Vanessa M.

Villanueva
4018R303-8
Final Paper- Political Economy of Economic Development
26 January 2020

Wolf in Sheepskin: Dictatorship in Present-day Democracy

I. Introduction

We, humans, sometimes take things for granted, and unless we lose it, we
sometimes fail to recognize its importance in our lives. Take for example the liberties
that we have right now. More and more people can get so indifferent about politics,
claiming that it does not concern them in the least bit, or taking a non-partisan side
just because they do not want to involve themselves in discussions with people of the
opposite point of view. Worse, there are people who antagonize others who try to
stand up for other people’s rights, claiming that they are nothing but a public nuisance
and that their constant berating of the government will go nowhere.
What is not being understood in these situations, however, is that the main goal
of protests is to shake us up and to make us think about the social problems that
surround us, to start having conversations about these topics. The rights that we have
now weren’t just given to us on a silver platter, it did not come on its own out of
nowhere; people had to fight for them. The fact that these demonstrations are allowed
in the first place, the limit on the number of hours that laborers are allowed to work,
social privileges, women’s rights, and several others. These are thanks to a system
that allows people to voice out their distress and to ask the government for a way to
resolve it. There are still countries where these rights are not as widespread, but for
those who are, it is important not to take it for granted.
These privileges are currently being enjoyed by people who know and live in a
democratic society. A government where the officials were chosen by the people, a
free press, and equal rights to everyone. Over time, more and more countries are
adopting a democratic system as more and more people become well-informed about
these kinds of rights and privileges. Fundamentally, a non-democratic system is to be
considered one that is dictatorial, or authoritarian.
However, in recent times, the democratic system seems to be compromised in a
Southeast Asian country called the Philippines. Due to electoral violence, human
rights violations, and violence and injustice against the media, among others, the core
pillars of democracy could be slowly crumbling, and yet, it may not be noticeable
because technically, the democratic system is still in effect. Is it possible for such a
phenomenon to happen? In this paper, we will explore the dictator-like actions
exhibited by the Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, and how in this day and age, it
may be possible for a dictatorship to exist in a country that is, by structure, a
democratic one.
II. Background of the Study

a. The Philippine Government

The Philippines has enjoyed a democratic system of government since its

independence from the US in 1946; however, it was short-lived when then-president
Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in September 1972, effectively making
himself a dictator. It was once again reestablished in 1986 when the Marcos
dictatorship was overthrown through a series of peaceful protests known as the
People Power Revolution (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.). Since then, the
Philippines has continued to enjoy a democratic system, and boasts a bustling media
environment, said to be one of the freest in the world (Reporters Without Borders,
2018).
The Philippine government is a republic, and is presidential type, with three
main branches, all of which have distinct and equal jurisdictions and responsibilities.
First is the executive branch, led by the President. Under this branch are the Cabinet,
and the Office of the Vice President. The President also has commanding power over
the Philippine Army and the Police as the country’s chief commanding officer.
Second is the legislative branch, which is split into two Houses: the upper house or
the Senate, consisting of 24 senators and led by the Senate President, and the lower
house or the House of Representatives, consisting of over 200 house representatives,
and led by the House Speaker. Last is the judiciary branch, made up of 9 justices
(appointed by the President and approved of by the Legislative), led by the Chief
Justice. The three branches are expected to perform checks and balances among each
other in order to make sure that each branch performs its duties and responsibilities as
a pillar of the government (Philippine Information Agency, n.d.).
Such is the composition of the country’s government. However, there is a so-
called “fourth branch,” one that is not exactly a part of the government composition,
but one that is just as important in making sure that the checks and balances between
and among branches are being properly executed. This so-called fourth branch is the
government’s watchdog: the media.
The media sees to its role to inform, educate, and entertain the general public.
It takes on this responsibility of making sure that all current affairs and newsworthy
information is being circulated among the citizens. Moreover, it makes sure to keep a
keen eye on the government to see and expose any possible wrongdoings that may
take place, which is detrimental to the citizens, who pay taxes and dues for the
government to manage.
In an ideal, sustainable world, these different government branches, plus the
media, is a well-balanced, foolproof way of having and keeping a democratic way of
governing a country. Recent events, however, have proven that despite these
measures that are in place, it is possible that there be situations to challenge this
democratic system in the country. In this study, we will explore how, in the
Philippines, the current president, Rodrigo Duterte, has taken a steel hold of the
country’s government, which can be argued as authoritarian-like, or dictator-like, and
why these kinds of actions are necessary for a dictator to take control of the
government.
b. Dictatorships

