Episode 26: Yellow Alert! How do you address populism?

Can the yellow forces open a third act? They’ve dealt with populism from the left through reforms that have produced economic growth and expanded the state’s capacity to spend for social programs. Can they deal with populism on the right by doing the same for infrastructure, public safety and security?

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Episode 25: Yellow Alert! Is the opposition drawing the wrong lessons from recent elections?

Is the opposition drawing the wrong lessons from recent elections?

Are they committing the same mistakes now, which could potentially make them obsolete in the future?

What lessons have the opposition taken away from the elections of 2016 & ‘19? Are they the right ones? What lessons could they have drawn, but are refusing to because it would mean admitting some painful truths to themselves? What are the implications for the future?

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Episode 24: Yellow Alert! Why democratic forces have fallen out of favour in the Philippines (and how they can win it back)

The answer I’d like to offer is varied and multi-dimensional. Let me start off by saying that the election of populist strongmen is a trend that is not unique to the Philippines alone, but part of a global trend, from Vladimir Putin in Russia, Narendra Modi in India, Erdogan in Turkey, Bolsonario in Brazil, and Trump in America.

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Episode 23: Bayanihan federalism by stealth or initiative

One of the crucial factors in determining whether charter change will succeed or not is the public’s perception regarding the motives behind it. Are its proponents really sincere in bringing about much needed change for ordinary Filipinos, or are they simply looking out for their own interests?

On this edition of The Cusp we’re going to examine the case for federalism in the country. Is it justified? Or is it just a cover for unwinding the democratic system of checks and balances that were painstakingly restored over three decades ago.

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Episode 22: Is Federalism fizzling out...or just getting started?

Following the resounding victory of his coalition at the midterm polls, the enigmatic Pres. Rodrigo Duterte seemed to back away from his campaign pledge to push for federalism. But are his statements to be taken at face value, or are they simply a way for him to spark a debate on the issue and incite those in favour of charter change to come out in support of it? In this edition of The Cusp, we’re going to look at the push for federalism, and answer the question, Is Federalism fizzling out, or is it just getting started?

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Episode 21: Making your list, checking it twice (after "Bikoy")

As we head into the final week of the campaign, voters are starting to form their views, about who to support and vote for on May 13. They’re making their list, and checking it twice.

Questions have been asked during this campaign. Asked of the opposition, and by the opposition. About the overall framing of this election and of the policies that matter to voters.

With regards to framing, how would the opposition position itself against the administration? Would they pose as obstructionist fiscalisers to Duterte in the senate, or as constructive alternatives to the ruling coalition?

Episode 20: EDSA Tragics and Voter Realists

There seems to be a message for the opposition contained in most recent polling. The slippage of support for Otso Diretso seems to reflect voter doubts over the false choice being presented to them.

As we reach the homestretch of the campaign, the final pitch for why we should vote for their slate seems to be that what we need is an independent senate that will block Duterte from having a supermajority that would amend the constitution.

Voters clearly don’t see it that way. They want to see the opposition present a credible alternative plan before voting for them. But what the opposition has presented so far, doesn’t really seem to appeal to them.

Episode 19: We need bridge-builders in the senate

As the homestretch of the campaign approaches, both the Catholic clergy and laypeople have joined the opposition in seeking to block Pres. Duterte's moves to amend the constitution in the next congress during the second half of his term.

It has given rise to the question, what do the times call for? Can there be no middle ground between the ka-DDS and anti-Duterte dilawan groups? What does history tell us about dealing with such a situation?

Back in 1983, the late Sen. Benigno Aquino, Jr. came home from his furlough in the United States to offer Pres. Marcos, his jailer for 7-1/2 years, an olive branch of reconciliation to work towards a modus vivendi or grand bargain. Does his example of seeking to work constructively with his staunch adversary offer lessons as to how the Opposition today can successfully disarm the Duterte administration's creeping authoritarianism?

Episode 18: The Senate race is like an episode of Celebrity Apprentice

The Senate race has gone to new depths. From a Spratlys Island jet skiing by Otso Diretso to penis size comparisons between the president and Jim Paredes, and shirt stripping by SAP Bong Go to prove he has no tattoos in his back, and not a member of a drug gang. We’re no longer talking about the issues. It has gotten ugly really quickly.

