POSTMORTEM
The Guardian reports a sample of responses we presume are indicative of the range of voter persuasions during the Philippine 2022 elections.
—Rachel Obordo and Guardian readers, “‘I’m disgusted’: readers in the Philippines on the 2022 election result,” The Guardian, May 14, 2022
My take on the respondents—
No. 1. Lyn, 27, Baguio city – voted for Robredo
“‘Utterly disappointed’
“I’m utterly disappointed with how ill-informed people are and this election shows how bad democracy can be. My dad is a Marcos apologist, and I used to believe that martial law was a “golden era” because he told me so until I enrolled and graduated law school. My dad is a hardworking person and I can respect opinions, but I can’t allow historical revisionism.
“My father told me that I should listen to him because he thinks textbooks and education, and news and basically all forms of credible info, are all just made up by oligarchs to control the narrative and keep Filipinos poor.
“I voted for Leni Robredo and can’t believe how efficient she is with her time and how diligent she is in serving the people. I can’t believe the majority of Filipinos are trashing her for being too good to be true. I just hope that after this administration people will come to their senses.”
On the right track
No. 2. Celina, 24, government worker, Metro Manila – voted for Robredo
On the right track
No. 3. Mary, 48, project finance analyst, Mandaluyong city – voted for Ferdinand Marcos Jr
“‘Ecstatic’
“I feel ecstatic about the election results. The Marcoses built a lot of infrastructure which still exists today – infrastructure in the Philippines has been neglected for decades. Our expectation is that it will now be the focus of this new administration.
“I feel that the presidencies following that of Ferdinand Marcos Sr did not really bring about lasting progress. The Philippines continues to lag behind Asean [Association of South-east Asian Nations] neighbours. It is hoped that the new administration will work towards defeating the pandemic, reviving the economy and making the Philippines more competitive and investor-friendly.”
Classic case of nauto ni Marcos. Marcos built infrastructure but looted half the funds. He inflicted far more damage on the nation than he did any good. His successors had to carry the debt of his plunder for at least three generations.
The worst of the seven. Babaho muli.
No. 4. Rene, 63, architect, Nueva Ecija – voted for Manny Pacquiao
“‘Filipinos want a Marcos return in order to instil discipline, progress, and bring back peace and order’
“People don’t realise that even though there was support for Leni [Robredo], there was a more powerful silent majority who supported Marcos Jr. Filipinos want a Marcos return in order to instil discipline, progress, and bring back peace and order.
“I voted for Pac-Man [Manny Pacquiao]. He is clean and has the heart and will to reach out to his people. He has shown true and sincere dedication in service and is known for his public service. He has also gained wisdom through his years as a congressman and senator. On top of his rigid boxing training, he is a true Cinderella man.”
Classic case of misguided fascism. So-called benevolent authoritarianism is the exception rather than the rule. Almost always authoritarian regimes in the developing world are murderously repressive and plundering, and the Marcos regime is a classic instance.
No. 5. Edwin, 63, retired, Pampanga, Central Luzon – voted for Leody de Guzman
“It’s a big embarrassment, for we suffered under the brutality and greed of the parents of Marcos Jr. I couldn’t in conscience vote for Marcos Jr, because I don’t believe the narrative that the reign of his father is the Philippine golden age, which it was not.
“I also could not vote for his opponent [Robredo] because I felt she would just be a repeat of Noynoy Aquino. So I voted for the leftist candidate Leody de Guzman as a protest vote but wish Sara Duterte ran for president instead. We have a weak political party system and I believe the problem in the Philippines is we have a defective constitution. I hope with the big mandate of the president he will initiate the rewriting of the constitution and change the current political system.”
Noynoy Aquino produced the best economic numbers in recent history, besting even Macapagal in the sixties. If your objective is economic progress, then a progressive democracy and good governance champion like Noynoy Aquino is the logical choice.
De Guzman is a leftist, and leftist ideology has its merits. The best illustration of this point is Scandinavian social democracy. On the other hand, Communist countries are oppressively authoritarian and severely repressive.
Sara is a fascist like her father and will protect him from International Criminal Court prosecution for the thousands of extrajudicial killings that occurred under his rule. I guess that if abandoning murder victims in the thousands and their families without justice or retribution is a morally acceptable choice for you, then so is Sara.
No. 6. AJ, 48, computer programmer, Cagayan de Oro – voted for Marcos Jr
“‘Some of the other candidates just do not understand the ordinary Filipino psyche’
“It’s insanity to perpetually trap ourselves in the events that transpired in 1970s and early 80s. Some of the other candidates just do not understand the ordinary Filipino psyche. I’m a Mindanaoan, [from the south of the country] and would rather have federalism than full independence. I want a country that opens our economy to the world, free and not too tied to the west or east. We want a pragmatist like Duterte is. He’s mostly misunderstood in the west – he may be crude and brash but he thinks realistically.
“I voted BBM/Sara and hope they will continue the current administration’s build, build, build programme and the drug war. I didn’t vote for BBM/Sara forgetting the horrors of the past. I voted because they are the only ones left who at least have the intention to build on what we already have today.”
Classic case of na-Duterte. Duterte produced some of the worst economic numbers since Marcos. Average GDP growth rate under Duterte was worse than under Cory, who had been handicapped by the humongous debt of Marcos and the political chaos his misrule engendered. Practically everything Duterte promised he failed to accomplish. Duterte like Marcos was only out to aggrandize himself. His motivation was power and money, not service to the nation.
No. 7. Maria, 45, works in providing training and education, Albay
On the right track
A look at some economic numbers—
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=PH
—“GDP growth (annual %) – Philippines: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files,” The World Bank, 2022
This source tells us that Macapagal’s average GDP growth rate was 5.13 percent.
https://business.inquirer.net/211773/economic-and-agriculture-scores-of-philippine-presidents
—Rolando T. Dy, “Economic and agriculture scores of Philippine presidents,” Inquirer.net, May 16, 2022
Average Marcos score for GDP growth rate is 3.72 percent—it’s better than Cory’s 3.5 percent, with the caveat that she inherited Marcos’ humongous debt besides political instability.
—Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr., “The economic and energy legacy of PNoy Aquino,” BusinessWorld (June 28, 2021)
If you look at Noynoy Aquino’s entire term, 2011 to 2016, average GDP growth rate is 6.2 percent.
—Pilar Manuel, “SONA 2021: The economy under President Rodrigo Duterte,” CNN Philippines, July 25, 2021
Average GDP growth under Duterte, excluding 2021, is 3.36 percent—worse than Cory’s.
While the state of a nation is not reducible to a single economic indicator, the various economic numbers are correlated among themselves, and together they are very revealing of economic performance.
An entire lifetime and more, the Philippine electorate has not yet learned what appears to be a rather obvious fact to very many—dictatorship is a bad idea.
Public domain photo courtesy of Wellcome Collection
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