東南亞研究中心 Southeast Asia Research Centre

Francisco NEMENZO

The under Aquino

Working Paper Series

No. 134 December 2012

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Editor of the SEARC Working Paper Series Professor Mark R. Thompson

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The Philippines under Aquino*

Francisco Nemenzo Professor Emeritus University of the Philippines

About the author

Professor Francisco Nemenzo had a paradoxical career, combining academic work and revolutionary activity. An outspoken radical student leader at the height of witch-hunting in the Philippines, he was banned from the US. This forced him to go to the UK for his Ph.D. at the University of Manchester. Returning to the Philippines in 1965, he lived a double life as a respectable professor in the state university and a leading cadre of the underground communist party.

After serving two years in detention under martial law, he resumed his academic career and rose to executive positions as dean, chancellor and president of the University of the Philippines. He also served as senior research fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra and visiting professor at the International Christian University in Tokyo. Upon retiring as university president in 2005, he returned to the “parliament of the streets” and survived two rebellion charges for involvement in military uprisings against President .

* Updated version of a lecture delivered at the City University of Hong Kong, 24 October 2012.

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 1 In the 2010 presidential election Benigno Aquino III raised the slogan “matuwid na daan” (towards the path of righteousness), a nebulous program for eliminating corruption, reducing poverty, and improving governance. As he is getting close to the middle of his un-extendable six-year term, it is time to assess his overall performance.

I did not expect much from him or from any of his seven rivals. Nothing in his past inspired hope that he would be the “reforming prince” Machiavelli envisioned. A scion of a big landowning family, he showed no promise of becoming another Fidel Castro, an oligarch who dismantled the oligarchy. In fact, he was not known to stand for any cause. His administrative skills were a subject of doubt because he never held an executive position in government or in his family business. Prior to his election as President of the Philippines, he served as an undistinguished legislator: nine years in the House of Representatives and three years in the Senate.

His own party did not even consider him a “presidentiable.” At first the Liberal Party put up Senator Mar Roxas. But the outpouring of grief over the death of his well loved mother (former President ) engendered a clamor for the young Aquino. So overwhelming was the clamor that Roxas had to step down and agree to run for vice president instead. Roxas lost, but Aquino won by a convincing majority. His closest rival, former President of the Partido ng Masang Pilipino (Party of the Filipino Masses), not only conceded graciously but also offered to be his unofficial adviser.

On the road to economic recovery?

In his report to the joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives last July, President Aquino proclaimed that “the sick man of Asia now brims with vitality.”1 Under his watch, the GDP grew at the rate of 6.4%, the highest in Southeast Asia. Standard and Poor, Moody’s, and the World Economic Forum competitive index have raised the

1 Aquino, Benigno S.III. "Third State of the Nation Address." Official Gazette. July 23, 2012. http://www.gov.ph/2012/07/23/english-translation-benigno-s-aquino-iii-third-state-of-the-nation-address- july-23-2012/ (accessed December 13, 2012).

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 2 Philippine ratings by several notches.2 Foreign investments have been pouring in. An optimistic mood pervades the Philippine Stock Exchange.

These figures naturally elated those with money to invest. But two questions need to be asked: Will their supposed benefits trickle down to the vast majority, or will they just widen the socio-economic disparity: the rich becoming wealthier and the poor becoming more miserable? Is the apparent upswing sustainable?

The 6.4% GDP growth rate in the first half of 2012 was not impressive at all. It was less than the growth rate in the last year of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The GDP actually dropped from 7.6% in 2010 to 3.7% in 2011, in the first year under Aquino.3 What accounts for the 6.4% growth rate was the phenomenal expansion of the service sector, especially in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).4 Most new jobs the Aquino administration claimed to have created belong to this sector. It should be noted, however, that the jobs in call centers and other BPO enterprises require a good command of the English language; in other words, they are accessible only the educated middle class, not to the millions who languish beneath the poverty line.

While President Aquino cited the number of jobs created, he did not count the jobs that were lost during the same period. It is not clear whether the lucky ones who fill in the new jobs were previously unemployed, or are they the unfortunate workers who were laid off and rehired as contractual employees with reduced salaries and no security benefits?

