Philippine Democracy beyond President Duterte
By Menelito Mansueto
Dr. Jose Veloso Abueva – the past President of the University of the Philippines System and Chancellor of University of the Philippines-Diliman, had fought a lifetime struggle to campaign and advocate for a federal type of government in the Philippines. He is the elder brother of nationally awarded sculptor, Napoleon V. Abueva. These men, along with physicist Dr. Christopher C. Bernido, are among a few true-blue educators and public intellectuals who were born and raised in Bohol. Dr. Jose V. Abueva died last year at the old age of 93 after a lifelong advocacy for the federal form of government. He was one of the most seasoned intellectuals in UP Diliman, a seasoned political scientist in his case. But his advocacy for federalism was heard too little, even within his own circle in UP Diliman. Recalling back sometime around 2013-2014, nobody had believed in him even within his own core group, the best of his friends, that he could seek the changes that he had wanted for the country – that is, a federal and a parliamentary government in the Philippines.
Going back to 2001, after an expose of Chavit Singson of the alleged "midnight" activities of former president Joseph "Erap" Estrada, the so-called "Edsa People Power II" broke out and had ousted the latter. These momentary so-called "revolutions" had occurred time and again in such intervals. It was again repeated when former President Corazon C. Aquino had died when it got another Aquino, her son, to get elected in power as the country's next president. It was a repeated cycle of necro-politics of the Aquinos, time and time and again, what seemed a perpetual cycle of history. At this point, Mindanao was still outside of the national picture. But all these will change under Duterte’s leadership.
Mindanao was often perceived as a war zone, a narrative that had benefitted a few people and individuals, so-called recipients of some charity and funding institutions in the LGU and NGOs, that war is all about money and subserviency, or political expediency, so they say. The Mindanao war is also used to detract from national issues diverting the public attention from the politicians in questioned. For example, when Janet Napoles was interrogated in 2008 for the alleged misuse of PDAF, the Abu Sayyaf Group also made noise by the gruesome murder of a 55-year-old Catholic priest Fr. Jesus Reynaldo Roda, OMI, followed by the kidnapping of ABS-CBN journalist Ces Drilon. The timing is cunning and very much suspicious. Some others say that the war in Mindanao is about the conflict in religion between Christians & Muslims. But many had believed otherwise. The war was more political and economic than being religious, many had believed so. The fact is, truth be told, Christians and Muslims had long been freely co-existing in Mindanao, along with the Indigenous Peoples, such as, the Lumads. We have heard, for example, of stories about Christians and Muslims helping one another to survive in the Marawi siege. We can also read, for example, about the peacebuilding efforts of Christians and Muslims that is characterized by cohabitation, conversion and intermarriage in the writings of Japanese scholar Yoshizawa Asuna.
Just like Typhoon Odette in 2021 that hit Visayas and Mindanao, terrible things had happened in 2013 prior to the emergence of Duterte’s name as a national presidentiable. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Cebu & Bohol on the 15th of October and Yolanda typhoon had drowned most part of Tacloban City in Leyte. The national government was in complete mess and disarray in the leadership of President Noynoy and DILG Secretary Mar Roxas. That was the turning point. People from Visayas and Mindanao had lost their confidence to what they perceived as the Manila elites. That was then the start of the Duterte administration. There was the call for someone in Mindanao to lead amidst the Bangsamoro ordeal which was occurring at the same time. Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc, for instance, believed it can be summed up in the phrase "Bisaya Na Pud!" (or It’s Bisayan’s Turn). And from then on, everything turned around 360° degrees – came a new political cycle in the country. Mindanao just had their first ever Mindanawon President. Duterte's rise had given path to more politicians from the national south, such as Manny Pinol, Senators Bong Go & Bato Dela Rosa, and not excluding Duterte's own local rivals, such as, in the case of the former house speaker, the late Prospero Nograles.
The developments in Mindanao under Duterte's term is massive. Duterte has implemented projects in Visayas and Mindanao under his term. President Noynoy implemented many projects as well but has no idea where to source the funds. Duterte implemented a change in policy of procurement, especially in times of disaster in the national peripheries. He has been attacked for his approach. Duterte had long figured-out a solution in view – that is, grassroots budgeting. Federalism is the key. Federalism is now, once again in the limelight, in the banner of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. widely known in the acronym BBM. He is consistently leading presidential surveys and running as president under Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP).
About the Solid South
It would be unfair to think that the term simply referred to as "Solid South" is just a mere block vote category as if blind followers who will vote for a certain presidential candidate only because they are told to do so by someone superior. That is something the critics had arrogantly label as "populism". Well, the election after all is indeed a numbers-game. This so-called "Solid South" are the grateful and joyful recipients of the billions-worth projects poured into Mindanao soil under the "Build, Build, Build" program. To name but a few of the projects in DPWH under this program: Davao City Coastal Road; Davao City Bypass Road, consisting of two mountain tunnels that will provide an alternative route with lesser travel duration from Davao City to Panabo City, Davao del Norte; Mindanao Railway connecting Digos City and Tagum City; Flood Control Drainage in Cagayan de Oro City; and the more popular Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway.
True indeed, former President Noynoy had approved the implementation of many projects but failed to provide the needed financing for the realization of some projects, and worst of all, the latter had simply allowed the old rotten kick-back system in which local politicians interfere resulting to substandard outputs below the expected long-term quality. It is true that Duterte made use of foreign loans to finance these projects. But like a long-term investment that could lead to economic growth and prosperity, the foreign loans will soon be repaid in due time along with the economic sustainability. Foreign loan is certainly better than waiting for nothing in vain. So, if a candidate still has not top the surveys even after all the superpower antics has been done by the candidate, such as Son Goku’s kamehame wave in DragonBallZ, and still consistently ranks lowest in all surveys, it means that there has been a complete overhaul that is certainly necessary to be done, another people’s revolution in our own time.