Dictatorships are defined to be regimes that are not democratic; those that are
of authoritarian rule, meaning, that the government is ruled by only one person or
group and are under virtually no constitutional limitations (Clark et al., 2017;
Encyclopedia Brittanica, n.d.-a; Schmitt, 2014). On the other hand, a democratic rule
abides by its core concepts: the right to vote, freedom of assembly and speech,
equality, human rights, and, in stark contrast to dictatorship, the rule of majority
(Bureau of International Information Programs, US Department of State, 2013). For
the purposes of this paper, the words dictatorship, authoritarian rule, and autocracy
will be used interchangeably.
While there are studies that show that there is a possibility for “good”
dictatorships, one that tend to be supported by economists; that is, the concept of
having a “benevolent” planner who pushes forth the economic progress of a country
by providing public goods (Congleton et al., 2019), the reality is that, in history, most
dictators have been involved in providing themselves and their cronies with assets
through widespread kleptocratic and corrupt activities, as well as human rights
violations. Among the most notable corrupt activities in history were done under a
dictatorial rule. Mohamed Suharto of Indonesia is estimated to have embezzled USD
15 to USD 35 billion in his 31 years in office, and Ferdinand Marcos of the
Philippines is estimated to have embezzled USD 5 to USD 10 billion after 21 years
(Sandbrook, 2016). According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception
Index, about 60% of the most corrupt countries are dictatorships, which includes
Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Belarus, Syria, Sudan, and Burma. Moreover, almost all of
the top 30 most corrupt countries are also dictatorships (Pei, 2009).
As aforementioned, there is also a possibility for an authoritarian rule to be
successful in improving a country’s economic situation (Congleton et al., 2019).
These types of governance can be referred to as “timocracy,” wherein the dictator is
so well-liked by the people because of an effective and beneficial governance. Some
famous examples are Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, Augusto Pinochet of Chile, and
Paul Kagame of Rwanda (Congleton et al., 2019; Merelli, 2019). However, even in
these “successful” examples, repression of civil liberties are rampant, that even
labelling their terms a “timocracy” sounds questionable (ibid).
While there are cases wherein these authoritarian rule showed a positive effect
on a country’s growth, especially for its economy, there is an overwhelming majority
of cases wherein despite economic progress, the quality of life of the citizens are
compromised, and as such, it is questionable whether or not a country truly is
progressive. These kinds of policies fail due to a failure of trickle-down economics.
An example of this would be the case of Tunisia, where the country’s economic
records are conversely proportional to the quality of life being experienced by the
citizens. It showed a consistent 5-6% annual growth rate, has an 80% home
ownership, and only 2.5% poverty rate, which puts it ahead of its neighboring
countries, and yet, the standard of living of ordinary citizens, caused by a lack of
jobs, are not met. Because of this, people have started to revolt (Avenue et al., 2011).
 Moreover, there have been researches far and wide about the negative effects
of long-term authoritarian rule. Despite there being a number of studies that suggest
that dictatorships could also be successful for a country, historically, there have been
more cases of corrupt activities which resulted to a faulty economy than otherwise. A
study by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the Victoria University
showed that a study of 133 countries in over 150 years (1858-2010), performances of
countries that were governed under an authoritarian rule experienced a negative
consequence to their overall economy (Rizio & Skali, 2019). The existence of the
aforementioned “benevolent dictators” are far and between, and are found nothing
more than by chance (ibid). Another study showed that the longer a political leader
stays in power (and thus exhibiting what is called the dictator effect), the less sound
their economic policies become. This observation is found to be particularly true for
states in Africa and the Near East region (Papaioannou & van Zanden, 2014).
This is not to say that corruption does not exist in a democracy; of course it
does. However, the hoarding of goods and resources are more blatantly done in
dictatorships. The reason for this being that the dictator uses it as a way to legitimize
their position of power. In a democracy, the people in a political position are elected,
meaning to say, that the legitimacy of them holding a government position rests on
the support of the taxpaying population that voted for them. In the case of an
authoritarian rule, while they may have started holding a position from an election,
after a long period in power, they need to legitimize maintaining their position
through the support of their cronies, that is, their small group of political and social
elite circles, the military, the bureaucracy, and when applicable, their secret or
private militia (Pei, 2009).
In a book called, “How Democracies Die,” Levitsky and Ziblatt (2018)
identified the different characteristics and/or behavior that a political leader engages
themselves into, which, ultimately, results to the demise of democracy. Specifically,
they used case studies in Latin America and Europe and they juxtapose it to Trump’s
rise to power. In this book, the authors posit that democracies perish not just through
the more “traditional” means such as coercion and threat using the military, but also
through a more subtle way.