2 *Schwab, Klaus. "The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013." World Economic Forum. 2012. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2012-13.pdf (accessed December 13, 2012). *"Moody's assigns positive outlook on Philippines' sovereign credit rating." Moody's. November 15, 2012. http://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-assigns-positive-outlook-on-Philippines-sovereign-credit- rating--PR_247006 (accessed December 13, 2012). *Benard, Agos. "Ratings Direct." Standard and Poor. October 17, 2012. http://www.standardandpoors.com/spf/ratings/121018_IndonesiaAndThePhilippines_MR.pdf (accessed December 13, 2012).

3 Senate Economic Planning Office, Economic Report, March 2012.

4 World Bank. "Philippine Quarterly Update: From Stability to Prosperity for All." March 2012. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPHILIPPINES/Resources/PQUMarch2012FINAL032012.pdf (accessed November 12, 2012).

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 3 The investment figures are just as unconvincing. At the time of the President’s “state-of- the-nation address,” the portfolio investments increased by 247.3%. According to the central bank (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), this has tripled since then.5 But the suspicions is that the bulk of this is capital temporarily parked in Philippine financial institutions while the US and European banks are in trouble. This “hot money” can flee as fast as it came in, leaving behind uncompleted projects.

Direct foreign investments, the type that propel sustained growth, have actually dropped by minus 33.9% in 2010 (from 27.1% in 2009), and minus 2.8% in 2011. However, the first quarter of 2012 showed some growth. Foreign direct investments in the first quarter of 2012 totaled US$ 837 million, which is 46.6%, considerably higher than last year’s minus 33.1% in the same period.6 However, the sustainability of this growth in the midst of the global economic crisis remains open question. Taking into account the net inflows in April 2012 alone, it went down to minus US$13million, compared to last year’s US$78 million.

The new foreign direct investments went mainly into mining and tourism.7 This is not necessarily a cause for rejoicing because the former is environmentally destructive and the latter is vulnerable to the whims of the global economy. In 2010, US$ 282.08 million of foreign direct investments went to mining and quarrying, followed by real estate with US$ 181.52 million; manufacturing declined to minus US$ 1, 275.19 million.

There are superficial signs of progress, of course. The skylines of Metro , Metro Cebu and other urban centers are cluttered with multi-storey buildings and many more are under construction. But these are mostly condominiums, shopping malls, and hotels. Housing remains a big problem as the ranks of the urban poor continue to swell.

5 "Foreign Portfolio Investments Rebound in July." Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. August 16, 2012. http://www.bsp.gov.ph/publications/media.asp?id=2958&yr=2012 (accessed November 12, 2012). 6 "Foreign direct investments register net inflows in the first four months of 2012." Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. July 10, 2012. http://www.bsp.gov.ph/publications/media.asp?id=2920&yr=2012 (accessed November 12, 2012). 7 "Net Foreign Direct Investment by Industry Sector." Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. n.d. http://www.bsp.gov.ph/statistics/spei_pub/Table%2031.pdf (accessed November 14, 2012).

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 4 Those who see the urban poor as eyesores who frustrate the local governments’ sporadic clean up and beautification drives propose an easy solution: send them back to the countryside. This “solution” ignores the fact that the Philippine countryside is no longer the idyllic places celebrated in the kundimans.8 Neo-liberal globalization has devastated Philippine agriculture, the very reason why farmers and fishermen are flocking to the cities, believing they have better chances of survival as sidewalk vendors, casual laborers, drug pushers, and thieves.

While desperately trying to attract foreign investments, the government (thanks to IMF- imposed policies) is unable to regulate the outflow of domestic capital. Filipino investments abroad increased from US$ 887 million in 2001 to US$ 6,581 million by the end of 2010.9 Manuel Pangilinan is bidding for big projects in Vietnam, like subways, water and power plants, and hi-tech hospitals.10 He is only one of many Filipino capitalists who are investing in Vietnam. Ayala, San Miguel, Jollibee, Unilab, First Metro Pacific Investments have been there ahead. This anomaly arises from the neo-liberal principles of liberalization and deregulation: the private companies of a poor country that is short of capital are exporting capital on a massive scale.

