Summary—the most significant
political event in the past year has been the turnaround, however timorous, of the
Duterte administration in asserting the Philippines’ rights over the West Philippine
Sea. Communist China’s debt-trap diplomacy still vigorously maintains. Our Mayor
President continues to make progress degrading our democratic institutions and stamping
his fascist character on governance. Key advances in this respect have been the
cyberlibel convictions of Rappler’s Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos Jr.; the non-renewal
of the ABS-CBN franchise; and the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 aka
the State Terrorism Act of 2020. Massive corruption carries on according to a by
now wearisome game of follow the leader. Despite the lamentable foregoing, survey
results buck the historical trends by steadily reporting undiminished popular support
for Duterte, raising issues of polling credibility besides pointing to the anti-democratic
attitudes and values of our Philippine population as a major cause of our democratic
degradation. Although the opposition hopes to end the ongoing carnage by winning
the 2022 presidential elections, they will face the likely prospect of electronic
cheating by the administration on a gargantuan scale.
STATE OF THE NATION, JULY 27, 2020
The
most significant event the past year was the diplomatic fallout from the
ramming with homicidal intent of the Gem-Ver in the West Philippine Sea by one
of the roving maritime militia of Communist China. So blatant was the attempted
murder that it appears to have goaded the Foreign Secretary and the Department
of Foreign Affairs into formally and publicly asserting the legitimacy of the Philippine
claim over the West Philippine Sea that had been ratified by the Permanent
Court of Arbitration at The Hague in 2016.
The
turnaround is a remarkable departure from the fawning obeisance so far displayed
by the Mayor President toward our chauvinist adversary.
Needless
to say, Duterte’s attempts to exchange his defeatist position on the West
Philippine Sea for a beneficial working economic relationship with our sniggering
(no doubt) giant of a neighbor has been an abject failure.
With
friends like Communist China, who needs enemies?
Communist
China debt-trap diplomacy maintains, alive and well.
“Appeasement
Emboldens the Aggressor”:
“The Philippines, Province of Communist
China”:
“Our
Misbegotten China Policy (more)”:
Next
most significant is the headway that our currently aspiring dictator has made in
curtailing civil and political rights.
Three
events in particular advanced his agenda: the sham criminal convictions of Rappler’s
Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos Jr. of cyberlibel; the non-renewal by Congress—House
and Senate—of the ABS-CBN franchise; and the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act
of 2020, more appropriately, the State Terrorism Act of 2020.
Of
the three, the first two directly attack freedom of the press, which lies at the
foundation of every genuine democracy. The third usurps the judicial mandate over
the right of due process.
Denial
of the ABS-CBN franchise, a business enterprise worth many billions of pesos to
the Philippine economy and involving the livelihood of thousands, is an especially
grave offense.
See
“Maria Ressa and Rappler: A Case of Legalism in Support of Unethical Decisions”:
Also
“Dura Lex, Spandex”:
“Non-Renewal
of ABS-CBN Franchise, A Grave Sin of Injustice”:
“The
State Terrorism Act of 2020”:
Notable,
too, is that years of wanton killings in the course of Duterte’s so-called
“Drug War” have spawned a legacy of trigger-happy police.
See
“Trigger-Happy Police—the Result of Duterte’s Murderous ‘Drug War,’ So-Called”:
The
year also witnessed under the Duterte administration the further deterioration
of our democratic institutions and worsening governance, the latter marked especially
by the twin blights of massive corruption and the weakening rule of law.
Predictably, the effects on our economy have been negative.
“The
Worsening Rule of Law under Duterte”:
“Massive
Corruption, Gross Fiscal and Economic Mismanagement under Duterte”:
“Massive
Corruption and Bad Governance under the Duterte Administration”—series of 10
posts:
https://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2020/03/massive-corruption-and-bad-governance.html
“Bad
Governance versus Good Governance”:
“No
Audit, No Transparency, No Accountability”:
“Plunder
Financed by Debt”:
Duterte’s
continuing high levels of support among the populace, according to survey
results, indicate that it is the Philippine electorate—weakly imbued with
democratic principles and values—that constitute a key reason for the country’s
irresistible slide toward fascism, which in the Philippines displays its own
peculiar character.
“The
Rise of Fascism under Duterte”:
“Fascism
with Filipino Characteristics”:
https://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2020/06/fascism-with-filipino-characteristics.html
“The
Corruption of the Philippine Electorate”:
“The
Philippine Electorate Is the Problem”:
On
the other hand, the continuing high approval ratings for Duterte in the surveys
raise the issue of credibility. Amidst all the negative developments taking
place under the administration, why should the population continue to express support for the man? Why indeed? Survey results, without adequate explanation,
buck the historical trends.
“Duterte’s
Alleged Popularity—A Want of Credibility”:
At
this point the Philippines can anticipate at least two more years of democratic
institutions progressively degrading and of bad governance.
Two
years more?
You wish.
Dark
clouds of electronic cheating loom large on the horizon of the 2022
presidential elections. Without doubt Duterte will aggressively seek to protect
himself from recrimination by throwing everything necessary at the wall in
order to elect a candidate allied to his political camp.
“The
Canary in a Coal Mine—Dry Run for Massive Electronic Cheating in 2022 Elections”:
We’ve
seen this movie before.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
ReplyDeletePhoto link:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rodrigo_Duterte_and_Sergey_Shoigu_(2017-10-25)_01.jpg
Gonzalinho