Philippines undergoes a ‘revolution’ of populist politics
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President-elect Rodrigo Duterte garnered more than 15 million votes in last week’s election, the highest ever for a presidential candidate in the Philippines. The reason for his unprecedented popularity, analysts say, is that he was the only candidate who
He wooed the voters with a quick-fix agenda, vowing to eliminate crime and corruption, including drug trafficking, in three to six months. He was an unusual candidate in other ways too. He made no bones about his socialist bent. He didn’t hesitate to spew obscenities.
He capitalised on the public’s discontent with an establishment controlled by the elite. People had become helpless against rising criminality and worsening poverty. His was a candid campaign with an often “brutal” portrayal of the most pressing national issues. This was populist politics at its most pungent, his critics complained.
But, with change being indeed the call of the hour, the masses readily believed Duterte could make the impossible possible. What mattered most to them was the promise of effective governance to end corruption in the bureaucracy, the root cause of poverty in the country. They took the “risk”.
Populist politics could be the new normal for the Philippines.
Ruffy Magbanua
(From the Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN.)