As a Filipino, I will be delighted if the future proves me wrong. I hope that President Aquino will indeed succeed in re-energizing our lethargic economy. That is not impossible. He enjoys great public confidence. His trust ratings in the opinion polls have been consistently high,11 unusual in a country where the pattern has been for a new President’s popularity to slump after a few months in office. In Aquino’s case, however, his rating soared to 67 points September 2012, or 25 points from his 47 points in May. Smartly used, such level of public trust can be turned to economic advantage.

8 Folk songs that glorify life in the rural areas. 9 "Selected Economic Indicators Asian Countries 2002-2012." Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. 2012. http://www.bsp.gov.ph/statistics/spei_pub/Table%2015.pdf (accessed November 13, 2012). 10 Saigon Times, 17 October 2012. 11 "Third Quarter 2012 Social Weather Survey: PNoy satisfaction rating hits record-high net +67." Social Weather Stations. September 10, 2012. http://www.sws.org.ph/pr20120910.htm (accessed November 13, 2012).

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 5 The drive against corruption

In the latest survey report of Social Weather Station, the corporate executives saw a drop in corruption by 42%12. This dramatic improvement is doubtless due to the bold steps of President Aquino in getting rid of the Ombudsman and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the highest ranking tenured officials who were perceived as major obstacles to the anti-corruption drive.

With them out of the way, it is now theoretically possible to go after all corrupt officials. The Aquino-appointed Ombudsman has already filed plunder charges against former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo; the reason why she is now in detention.

President Aquino has shown some audacity and resoluteness, virtues his mother sadly lacked. Even the habitual skeptics concede that he is capable of pushing bolder reform measures. But much as I hope he will do just that, my optimism is restrained. There are also disturbing signs of vacillation.

A high degree of public trust is itself a precious asset. Properly harnessed, this can make a colossal difference. President Aquino is trying his best to make good his electoral pledge of cleansing the government of corruption. But I reject his simple-minded formula that Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap (without corruption, there will be no poverty). Corruption is only one of the many factors for people’s misery.

Without questioning the sincerity of his commitment to the path of righteousness, I do not expect him to go very far in the remaining years of his term. Impeaching the Ombudsman and the Chief Justice are great achievements, but not enough. The predatory syndicates are well imbedded in key government agencies from the national to the local levels. They are still active in many government entities like the Bureau of Internal Revenues, the Bureau of Customs, and in infrastructure construction, to mention just a few.

12 "SWS Survey of Enterprises on Corruption: The fight against corruption has radically progressed from 2009." Social Weather Stations. September 18, 2012. http://www.sws.org.ph/pr20120918.htm (accessed November 13, 2012).

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 6 There is no indication that the ouster of Ombudsman Gutierrez and Chief Justice Corona has scared the crooks. They know only too well that the legal system in the country provides them ample protection.

A captive presidency

If it took the senate four months to convict Chief Justice Renato Corona; it will take ages for the lazy and bureaucratically-minded state prosecutors to convict thousands of crooks in the civil service, the military and the police. There is never a shortage smart lawyers who can get them off the hook. If they lose in Sandigang Bayan (the special court for graft cases), they can ask for reconsideration from the Court of Appeals, and then from the Supreme Court. In the meantime, the crooks stay in office and do business as usual.

It takes a miracle to purge the civil service, the military and the police during the term of President Aquino. He has only three more years. If he remains a captive of the present legal system, the crooks will outlast him.

A President who is intent on instituting much needed reforms has to reckon with the two houses of congress, both packed with conservative politicians who have enormous stakes in the status quo. If congress cannot block the passage of a reform bill, it will be challenged before the judiciary, an institution notorious for slowness in rendering judgment.

And even if it survives the circuitous process of judicial review, the bureaucracy will obstruct it at every turn. The Philippine has hundreds of good laws that remain only on paper because congress allocates a shoestring budget for the implementing agency. If implemented at all, there is no assurance the reform law will be implemented in accord with the noble intentions of its authors.

