Tag: authoritarianism

The 1986 revolution: an overselling cover-up of endemic failures

August 16, 2022 The Unpopular Opinion 43 Comments

The movie Maid in Malacanang featured the perspective of the Marcos family on what transpired during the three fateful days that led to then-President Ferdinand Marcos leaving the Philippines. It is definitely a bestseller, raking in hundreds of millions in sales as the movie was being shown in cinemas worldwide. With another Marcos leading the…

Development, Economy, History, Politics

Iron fists and visionary leadership will continue to sell well in Philippine elections

October 17, 2021 zaxx 32 Comments

Gone are the days when voters lapped up motherhood statements and ayuda or suntok sa buwan promises to sooth their longing for a respite from the painful reality of living in the Philippines. The landslide victory of Duterte in 2016 was a resounding stamp of approval by the general populace for a change from the…

Government, Politics

Hard habit to break: The Philippine Opposition’s FAILED five-year effort to paint Duterte as a “tyrant”

September 5, 2021September 5, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 4 Comments

The other day, we heard the incumbent Vice-President Leni Robredo make a statement about her being tempted to ask for blanket authority to be the head the government’s pandemic response. Just when you think that was too funny, here comes Randy David trying to top the VP’s idiotic rant in his Inquirer piece today “The…

Politics, Society

President Duterte running for VP is perfectly legal, Opposition fails to propose a BETTER option

July 12, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 1 Comment

I wonder what former Bayan Muna House Representative Teddy Casiño is describing as President Rodrigo Duterte’s “brand of authoritarianism” when what he has been ordering implemented is within the context of the 1987 Constitution. The rise of populism was fueled by neoliberal ideology to deliver on its promised gains in developed countries. The template is…

Politics

The Philippine Opposition has declared the Philippines a DICTATORSHIP

September 22, 2020 benign0 11 Comments

What’s a political opposition to do when it can’t win an election and sees no hope of ever winning one again legitimately. What else but seize power illegally. This is why they now would like everyone to believe the Philippines is a “dictatorship” — so that they could do just that. For all their efforts…

Politics

Recall that Western and Christian ideals were used to justify colonisation and imperial rule

December 29, 2019 benign0 5 Comments

Back when the Spanish Conquistadors first set foot on Philippine shores and claimed all in the name of God and the Spanish king, it would have looked like this all made sense. Christianity, after all, was the “good” religion and Western civilisation regarded as a necessary “civilising” force. Europeans saw themselves as burdened by a…

Government, Politics, Society

Independence Day is no longer RELEVANT

June 12, 2019 benign0 11 Comments

When you get to the core of it, the root problem of this whole “debate” over “Independence Day” is that nobody can really point out what it means to be truly independent. For that matter, even if some genius actually did, it would not really matter as the terms that populate conventional definitions of independence…

Development, Environment, Government

FACT CHECK: Are Filipinos currently subject to a “dictatorship”?

May 12, 2018May 12, 2018 benign0 5 Comments

Here are the facts to consider when answering the question: (1) The Philippines’ current Chief Executive is legally in power and serving a term he was elected to serve. (2) The Philippines currently has a functioning legislature composed of freely-elected representatives who feel perfectly free to express a diverse range of competing points of view….

Government