A “Pangulo” ideology: leader-centrism and the return of a Marcos presidency

The current 2022 Philippine Nationwide Elections have been one in all, if not essentially the most, polarising and puzzling one within the nation’s political historical past. It had reaffirmed outdated and embedded ideas in politics whereas revealing some new traits. Probably the most noticeable attribute of the election is the dominance and eventual victory of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., regardless of his household’s tainted popularity. Many attribute his resurgence to the rise of faux information, historic revisionism, and disinformation in social media. Sophistication and saturation of stated disinformation however, psycho-political situations have facilitated the resonance of Marcos’ electoral marketing campaign. Disinformation relating to the Marcos narrative has resonated as a result of it appeals to deeper political values shared by many Filipinos who additionally see themselves as largely ignored by the EDSA regime and maligned by its partisans.

The absence of political events with distinct ideologies isn’t tantamount to both absence or weak point. Ideology itself is irreducible to occasion doctrine however is, reasonably, constituted by each key ideas and a political worth system whose coherence will be analysed via political psychology. On the coronary heart of the 2022 Philippine elections is a leader-centric political worth system which is characterised by deep political reliance on leaders.

For the case of the Philippines, leader-centrism manifests itself via the next:

First, leader-centrism includes a detailed political and private identification with their particular person chief. Some might label this as persona politics, however it’s restricted to the attraction to sure attributes of a person chief or candidate. Reasonably, leader-centric tendencies contain an intense identification with the chief, by which followers construe assaults on their chief as an assault on themselves. These assaults will be attributed to on-line feedback, content material, information objects, educational works or something with opposing narratives. Thus, historical past, morality and details turn into subservient to the success and safety of their particular person chief.

Second, leader-centrism includes the willingness to give up public coverage to leaders, alongside ethical and patriarchal traces. A earlier research on illiberalism amongst Southeast Asian international locations exhibits that almost all Filipinos are prepared to present absolute energy to a pacesetter that they contemplate as morally upright. Moreover, as proven in Tables 1 and a couple of under from the Asia Barometer Survey, most Filipinos have clear leader-centric tendencies by way of each seeing leaders as a parental determine who is aware of what’s finest for the individuals, and as a decisive entity that may “get issues accomplished” even when extraordinary residents have neither management nor affect over the coverage course of. Regardless of the existence of hybrid tendencies, it’s believable to counsel that the Filipino political psyche is characterised by clear leader-centric tendencies on the expense of citizen-centric ones that are extra appropriate for the pursuit of democratisation.

Why is that this the case? The place does this leader-centrism come from? Remigio Agpalo posits a “Pangulo Regime” that refers to a state underneath the management of the “pangulo” because the metaphorical head of the physique politic. This schema connects the centralisation of state authority in the direction of the president with the socio-political fixation on the person chief. Agpalo additionally recognises that this emerges from a Filipino cultural trait of “pagdamay” or collective sharing of experiences that additionally identifies authoritarianism as a sensible technique of imposing “pagdamay.” Whereas Agpalo’s Pangulo Regime consists of institutional points of presidency, he additionally connects the idea to his basic commentary on the Filipino’s cultural tendency to just accept hierarchical constructions and authoritarianism. Therefore, sustaining the Pangulo Regime is a Pangulo Ideology as the gathering of embedded Filipino political values and ideas that favour leader-centrism, hierarchy, and attainable authoritarianism. This idea highlights the cultural and psycho-political points of a Pangulo Regime.

How has this “Pangulo Ideology” manifested within the current elections? Bongbong Marcos’ marketing campaign arguably succeeded by deploying the next key ideas extra persistently aligned with a “Pangulo” ideology.

First is the notion of “Unity” or “Pagkakaisa”, the core slogan of his marketing campaign. This embodies each the aforementioned willingness to give up public coverage to a pacesetter as unifying entity, and intolerance in the direction of opposition to a selected chief. Unity additionally invokes the physique metaphor throughout the Pangulo Regime discourse, which considers all followers as a part of one physique underneath the pinnacle that’s Bongbong Marcos.