“…democracies may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders —
presidents or prime ministers who subvert the very process that brought them to
power.” (Levitsky, 2018)

First among the characteristics described was the utter rejection for democratic
rules and norms, and this is pretty much self-explanatory, as a leader tries to advocate
for a new form of governance. The willingness to violate existing laws and,
ultimately, the Constitution, is a major red flag. Next would be the denial of their
political opponent’s legitimacy, constantly branding them as “subversive” or
labelling them as a threat to political order, or a “foreign” agent, or even going as far
as prosecuting them for anything remotely possible. Third characteristic is how they
condone, or worse, encourage violence, and this is especially effective once they
segregate the people by basis of their race, religion, or geography, among others.
Finally, political leaders who exhibit potential of becoming authoritarians are more
than eager to curtail civil liberties of their opponents, and notably, the media. These
are the entities that criticize them, and in order for them to feel validated in their
position of power, they need to make sure that the path is clear, and in order to do so,
they threaten and take action, be it by legal means or punitive, in order to silence
these critics (ibid).

c. Dictatorship and Democracy in the Philippines, and the election of Duterte

The Philippines has, once upon a time, experienced a dictatorship under one of
the most notoriously corrupt politicians of recent history (Sandbrook, 2016),
Ferdinand Marcos. He declared Martial Law on the evening of September 21, 1972,
under the premise that it is the last course of action that he can take as the president of
the Philippines at the time against several entities that are causing unrest in the
country, including, but not limited to, the Muslim separatist movement (MNLF),
“violent” student demonstrations, and a threat of insurgency from the then-rising
Communist Party of the Philippines (Encyclopedia Brittanica, n.d.-b) . Moreover, one
of the main reasons stated by Marcos to justify the declaration of a Martial Law was
the attempted ambush of then Secretary of Defense, Juan Ponce Enrile (this would
later on be revealed to be staged or fake by Enrile himself) (Official Gazette of the
Republic of the Philippines, 2019).
The Martial Law era was often talked about in such contrasting ways: on the
one hand are stories of progress, of infrastructure being built left and right, grand
halls, museums, and an appreciation for high art; a strong economy, social services
such as breakfast for public school children, international recognition and validation
due to a huge number of international guests and lavish banquets, the grand and the
over-the-top or “imeldific” lifestyle of the Marcoses, especially Imelda Marcos, with
her thousands of shoe collections (Presidential Commission on Good Government,
2016; Sandbrook, 2016). On the other hand, are stories of terror and human rights
violations, of strict curfews, people who went missing and were nowhere to be found,
torture and gag orders, people talking in codes, and media companies getting shut
down (ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group, 2018; Francisco, 2016a).
These stark contrast in the kinds of stories that were being told during this time
is a testament to how experiences differ depending on a person’s socioeconomic
status and how during that time, Marcos handled the situation in order to get a
stronghold on the government. Marcos’ approach on dictatorship is more “traditional”
in a sense that he incited fear among the people and puts forth an iron fist that cannot
be challenged, lest that someone want them or their family to be part of the long,
increasing list of missing people.
On June 2016, the Philippines elected a new president, Rodrigo Roa Duterte
(CNN Philippines, 2016), who filed his candidacy in a dramatic, last-minute feat
(Cayon, 2015) that shook and destabilized the already unpredictable state of affairs of
Philippine politics at the time. Duterte won with an overwhelming 16.6 million votes,
which was 39% of the total voters, with quite a gap against the runner-up, Liberal
Party’s Mar Roxas. The 2016 elections also saw the highest electoral turnout in recent
history, at 81.62% (Curato, 2016). Up until the latest approval ratings in the
Philippines, Duterte enjoys a personal record-high score of +72 net satisfaction
ratings in the first quarter of 2019 (Masigan, 2019; Rappler, 2019; Weedon, 2019).
 As aforementioned, however, there have been actions conducted by Duterte
that could be interpreted as authoritarian. Ever since he sat in office, Duterte has
committed to creating “change” in the country. Among the most controversial is his
“War on Drugs,” which is part of his campaign promise to “neutralize” or clear the
Philippines of illegal drugs within the first six months of assuming office (Corrales,
2017; Revalez, 2016; Tejada, 2016), but one which, infamously, became a human
rights issue. According to the Philippine National Police, the total death toll,
including homicide cases that are “under investigation” amount to 22,983 deaths (as
last reported as of June 2018; the Philippine National Police has stopped releasing
these figures thereafter), and 5,050 deaths from the police anti-drug operations alone
(Amnesty International, 2017; Editorial, 2018; Human Rights Watch, 2018;
Philippine National Police, 2018; Regencia, 2018; Suerte Felipe, 2018). However,
this is not the only action that Duterte has taken in the past 4 years of his presidency
that can make one think that he is on the path to becoming an authoritarian. In the
next section, we will compare and contrast the different characteristics of a would-be
authoritarian, as described by Levitsky and Ziblatt to some behaviors that Duterte has
exhibited in the past four years. Moreover, we will also explore how at present,
Duterte has already taken hold of all the three main branches of the Philippine
government, and how he is continuing to threaten the “fourth” branch, the media, in
his would-be quest, should he eventually be, an authoritarian leader.

