NIEVEN L.

HIBAYA AB POLSCI – I
PHILIPPINE POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE: POSSIBILITIES,
PROBLEMS AND ITS DEMOCRATIC REALITIES

What is your assessment of the recently conducted May 09,2022 local and
national election? What was your experience? What were your
observations during the pre and post-election setting in the Philippines?

The Philippines’ 2022 National and Local Election has marked another milestone
in Philippine political history. May 9, 2022, was a very long and tiring day in the polling
precinct, and for about 5 long hours of waiting, it was a successful action in exercising
our rights to suffrage.
Before May 9, a lot of controversies were trending on the internet and in other
media coverages, especially in the presidential race. The presidential election is likel y to
bring to power the son of the country’s longtime dictator and may end the Philippine
democracy. The next president, who will serve one, six-year term, is the most debated
topic. Although there are many candidates, only two have a chance. Ferdinand Marcos
Jr., son of the former longtime Philippine dictator, has a massive lead in the polls. He
currently is polling at 56 percent, with the next highest candidate, former vice president
Leni Robredo, polling at 24 percent. There are several minor candidates polling in the low
digits. In the Philippines’ one-round system, a candidate does not even need to win a
majority to be elected president. This system further favors Marcos Jr.: even if his polling
numbers were to slide further, he would still be an overwhelming favorite to win in a
plurality.
Although the Philippines has deep-rooted problems, its economy has been hit hard
by COVID-19, graft, and growing levels of poverty, the presidential contest has not
focused much on these issues. Instead, it has centered on personalities and the future of
the country’s freedom. Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte has often acted in an
autocratic fashion during his six years in office. The election of Marcos Jr., who has some
anti-democratic tendencies, could sound the death knell for Philippine democracy.
With experience serving as a senator, regional governor, and member of the
House of Representatives, Marcos Jr. is a well-established figure in Philippine politics.
Polling at 56 percent, Marcos Jr. has won extensive public support for several reasons.
For one, he is positioning himself as a savior for a country battered economically by
COVID-19. He is also drawing on some degree of nostalgia for Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s
era from 1965 to 1986, which some Filipinos see as better than the country’s current dire
 NIEVEN L. HIBAYA AB POLSCI – I
PHILIPPINE POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE: POSSIBILITIES,
PROBLEMS AND ITS DEMOCRATIC REALITIES

situation. Marcos Jr.’s kleptocrat father placed the Philippines under martial law and
tortured thousands of opponents, but his family has spent decades whitewashing these
crimes by using sophisticated disinformation methods and emphasizing the supposed
stability of that time. (Many voters also are too young to remember that period.) Marcos
Jr. has never really apologized for his father’s repression and corruption; the elder
Marcoses are estimated to have stolen some $10 billion from the country, while also
overseeing a disastrous national economic performance.
Marcos Jr. is also charismatic, especially on social media. His campaign has been
criticized by journalists and an election watchdog for overseeing social media networks
that spread vast amounts of disinformation about Marcos Jr., his opponents, and his
family’s legacy. These efforts are enormously effective in shifting public opinion in one of
the most online populations in the world. They could be the biggest factor in Marcos Jr.’s
likely victory. Marcos Jr. also benefits from the legacy of Duterte, who fostered the spread
of disinformation and made it easier for another strongman to win.
What’s more, Marcos Jr. has allied with three other powerful political families: the
Arroyos, the Estradas, and the Dutertes. Duterte’s daughter is effectively running as vice
president with Marcos Jr. With a Marcos Jr. presidency and this alliance, these families
could dominate both the executive and legislative branches, making a mockery of
democracy.
On the other hand, Vice President Robredo has made protecting democracy and
fighting graft the centerpieces of her campaign. She is trying to turn the public against the
Marcoses and gain the support of other small parties. Her rallies have been packed and
her poll numbers have crept up slightly in recent months, but only to 24 percent, nowhere
near Marcos Jr. Other relatively minor candidates, such as boxing champion Manny
Pacquiao and Manila Mayor Francisco Moreno Domagoso, have stayed in the race,
which could draw votes from Robredo. In 2016, the unwillingness of Duterte’s major
opponents to form a unified front and back one candidate was one of the reasons he
triumphed.
And, Yes, up to this day, Bongbong Marcos takes the lead with about 31 Million,
making a landslide victory among his opponents. Their camp is just waiting for the official
proclamation with his running mate Mayor Sarah Duterte-Carpio in the Vice Presidential
 NIEVEN L. HIBAYA AB POLSCI – I
PHILIPPINE POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE: POSSIBILITIES,
PROBLEMS AND ITS DEMOCRATIC REALITIES

seat. May we have a progressive nation with a political agenda of “Unity”, uniting the
Philippines as one to recover from the global crisis and other problems of the country.
In the local setting specifically in the Province of Zamboanga del Norte, before the
election, the majority predicted that Governor Roberto Uy’s successor will be his wife,
Former Mayor Evelyn Tang-Uy. However, the final results made Outgoing Mayor
Rosalina “Nene” Jalosjos of Dapitan City top the gubernatorial race. Governor Berto
Semento Uy, who wants to take over Dapitan City from the rule of the Jalosjos Clan was
defeated by his opponent in the last 2019 election in the gubernatorial race, making
Former First District Representative Seth Frederick “Bullet” Jalosjos the winning
candidate for City Mayor of Dapitan, succeeding his Aunt Mayor Nene Jalosjos.
Moreover, the proclamation of winners in the local has trended the internet on the
issue about the seat for Member, House of Representative in the First District of
Zamboanga del Norte between Incumbent Congressman Romeo Jalosjos II and aspiring
Congressman Pinpin Uy. There was a pre-election issue regarding the nuisance
candidate named Kuya Jan Jalosjos whose identity was quite suspicious. Comelec en
banc has already made a decision declaring Kuya Jan Jalosjos as a nuisance candidate,
making the favors to the real Kuya Jan. Congressman Romeo Jalosjos II was known to
many as “Kuya Jan”, making other voters confused about who is the real Congressman
Romeo Jalosjos III in the ballot. This was the issue that made the proclamation of the
Zamboanga del Norte on May 11, 2022, at the Provincial Capitol an 8-long hour of waiting.
And the position of Member, House of Representative in the First District of Zamboanga
del Norte was the only position suspended to be proclaimed because of the issues on the
nuisance candidate. The camp of the Jalosjos has filed a petition to suspend the
proclamation because there is a pending case on that matter. The legal counsel of both
parties debated making the board room the center of attraction during that time.
For now, COMELEC has no update, and it remains a question of who will be
declared as winning candidate for the position of Member, House of Representative in
the First District of Zamboanga del Norte. Will it be Pinpin Uy who ranked first in the
automated system, or Cong. Romeo II who still have 5 thousand votes to be added from
the nuisance candidate #2 Kuya Jan Jalosjos?