Philippine Democracy Online

The question of whether there is a distinct philosophy of Mindanao is not simply a question about geography. It is a question about history, identity, memory, power, and the authority to define what counts as knowledge. It is also a question about whose experiences deserve to become part of the philosophical record. In his plenary presentation, “History and Indigeneity: A Preliminary Inquiry into Mindanao Philosophy,” delivered at the 2nd SES-PUP International Ethics Conference at Waseda University in Tokyo, Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc placed Mindanao at the center of a larger philosophical conversation about indigeneity, colonialism, democracy, peace, and the meaning of history. The conference itself was organized around the theme “A New World Order: Peace, Democracy, Global Security, and a Sustainable Future.” Held from September 9 to 11, 2026, the gathering brought together philosophers, academics, researchers, and students from the Philippines, Japan, and other countries. In this ...

In 2017, Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc analyzed the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte through the lens of Chantal Mouffe’s theory of radical democracy. Wataru Kusaka, who wrote the foreword to Maboloc’s Radical Democracy in the Time of Duterte, observed that Maboloc, like Duterte, puts forth provocative arguments. Jeffry Ocay, a prominent critical theorist from the South, sees it as a fresh look into Philippine politics, while suggesting that if critics suspend their ideological biases, "they can hardly contend with Maboloc’s position." It can be argued that the author is not merely applying Mouffe’s radical democratic theory to Philippine politics but is developing a distinct interpretation of radical democracy grounded in the political realities of the Philippines, particularly those of Mindanao. In this sense, the radical democracy debate in the Philippines may be emerging as a theoretical contest between Mouffe’s original conception of radical democracy and Maboloc’s attempt t...

Today is the start of VP Sara Duterte's impeachment trial. What is at stake is not just the political future of the Vice President. This is about the type of governance that is centered upon one principle that her father had started - justice for Mindanao and the Filipino people against the interests of the elite. This is the case because the members of Congress who impeached Sara do not represent the Filipino people. They represent the corruption in our system of politics. The irony is obvious. Those who want Sara convicted are actually acting at the behest of the mastermind of the flood control scandal. They fear a Sara Duterte presidency because they know that they will be running knowing that they have no place to hide. There is nothing new in what the House prosecutors will present at the Senate impeachment court. The Filipino people already know what Ridon, Diokno, or Delima will say. Their witnesses are not credible. They are simply forcing a narrative that has no evidentiar...

  Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc is a prominent and well-cited contemporary philosopher in the Philippines. An Associate Professor at the Ateneo de Davao University and a fellow of the ASAP Yale Global Justice Program, Maboloc has carved out a unique space in Asian philosophy by shifting the academic gaze away from Eurocentric ideals and anchoring it firmly in the lived realities of the Global South—specifically the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.   Maboloc’s philosophical contributions span political philosophy, applied ethics, environmental thought, and radical democracy. ​Maboloc is perhaps best known for his philosophical analysis of contemporary Philippine politics, most notably during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte. In books like Radical Democracy in the Time of Duterte and The Davao School of Radical Democracy, Maboloc challenges mainstream, Western-style liberal interpretations of populism.   He argues that post-1986 Philippine democracy (the po...

  Dr. Godiva Eviota-Rivera, a full professor at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City, who is an expert on language studies, has advised mainstream media in a social media post, to refrain from "using misnomer language." She noted that some news headlines "are heavily loaded," and wants "to condition our minds."  She says. "your bittersweet tongue, it can never poison us!" She mentioned one reporter who asked Senator Ronald dela Rosa inside the Senate hall: “Why are you here?” Dr. Rivera said that the question is preposterous. "Is she a part of GMA’s regressing walang kinikilingan tagline? GMA, I dare you post this headline that fits your ideology," she adds.

Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc’s book, "The Politics of Peace and the Mindanao Problem," is a philosophical and socio-political critique that challenges the traditional "Manila-centric" understanding of the conflict in Southern Philippines. Following the thought of Patricio Abinales, he argues that labeling Mindanao as a land of conflict is a form of bias. The book is published in 2025 by Dr. Mansoor Limba of Elzystyle Publishing.  Rather than viewing the "Mindanao Problem" as a simple religious or ethnic clash, Maboloc reframed it as a deep-seated issue of structural injustice. The author travelled to Zamboanga City, Cotabato City, Lake Sebu, and Marawi City to conduct his study, talking to Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) officials, Peace negotiators and advocates, local leaders, academics, and Indigenous Peoples (IP). The research was funded by Ateneo de Davao University. ​Maboloc utilizes the theories of political philosopher Iris ...

  By Christopher Ryan Maboloc  The moral politics of liberals have been tested since the time of PNOY but it achieved nothing in terms of changing the lives of millions of Filipinos. We are still under the same oligarchic system and nothing in the words of their potential candidates manifest any competence to address the lingering issue of structural injustice in the country. This is why all that they do, even if they present themselves as clean and the ultimate purveyors of accountability, won't work. EDSA has not delivered on its promise of change. Time and again, the moral framing of the adversaries of Vice President SaraDuterte, portraying her with a bad image, won't work because it is elitist and condescending.  Politics in the Philippines has a lot to do with sentiments, not with labels, especially so when it comes to electing the President. The highest leader of the land will not only represent the people who believes in a cause, but someone who people can identify...