These problems are rooted in the system. They cannot be solved following what the lawyers call “due process.” In the Philippines litigation has been made extremely complicated such that it is nearly impossible for the system to reform itself.

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 7 Squandering an opportunity for political reforms

Next May there will be elections for half of the Senate, the entire House of Representatives, and the local government executives. This would have been a great opportunity for President Aquino to use his overwhelming popularity to put up new, honest, intelligent, dedicated and disciplined candidates and build a policy-oriented party that will sustain his crusade beyond his term.

Sadly, he is not taking that chance. He has adapted to traditional politics. Many of the candidates he is endorsing for the next legislative and local government elections do not inspire hope for meaningful change. We are about to witness a bizarre phenomenon of the son of the martyred Benigno Aquino, Jr. campaigning for the same senatorial slate with Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., his father’s alleged murderer! (The young Marcos’ Nacionalista Party has entered into a coalition with the young Aquino’s Liberal Party.)

Opposing this coalition is another coalition built around the “Three Kings;” namely, Vice President Jejomar Binay, former President Joseph Estrada, and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. The “Three Kings” each has a child in the coalition’s senatorial slate: the daughter of Binay, and the sons of Estrada and Enrile. Implicitly acknowledging the President’s popularity, this other coalition does not want to be considered the opposition because the “Three Kings” profess fidelity to President Aquino’s program. That program is nebulous enough to accommodate any ambitious scoundrel.

Political parties in the Philippines are unlike political parties in the so called “competitive democracies.” They are temporary alliances of diverse political clans for the singular purpose of winning the next elections. They are not united by a common ideology. Their programs are a hodgepodge of platitudes compiled by ghost writers. Issues are never debated during the campaign because their avowed positions are either meaningless or essentially identical. All are all against graft and corruption; all are for transparency, accountability and good governance.

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 8 The political dynasties

The 1987 constitution limits the President and Vice President to a single six-year term, the senators to two six-year terms, and the rest are limited to three three-year terms. The commission that drafted the 1987 constitution intended this to level the playing field. But the effect has been the opposite; it has brought out in abundant clarity the oligarchic character of Philippine politics. When the patriarchs have exhausted their term limits, they put up their wives, children, brothers and sisters or their mistresses while they pull the strings from behind.

If the chosen ones possess exemplary knowledge and skills, the country may stand to benefit. In most cases, however, the successors have little between their ears; some even have unsavory personal records. One “princeling” who is now running for senator was acquitted for murder under dubious circumstances.

To illustrate further the dark side of Philippine politics, let me cite a Zamboanga kingpin who was convicted and imprisoned for rape. While his conviction was going through the usual series of appeals, he spent his full term as congressman inside the national penitentiary, where he furnished his prison cell with five-star facilities. As soon as his conviction was upheld with finality by the Supreme Court, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo granted him absolute pardon.

While in prison, he managed to have his brother elected city mayor and his sister as congressman of another district. Now he is back with a vengeance. He, his brothers and sisters and children are seeking to control the two provinces of Zamboanga. In all likelihood they will get elected.

Why do Filipinos elect crooks and felons? It is not because they are naïve but because they have become politically sophisticated. Knowing that their miserable lives will not improve regardless of who gets elected, they sell their votes to the highest bidder. Vote buying has become a normal practice at the local level; at the national level, the candidates buy the certificates of canvass (official tally sheets).

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 9 The only ones capable of beating the candidates of political dynasties are the celebrities. Since the politicians have turned elections into entertainment, the cynics cast their votes for movie stars, basketball players, comedians, and widows and orphans of famous personalities. The showbiz characters may not know how to govern, but they are better to look at.

The main funding sources for local election campaigns are the jueteng operators. Jueteng is an illegal numbers game that is very popular among the masses. (The elite gamble in the casinos, but that’s legal!) In spite of the fact that the jueteng lords are well known in their communities, they remain untouchable because most local government officials and policemen are beholden to them. Even the servants of God are beholden to them. The retired archbishop of , a staunch opponent of all forms of gambling, named his fellow bishops who are receiving regular subsidies from the jueteng lords. But the Vatican has done nothing to stop them.