Second is “Pagsunod”, or compliance. A typical retort uttered by his supporters is “Sumunod na lang” or “Simply comply with” which demonstrates the primacy of conformity as a trademark of authoritarian tendencies within the Philippines. Although this may take the type of a broader worth (i.e. compliance to the regulation and the federal government), what renders compliance a part of a “Pangulo” ideology is its utility to the primacy of a selected chief. Particularly, it turns into compliance to the desire of the chief, and conformity to the teams supporting them.

Lastly is the notion of “kami laban sa kanila” or “us versus them” which embodies the tribalism that outcomes from polarisation between competing leaders and their camps. Opposition alongside coverage traces turns into secondary to the defence of leaders; a mark of ethical politics – a matter good versus evil, of salvation and vindication – over coverage oriented rivalry and consensus formation. Below this idea, any criticism or doubt expressed in the direction of the chief might be thought-about “unpatriotic” and un-Filipino.

This ethical antagonism is a product of intensified private identification of followers with leaders because the embodiment of their political beliefs and pursuits. These can vary from a necessity for good governance to the outright want for revenge. For Marcos supporters, Bongbong’s presidential marketing campaign has been a chance to avenge the Marcos legacy and the loyalists who really feel marginalized by the now defunct EDSA regime. Furthermore, Bongbong Marcos’ silent “underdog” and “sufferer” approaches to sustained assaults towards him and his notorious mother and father have amplified the keenness amongst his supporters to defend him. Consequently, their opponents have been pejoratively labelled as “Dilawan” or “yellows” by being related to the Liberal Get together and the EDSA Folks Energy narrative.

The interpretation of leader-centric values right into a “Pangulo” ideology entails the absorption of civic political life underneath the primacy of a pacesetter. This will take varied kinds exemplified by the campaigns of each Bongbong Marcos and his most important contender, Vice-President Leni Robredo. They’re arguably two-sides of the identical leader-centric coin. Each campaigns appealed to “Unity” albeit from completely different angles. The Marcos marketing campaign deployed a generic enchantment to “Unity” that allowed supporters to mission their very own beliefs on it, subsequently disappearing into an amorphous entire. The Robredo marketing campaign in flip deployed sectorial assist via the slogan “For Leni” (ex. Lecturers for Leni, Attorneys for Leni, Farmers for Leni, and so on.). Each campaigns have additionally been marked by rabid tribalism and requires compliance. Within the Robredo marketing campaign, this has taken the type of aggressively forwarding a liberal and anti-Marcos interpretation of Martial Legislation, which in flip have been met by an equally persistent defence of the Marcos legacy. Consequently, the debates on Martial Legislation and the Marcos legacy have led to deepening polarisation and aggression between these two camps.

A core distinction with Leni’s marketing campaign is her give attention to citizen empowerment via volunteerism. For instance, her volunteer-driven pandemic response  has been interpreted as “upstaging” Duterte’s authorities or management, consequently offending the best of hierarchical construction of a “Pangulo Ideology.” The “Robredo Folks’s Marketing campaign” might have attracted and activated lots of the educated and progressive sectors of society however not nearly all of voters nonetheless seeped within the tradition of leader-centrism. It’s also price noting that Bongbong Marcos is following Rodrigo Duterte’s well-liked administration which affirmed and strengthened the Filipino’s chief centrism. By allying with Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, he appealed and absorbed massive components of Duterte’s pro-authoritarian base.

These are solely preliminary observations and insights, however they’re crucial in understanding the resonance of disinformation, the persistence of autocratic and intolerant tendencies, and the next decline of democratisation within the Philippines. Even conventional political strategies of propaganda and patronage can solely be efficient underneath sure cultural and psycho-political situations. Total, the present pressure between democratisation and the Pangulo Ideology should be resolved via truthful and thorough re-examination and negotiation. Solely then will a extra vibrant Filipino democracy emerge.

* Knowledge analysed on this article had been collected by the Asian Barometer Undertaking (Waves 4 and 5), which was co-directed by Professors Fu Hu and Yun-han Chu and acquired main funding assist from Taiwan’s Ministry of Schooling, Academia Sinica and Nationwide Taiwan College. The Asian Barometer Undertaking Workplace (www.asianbarometer.org) is solely chargeable for the information distribution. The creator appreciates the help in offering knowledge by the institutes and people aforementioned. The views expressed herein are the creator’s personal and this paper isn’t a part of the mission itself.