III. Present-day “dictatorship” under the Duterte administration?

As aforementioned, dictator Marcos took on a more “traditional” approach to

becoming an authoritarian—he declared Martial Law and used terror by means of the
military as a weapon against his opponents and ordinary citizens, he has a group of
cronies who supports him and who he constantly allocates generously with resources,
co-opted private businesses especially the media in order to silence his critics and
censor materials, and took hold of the country’s natural resources, effectively making
it one of the countries with the highest debts at the time (ABS-CBN Investigative and
Research Group, 2018; Francisco, 2016a; Presidential Commission on Good
Government, 2016; Sandbrook, 2016).
However, current president Rodrigo Duterte takes on a different approach; nay,
it can be argued that he learned from the mistakes of the previous dictator, for whom
he has expressed much admiration and respect to, and whose son he showed support
for during the election campaign (Forrest, 2018; Gonzales, 2016; Maru, 2019;
Reuters, 2018; M. P. Reyes, 2019). Duterte’s approach is more fitting for the present
generation and situation, and it is proving to be effective because there are not a lot of
citizens who see wrong in his governance, as he continues to enjoy high approval
ratings.
Duterte first and foremost showcases his desire to change the current
constitution of the Philippines, which was established shortly after the Marcos
dictatorship was overthrown. During his campaign period, he proposed a federalist
way of governing the country, with the promise that even the lesser-known provinces
could experience progress, and not all the focus would be on the capitol, Metro
Manila. However, he has since then stopped talking about federalism and has shown
interest in a charter change (Banyan, 2019; De Guzman, 2019; Heydarian, 2019;
Ranada, 2019). Moreover, he has openly declared that he will imprison anyone who
attempts to impeach him, even creating a diagram of a supposed “plot” to oust him,
and threatening that he will build a revolutionary government if this destabilization
escalates (CNN Philippines, 2017; Esmaquel, 2017, 2017; Morella, 2017). These
kinds of empty threats and declarations against his critics and the opposition is a way
of showing off his power and control over the government, that despite attempts to
destabilize him, these will be futile attempts. Doing this makes him seem like he is
above the law, that there is virtually no limitations to what he can do, thus, making
his opponents feel helpless. Rejecting democratic rules, or attempting to change them,
is the first sign that a political leader is geared towards authoritative rule.
The next characteristic is the denial of his opponent’s legitimacy. Duterte has
been known for being very open about his opinions of his political opponents, and he
is not afraid to show his disdain for them. He has, time and time again, quipped sexist
comments towards the vice president, Leni Robredo (Cabato, 2019, 2019; Tan, 2016),
and senator Leila De Lima (Pasion, 2016; Roxas, 2019), who was openly criticizing
him and his war on drugs. De Lima would then be detained under charges of being
involved in the illegal drug trade, and was also subjected to slut-shaming from the
president himself due to an alleged sex tape (Santos, 2020; Sherwell, 2016). Senator
Antonio Trillanes, also a known critic of the president and his war on drugs, is also
consistently under fire from the president for providing information that the president
himself and his son are the ones directly involved in the drug trade (Cook, 2018;
Hincks, 2017). He has since then been charged with sedition and with allegations that
the amnesty that he received is deemed unconstitutional (Patag, 2019; Rey, 2018b).
On the judicial side, the president has been very active in voicing out his discontent
with former Chief Justice Sereno, who is an appointee of the previous administration,
and is an active critic of Duterte. Sereno was unconstitutionally removed from her
position. As a Chief Justice, she could not be removed from her post via a quo