Notwithstanding all this, idealistic scholars see a silver lining. They have high hopes in the NGOS (non-governmental organizations). Some NGOs are indeed doing a heroic job raising the consciousness and organizing the masses. The scholars credit them for weaning people from the political clans. Analyzing the voting patterns, they observe that the “market votes” increasing in proportion to the “command votes.” From these voting patterns they conclude that dynasticism is being eroded. By “market votes” they mean people who owe no allegiance to a political machine but form their own opinions based on what they learn from media.

But the media themselves are problematic. Filipinos claim to have the freest press in Asia because censorship applies only to movies and canned TV shows, not to news reports and commentaries.

A hard look at media

The vigilant, resourceful and courageous journalists represent the sunny side of the political landscape. But there is something more than meets the eye. After the Marcos dictatorship collapsed, the government abdicated the power to regulate the mass media;

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 10 but the media lords and the big advertisers have taken over the censorship function. They are the ones who now define the limits to freedom of expression. Normally they give editors a free hand, but when their interests are at stake, they issue orders to kill the news or denigrate disagreeable personalities.13

The freedom of citizens to demonstrate against the performance of evil is a mark of a democratic society. But demonstrations in the Philippines today have become so commonplace that they are reported only when the demonstrators do something outlandish, like lying on the streets to cause a traffic jam, and women removing their bras to denounce the acquittal of an American serviceman charged of rape.

These antics draw media attention, but the causes they espouse are ignored. By contrast, the press releases of politicians are well reported, especially if they hire “AC-DC journalists.” “AC-DC” is a Filipino neologism for “accept-and-collect and defend-and- collect.” Because the reporters are badly paid, unethical practices are rampant.

Break up of political dynasties

A potentially significant development which has so far escaped scholarly attention is the disintegration of political dynasties. In the coming elections, for example, the aunt of President Aquino is running for senator in the opposite ticket. The son of former President Ramon Magsaysay is running against his niece.

In the province of Camarines Sur, Congressman Luis Villafuerte is fighting his son for leadership of the province. Since he has exhausted his three terms, he is running for governor; and his closest opponent is his own grandson.

Most interesting is the fight in the island province of Dinagat, off the coast of Surigao. The mother is the incumbent governor and her daughter is vice governor. But the daughter is now trying to depose her mother. This is interesting because the people in this island province are devotees of a politico-religious cult called the Benevolent Missionaries.

13 Chay Florentino-Holifena. News for Sale: The Corruption and Commercialization of the Philippine Media (Manila: Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, 2004).

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 11 The cult was founded by Ruben Ecleo, the late husband of the present governor. The cultists addressed him as “Divine Master” and believed him to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. In his lifetime Ruben Ecleo was not only the undisputed spiritual leader but also the king maker in Dinagat. He could deliver 100% of the votes to whoever earned his blessings.

Before he died in 1987, he passed on the leadership to his son who became the congressman. But the wayward son is now a fugitive from justice, convicted for the murder his wife to marry his mistress. The mother took over the mantle of spiritual and political leadership; but her daughter is now contesting her authority. What will happen to this once cohesive cult after the on-going mother-versus-daughter fight is worth watching.

Religion and politics

The proliferation of politico-religious cults is a phenomenon political scientists ought to take seriously. Cohesive and disciplined, these cults can deliver more command votes than the old political machines. Politicians therefore troop to their headquarters begging for support. In exchange, members of the cult get appointed to key government positions.

Since Spanish times, the Catholic Church had studiously refrained from blatant interference in secular affairs. After the second Vatican Council, however, several priests and nuns embraced liberation theology and taking up the cudgels for the poor, to the extent of demanding that the church divests its landholdings and business enterprises. Some moved so far to the Left and joined the communist-led New People’s Army. Disturbed by these developments, the late Archbishop of Manila (with the silly name of Cardinal Sin) tried to counter liberation theology by playing traditional politics. Some scholars have fallen for the myth that it was Cardinal Sin who mobilized “people power” to oust the Marcos dictatorship.

