for elections makes it
appear as the only essential thing citizens are capable of in society (Yabut, 2022). This is not
the only catalyst in achieving change or emancipation from a recurring system of
intergenerational poverty, it is culturally the most prevalent idea shared amongst the people.
Central problems to Philippine democracy such as elite dominance, institutional weakness, and
widespread abuse of public office (Dressel, 2011) are seen as issues which can be solved by
removing old leaders from office and electing new ones. It is central to the 2022 elections to
how Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and the candidate following him, Vice President Leni Robredo,
established their own network groups of supporters and mobilized them.

An important thing to establish is the state of Philippine social capital during the 2022
elections. There are three key reasons why social capital has seen a decline in the Philippines,
firstly, the decline in the quality of life for the Filipino lower to middle class has seen to be
maintaining itself over the years since previous administrations, secondly, widespread
corruption and government scandals which range over the years in the Philippines from the
Estrada to Aquino administration has eroded public trust in the government (R & E, 2018), and
lastly the COVID-19 pandemic’s handling by the government which has exacerbated the
conditions already faced by the Filipino people and already existing corruption within local and
national sectors.

What occurred in these few years following up to the elections is the building of
dissatisfaction by the people towards the current state of affairs in the Philippines, the ways in
which both candidates mobilized their supporters in these elections. The commonality of both
are promises to rebuild public trust in the government and support for the people. In both
instances both cultural and individual reasons for engaging in the movement established by the
candidates can be applied. With differences relying on the shaping of personal motivations and
support from institutions which Marcos himself received.
 With the way culture and structural support for movements for these candidates were
constructed. The existence of endorsements by local political elites in regions all over the
Philippines boosted the Marcos presidency, with him receiving endorsements from the political
party of the current president Rodrigo Duterte (Tamayo, 2021) to the support of large religious
institutions such as the Iglesia Ni Cristo. In the local arena local politicians included Bongbong
Marcos in their election paraphernalia showing their support for the candidate along with their
own bids for local government. This was effective in garnering public support since collective
Philippine political value of “utang na loob” in trying to maintain the relationship with a person
who have been showing good deeds and intentions (Rungduin et al., 2015) for politicians which
they believe aid them through government support in their own endeavors. Secondly, is Marcos’
own running mate Sara Duterte who as the daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte who enjoys a
high approval rating despite the botched handling of the pandemic in the Philippines, she also
secures a wide array of support for the current president.

The other array of potent ways that the Marcos candidacy’s success can be attributed to
the large social media presence existing in the Philippines (Onn, 2022), and existence of wide
disinformation networks targeting opposition groups and candidates (Pabelico et al., 2022).
What is the greatest achievement is manipulating the information regarding the atrocities of the
Marcos regime and shaping it to a “Golden era” of the Philippines, and that Bongbong Marcos is
the only one who can possibly return the Philippines to that state. These revisionist tactics in
social media in a country with uncontrolled media access and media with unfiltered news being
spread allowed for many Filipinos to align their own personal goals of achieving a better country
with the return of Marcos to the presidency.

The contrasts is evident with how Leni Robredo’s start of campaigning began less than
half a year ago, and any aspirations by the people of an opposition candidate aside from her
were all but none. What was different was even if there were local politicians endorsing Leni, it
was the establishment of grassroots movements to participate in deliberative ways of correcting
false information regarding her and their entire movement, as well as the mobilization of the
educated lower to upper class. The knowledge of previous martial law atrocities by these people
and the existence of Robredo granted an avenue for these people in order to also align their
own personal goals of removal of corruption to the Robredo campaign. The campaign also had
to combat existing structural limitations by the constant smear campaign thrown at it both by the
national government which has long deposed Robredo, but also rabid internet trolls which
engage in artificial engagement of anti-pink posts and constant red tagging by officials towards
people in the movement as a way to delegitimize Robredo in the eyes of the people.

With how much is capable though in a limited amount of time can be seen in the election
results with an overwhelming victory by Marcos. However, the potency of inspiring millions of
Filipinos and mobilizing them through the pink rallies and the continued existence of Robredo
still encourages support of what her candidacy could have brought to the Philippines to persist
amongst her supporters. The slogan of “radikal magmahal” as a unitary quote within the pink
movement faces the test of time of whether it is possible for the movement to survive under
another regime which has won on disinformation and will retain power through the same efforts
as the previous administration.

References:

 David, R. (2008). Theorizing and Living the Transition: The Aquino Government’s

First Seven Months. Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies, 69–

93.

 Dressel, B. (2011). The Philippines: how much real democracy? International

Political Science Review, 32(5), 529–545.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512111417912

 Onn, L. P. (2022, April 7). 2022/33 “Stronger Social Media Influence in the 2022

Philippine Elections” by Aries A. Arugay. ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

https://www.iseas.edu.sg/articles-commentaries/iseas-perspective/2022-33-

stronger-social-media-influence-in-the-2022-philippine-elections-by-aries-a-

arugay/
 Pabelico, I. B., Vidon, C. D., & Zapanta, J. R. (2022). Semiotic Materials Shared

by Duterte Die-Hard Supporters (DDS) in Facebook Groups. PEERspective:

Undergraduate Scholarly Journal, 1(1).

 R, U., & E, C. (2018). Trust in Government in Democratic Spaces: An Empirical

Analysis of Policy Feedback in the Philippines. International Journal of Policy

Studies, 9(1).

 Rungduin, et.al., (2015). The Filipino character strength of utang na loob:

Exploring contextual associations with gratitude. International Journal of

Research Studies in Psychology, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrsp.2015.1322

 Tamayo, B. (2021, September 21). Bongbong endorsed as presidential bet.

Manila Times. https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/09/20/news/bongbong-marcos-

endorsed-as-presidential-bet/1815428

 Yabut, et.al., (2022). Cultivating Democratic Citizenship, Political Values, and

Filipino Social Identification in Philippine Elections and Beyond. POLICY BRIEF.