warranto petition, and could only be removed via an impeachment trial, however, the
procedure pushed through with the support of the president himself (ABS-CBN
News, 2018; Al Jazeera, 2018; Rey, 2018a; Villamor, 2018). In these cases, we can
see that the president is attacking anyone wo is criticizing him, and is finding ways in
order for them to face legal actions. These are the actions that he has used against the
Legislative branch of the government. Disabling the movement of his enemies by
means of questioning their legitimacy is another sign of authoritative rule. This he
does in order to contain and minimize the number of big names, especially those with
seats in the government, who go against him.
Next among the characteristics described by Levitsky and Ziblatt is the
condonement or encouragement of violence. As was mentioned, Duterte is
notoriously famous for his war on drugs, and he has, time and time again, encouraged
the police, and even the general public, to help in these “clearance operations” by
taking matters into their own hands (Francisco, 2016b; Geçer & Mahinay, 2018;
Johnson & Fernquest, 2018; Kabiling, 2016; D. A. Reyes, 2017). As described by
Levitsky and Ziblatt, these authoritative figures try to divide the population and
segregate the according to race, religion, etc. Duterte introduced a new category in
 terms of segregating people between those who are “innocent,” and thus supports his
anti-drug operations, and those who could be “guilty,” thus, those who are openly
criticizing him. A common phrase his supporters would be saying is, “why would you
be afraid of getting killed, if you did not do anything wrong?” By effectively turning
the citizens against each other, he did not just effectively incite terror among people,
but he also made it more difficult for a mass movement to start against him.
Last is the curtailing of civil liberties, especially media. Among the core pillars
of democracy is a free media, which serves as the watchdog of the government,
making sure that checks and balances are in place. In the case of an authoritarian rule,
having media around is troublesome, which is why there will always be attempts so
silence it. In the traditional authoritarian rule, coercion is the process that dictators
use; however, in the modern world, this kind of attempt will just result in sympathy
for the media, and will illicit ill feelings against the government. Duterte managed to
find a way around this by hiring his own army of online trolls, consistently branding
the media as purveyor of fake news, and providing his supporters with the kind of
news that he wants them to have (Etter, 2017; Hunt, 2018; Rauhala, 2018). Once
these are in place, that is when he has actively moved to silence the media, by means
of arresting one of his greatest media critics, the CEO of the online news site Rappler,
Maria Ressa (Dancel, 2019a, 2019b; Stevenson, 2019; Venzon, 2019), and by
actively having a hand in the disenfranchisement of the biggest television network in
the Philippines, ABS-CBN (CNN Philippines, 2019; Rey, 2019). The television
network is currently working on renewing their license, and several other media
companies have joined forces, led by the National Union of Journalist in the
Philippines, to create a petition in order for it to be franchised again (San Juan, 2020).
Attacking the media is the final course of action that a would-be authoritarian can
take in order to take full control. Without a critic, and with control over what kinds of
information people can receive, it is easier to manage mass movements and prevent
demonstrations against him.
Among the abovementioned, we saw how Duterte managed to fulfill the
criteria as mentioned in Levitsky and Ziblatt in their book, and how he has managed
to also take control of the different branches of the government. In addition to his
influence in the Executive Branch, his known supporters are the Senate President and
House Speaker. And because he has effectively ousted previous Chief Justice Sereno,
most of the justices are now his appointees. Here, we see how it is possible, that even
in a democratic governance, a stronghold of the government is possible.

