Tag: authoritarianism

Mahathir Mohamad set to turn Malaysia back into a REAL southeast Asian nation!

May 10, 2018May 10, 2018 benign0 5 Comments

The trend is becoming clear. With the victory of Malaysian opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan led by former revered strongman Mahathir Mohamad in the recently-concluded Malaysian elections, a region revisits its roots as rapidly-industrialising economies back in the mid- to latter-half of the 20th Century. The return of Mahathir follows a similar ascent to power of…

Government, Politics

Filipinos are happy for a “strongman” to lead them and have redefined the term to mean a GOOD thing

May 9, 2018 benign0 16 Comments

It still remains no mystery why current Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte enjoys the full support of a majority of Filipino voters. Duterte comes across as strong. He acts and decides and does not dither in his messaging. He has exhibited this character from Day One of his campaign in the lead up to the 2016…

Government, Politics, Society

Duterte featured in @IanBremmer’s TIME Magazine article on the world’s top “strongmen”

May 4, 2018 benign0 9 Comments

Heads up! A piece published today by TIME Magazine put Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin amongst others. In “What the ‘Tough Guy’ Era Means for Global Politics“, Ian Bremmer writes what comes across as a lament over what could be the end of the moral ascendancy Western liberal democracy had enjoyed…

Media, Politics, Society

Western media clueless about Philippine affairs, easily falls for Maria Ressa’s desperate lies

December 31, 2017December 31, 2017 benign0 22 Comments

The year 2017 is drawing to a close and, despite the emotional screeching of Philippine Opposition elements, the country does not seem any more “authoritarian” (or not authoritarian) than it was back at the dawn of 2016. Just the same, the objective fact that the Philippines remains as “democratic” as it’s ever supposedly been does…

Media, Politics

Ph Opposition commentary on #ASEAN2017 fails to pass standards of INTELLIGENT discourse

November 13, 2017 benign0 5 Comments

True to form, self-described critics of the government of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte have taken positions, presumably over the duration of this year’s summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) hosted in Manila, to aim their sniper scopes at the events. As snipers would do, they are putting every quip, gesture, and nuance…

Culture, Politics, Society

Duterte’s critics should get an award for being inconsistent

November 3, 2017November 3, 2017 Ilda 2 Comments

The Philippine Opposition, which consist mainly of the Liberal Party, its supporters, and allies, deserve an award. They deserve an award for trying. They are trying hard to paint a picture that the country is all “doom and gloom” under President Rodrigo Duterte. They are also trying hard to paint themselves as “victims” of oppression….

Politics

How Noynoy’s incompetence made Duterte happen

October 26, 2017 benign0 6 Comments

The regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte happened not because of a template for “dictatorship” cut by vintage 1970s “tyrant” Ferdinand Marcos. Duterte “happened” because he represented a voters’ swing to an alternative to the status quo overseen by the progeny governments of the 1986 “people power revolution”. That revolution promised Filipinos change. Instead it…

Politics, Society

The far-right rises in the Philippines

March 9, 2017 Celestino Manrique II 53 Comments

Nationalism has been reborn in the Philippines, and the yellows and liberals have failed to realize what is going on. One of my criticisms of Philippine politics has always been the lack of party principles, as all our political parties are on the center of the traditional left-right political spectrum. This is largely because the…

Politics, Society