  By Christopher Ryan Maboloc, PhD  Since the Vietnam War, the narrative of the United States has not changed. It still suffers from that Superhero syndrome. It portrays all wars as the struggle between good and evil. The main goal is always to destroy the enemy. That enemy is seen as a threat to humanity and America is the mighty police force that is out there to protect and save humankind from its enemies.  This was the logic of Henry Kissinger. He theorized that if communism succeeds in Vietnam, then the whole Asia would become communist. His solution was to carpet bomb Vietnam and Cambodia. And as what my student reminded me, America lost that war. It is the same story in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bombing Iran does not make the world a safer place. It makes it more dangerous. After all is said and done, Iran will simply rebuild and desire more to develop an atom bomb. America is safe. You cannot say the same to proxy states that it uses to fight for its brand of freedom....

Gerry Arambala’s "Radical Politics in Ozamiz: The Rise and Fall of a Mindanao Boss" is a compelling sociological and political study that tracks the dramatic arc of the Parojinog family. It explores how a local group evolved from a state-sponsored vigilante unit into a formidable political dynasty, only to be dismantled by the very state that once empowered them. Arambala’s work is influenced by Japanese scholar Wataru Kusaka who visited Ozamiz City and engaged with the author. The book is one of the pioneering studies in radical politics in the Philippines which is rooted in the Davao School of Radical Democracy, a new school of thought based on Christopher Ryan Maboloc's book Radical Democracy in the Time of Duterte. A summary of the key themes and findings from the work: 1. The Origins: From Kuratong Baleleng to Local Heroes The narrative begins with the birth of the Kuratong Baleleng. Originally formed by the Philippine military in the 1980s as an anti-communist vigil...

  Menelito Mansueto's "Decolonial Turn in the Philippine South" (specifically focusing on Mindanao) is a critical response to the Western-centric and Manila-centric academic traditions that have historically dominated Filipino philosophy.  Mansueto argues that philosophy in the Philippines has often been a "copy-paste" of Western thought (Eurocentrism) or filtered through the lens of scholars in Manila. He suggests that this creates a "coloniality of knowledge" where the unique lived experiences of those in the "periphery"—the Philippine South—are ignored or treated as secondary. For Mansueto, the "South" is not just a geographic location (Mindanao); it is a philosophical standpoint.Locality: He emphasizes that philosophy should begin with the local conditions: the history of conflict, the diversity of cultures (Moro, Lumad, and Settler), and the socio-economic struggles of the region. The decolonial turn is about giving "epist...

By Francis Jeus Ibañez  Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc’s warning about the danger of believing in oneself to be inherently good echoes Hannah Arendt’s concern with the banality of evil: when individuals fail to question their own biases, they become complicit in systems of manipulation. This vulnerability is not confined to the oligarchs themselves but extends to ordinary Filipinos who aspire to join their ranks without critically examining the moral cost of such ambition. To regulate oligarchic attitudes, both among the powerful and those who idolize them, we must cultivate critical self‑awareness and collective responsibility. Paulo Freire, in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, reminds us that liberation requires dialogue and reflection, not blind imitation of elites. Political strategies should emphasize transparency and accountability, as John Rawls argued in A Theory of Justice, ensuring that influence is not wielded as a weapon against the very citizens it claims to serve. Moral strate...

In 2017, the National University of Singapore asked Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc to write an op-ed for Wataru Kusaka's book Moral Politics in the Philippines which was subsequently published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.  This inspired Maboloc to write about Philippine democracy.  Maboloc wrote a proposal on the topic. Ateneo de Davao University funded Maboloc’s research entitled "Radical Democracy in the Time of Duterte." Ten papers were published from the said research which became the core of his book of the same title that came out in 2022. Kusaka wrote the Foreword of the book. Maboloc’s work won the attention of followers and critics alike. The prominent figures of this contemporary philosophical movement from the Philiippine South include Menelito Mansueto, Gerry Arambala. Benjiemen Labastin, Joezenon Purog, and Rogelio Bayod, among others. Core Philosophy As mentioned in a previous article, the Davao School seeks to provide an "alternative narrative"...

The Davao School of Radical Democracy (DSRD) is a "school of thought" that emerged to provide an intellectual and philosophical defense of the political style and policies of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte through the lens of Chantal Mouffe's theory of radical democracy. Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc, a professor at Ateneo de Davao University, is the principal architect of the movement. His work bridges the gap between high-level European political philosophy (like that of Heidegger, Habermas, and Mouffe) and the gritty, localized historical and political realities of Mindanao. Theoretical Contributions  Maboloc’s influence can be broken down into three specific theoretical contributions: 1. The "Politics of the Periphery" Maboloc’s most significant contribution is the reframing of the Philippine South not as a "problem area" to be fixed by Manila, but as a vibrant site of democratic innovation. Critique of Imperial Manila: He argues that t...

If the reason for the US and Israel for attacking Iran is to prevent it from building atom bombs, why can't Iran simply abandon its nuclear ambition? It is not as simple as that. ​The fundamental reason why Iran wants its own nuclear capability is to deter its enemies, primarily Israel. Regimes with nuclear weapons like North Korea are rarely invaded or overthrown, while those that gave up their nuclear armaments like Ukraine or their programs like Libya, or lacked them (like Iraq under Saddam) were eventually overthrown with support from Western-led forces (e.g. Iraq). Since Iran has not yet achieved its full nuclear capability, Israel and the US think it is strategic to prevent the same from happening. Iran views a nuclear deterrent as the ultimate form of defense against any military attack by the U.S. or Israel, which is happening right now. Because of the current war, Iran is more encouraged to fulfill its nuclear goals for its own survival. The US calls it an evil regime. Tru...