IV. Conclusion
Similar to the findings of Levitsky and Ziblatt in their book, we therefore
conclude that it is possible for a democratic country to be under threat of
authoritarian rule despite measures and procedures that are currently in place. In the
case of the Philippines, the current Philippine president was elected based on a fair
elections, which also saw one of the highest voter turnout in history, a democratic
process, and yet, we see how there can be an existential threat to democracy under
this particular regime that it brought to power.
 Other than the characteristics described in the book, however, we also saw how
democracy can be under threat once the would-be dictator takes a hold of all the main
branches of the government, and makes the main authorities his cronies. We also
examined how, in this age of new media, it is no longer extremely necessary to take a
coercive move against the media, once it has been branded as a provider of fake
news. Silencing media by force only breeds a feeling of sympathy towards it; creating
an army of trolls and making the people turn against it is a more effective way of
silencing it—it actually makes media irrelevant, no matter how much noise they
make.
While it can still be highly debatable whether or not Duterte is in fact, as of the
writing of this paper, an authoritarian, through the analysis presented in this paper, it
is clear, however, that there are clear signs of democracy being threatened under his
regime. While the pillars are not yet crumbling, the cracks are already in place, so to
say. It is highly ideal, however, that before it breaks down completely, people would
be proactive and put measures in place, in order for history to not repeat itself.
Citizens, not just of the Philippines, but of the world in general, need to
practice constant vigilance towards their governments and the information that they
consume. In this day and age wherein we can customize and surround ourselves with
the kinds of media content that we have prejudicially chosen for ourselves, we need
to be more open to the kinds of information that the other side has to offer, no matter
how blatantly we disagree with it, in order to have a full picture of the current
situations that we face, and in order for us to see our leaders for who they are. Open-
minded discussions need to take place between and among people of diverse
opinions, in order for knowledge to emanate. We cannot afford to be non-political;
everything that humans do are political in nature, and everything that the government
does affects us in our daily lives.
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