For 14 years the Catholic hierarchy succeeded in blocking the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill. It is a fairly moderate bill seeking to provide instruction to poor and uneducated women on the use of artificial contraceptives, thus giving them a

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 12 chance to determine how many children they can afford to feed and send to school. As the principal sponsor of the bill in the House of Representatives succinctly summarized its objective, “Let us have children by choice, not by chance.”

But the Catholic bishops have ordained that this is immoral and a departure from of church doctrines. They argue that this will promote promiscuity and encourage sex before marriage. The feminist movement, a powerful political force in the Philippines, campaigned hard for this bill, hoping that this will reduce unwanted pregnancies. (An estimated 13 to 15 Filipino women die every day from illegal abortions.)

All opinion surveys show that as many as 70% of respondents support the Reproductive Health Bill. This certainly includes Roman Catholics because 80% of the population is Catholic. Priests and nuns working among peasant and urban poor communities privately speak in favor of the bill. The faculty of the Ateneo de Manila University came out with an official endorsement, forcing the Jesuits administrators to moderate their opposition.

At first President Aquino tried to find a middle ground. In his “state of the nation address,” alluded to earlier, he used the euphemism “responsible parenthood” in lieu of “reproductive health.” But the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines took a hard line, in spite of the fact that the sponsors of the bill in the Senate and the House of Representatives had accepted many amendments proposed by the opponents. Once again, President Benigno Aquino III showed a decisiveness which his late mother badly lacked. Few days before the end of the parliamentary session (the last before the 2013 elections begin), he certified the bill as urgent and campaigned actively for its passage. The Reproductive Health Bill eventually passed both houses with overwhelming majorities.

The Catholic bishops are now threatening to campaign against the senators and congressmen who voted for the bill. The next elections will test their capacity to translate the number of devotees into command votes. If they succeed, the exponents of secularism are afraid that the Catholic church will become more politically intrusive, matching the clout of Iglesia ni Cristo (a native Protestant sect that has shown the capacity deliver bloc votes for the candidates it officially endorses). In the past, Catholic church-sponsored negative campaigns against some senatorial candidates failed. That might be the reason

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 13 why Cardinal Sin discouraged the formation of a Catholic political party similar to those in Latin America.

Concluding remarks

I am no cynic who sees evil lurking behind what appears to be good. In this paper I noted the negative aspects of what other scholars see as positive trends to show that the problems we face are systemic; that they cannot be tackled by a President whose hands are tied by elitist laws and corrupt institutions, especially if that President has only three more years to govern.

No matter how much my family suffered under his dictatorship,14 I concede that President Marcos was an astute political thinker. He saw the need to break the system; thus, he justified the dissolution of congress and the suspension of elections by the need to dismantle the oligarchic structures.

Marcos, however, failed to break the oligarchic system because he nurtured a new and more avaricious oligarchy of crony capitalists. Unlike Park Chung Hee of Korea, he could not discipline his cronies and compel them to align their investments to his national industrialization program.

President Corazon Aquino, the mother, equated democracy with American-style institutions, the very institutions that bred a rapacious oligarchy and provided Marcos an excuse for imposing martial law. She declared a revolutionary government, but abstained from using emergency powers to institute social reforms. By restoring the institutions Marcos had dismantled, she ushered back the old scoundrels to the corridors of power.

For President Benigno Aquino III, the son, to rescue a nation in distress, he has to break the system. With his overwhelming popularity, he has the historic opportunity to change the lopsided distribution of wealth and the concentration of power in a malevolent few.

14 My wife and I were detained under Martial Law, and our eldest son was shot while participating in an anti-Marcos demonstration in 1984.

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 14 We cannot speak of re-democratization because we had no democracy to start with; and competitive elections cannot serve a democratizing purpose for as long as a yawning gap exists between the ultra-rich and the desperately poor.

His bold defiance of the Catholic bishops over the Reproductive Health Bill may be an indication that the incumbent President is willing to take the gamble for the sake of our country’s future. I wish he succeeds.

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 134, 2012 15