We’ve forgotten what this election is meant to be about. As in every election we are meant to be discussing the key question: what should the role of government be in our lives?

In our last episode, we looked at the senate race of 2019, and saw how much of it was driven by personality and not principles. We said that a general trend in all senate races since 1987 was the popularity contest that it has become. This is evidenced by the growing number of celebrities or celebrity-related candidates that are present in the senate. So how do we make our senate more representative, instead of mimicking an episode of Celebrity Apprentice?

 

Show notes available here.

Episode 17: Otso Diretso, MaBaGoKoTo, Hugpong, atbp.

The countdown to election day begins.

We are now about 30 days away from the 2019 midterms. In this episode we’ll be looking at the senate race, and how that has been unfolding. We compare the competing candidates' platforms, namely Otso Diretso's campaign platform and PDP-Laban's.

When you put the two parties’ positions side-by-side there is a clear contrast between them, both in terms of their overarching philosophies and approach to governance and development. Those who say that this election isn’t about ideas are wrong. There are clear battle lines here, and they are not just personality-driven.

Get the transcripts of the show from here.

Erratum: in counting the number of senators that became VP, I mistakenly included Mar Roxas in the list.

Episode 16: Mahathir's Malaysia and the Virtues of a Parliamentary System

Malaysian PM Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad's visit to Manila in March 2019 has inevitably led some people to draw comparisons between the two nations. Malaysia follows a federal parliamentary system while the Philippines is unitary and presidential. They have reached a level of economic progress that the Philippines can only aspire to. How did they do it?

In this podcast we look at key differences between the two systems, and try to answer the question, would a shift to a parliamentary system benefit the Philippines. We avoid the chicken-and-egg question of what should come first: culture change or structural change? We do this by differentiating the incentives under either system and show how that shapes behavior and eventually the culture.


Read the transcripts of the show here.

Episode 15: The question of Philippine federalism (Part 3)

Now that congress has formally started hearings on charter revisions to shift to a federal structure of government, some legislators are asking: Well, what’s the benefit to the public? Is federalism worth the trouble? The same goes for the proposed adoption of a semi-parliamentary form of government. And is it appropriate for the Philippines, a country of over 100 million people, dispersed over 7,000 islands? In this third and final installment to this series, we seek to supply the answer to these questions, as well as offer a critique of the proposed revisions of the ruling PDP-Laban.

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Read the transcripts here.

Episode 14: Twelve constitutional fixes needed for the Philippines

There are things within our present charter that need fixing. Twelve to be exact. These revisions won’t require any term extensions or postponement of elections. This episode will be devoted to discussing each of them. Hopefully the need to fix them will be self-evident, and may result in some kind of consensus, across party-lines [image credit: filipiknow.net].

Listen to the podcast here.

Transcripts to the show available here.

Episode 13: How does change come about?

The more things change, the more they stay the same, it seems. Corruption reigns, political families reign, now drugs and criminality, secession and rebellion persist. Much of our society is still mired in poverty. How do we achieve real, lasting change? We look at the context, prospects and pace of change in the Philippines in this episode. Erratum: Tocqueville's Democracy in America was published in 1835, not in the late 1700s as mentioned in the piece.
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Read the transcript here.

Episode 12: The question of Philippine federalism, Part 2

Some critics of the push for federalism have questioned why? Why empower local elites, who might run their regional governments like personal fiefdoms? Greater fiscal autonomy will just bloat the bureaucracy and provide greater opportunities for corruption.

Since political dynasties resurfaced after EDSA ‘86 and still dominate the current political landscape, how do we convince these powerful elites to legislate something that might harm their own interests, to begin with? What’s in it for them, in other words?

In this episode we look at the proposals for political and electoral reforms, proposed by the Federal Institute Study Group, which would allow the Philippines to gain the full benefit of localization through federalism.

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Get the show notes to this podcast here.

Episode 11: Duterte on a similar path as Daang Matuwid?

Both Daang Matuwid and the Duterte’s Tapang at Malasakit sought to reshape society through moral rectitude: the former by fighting corruption, the latter by fighting drugs and criminals. The problem was that both the LP and DDS (Duterte Defense Squad) took extra-legal and extra-judicial shortcuts to achieve their objectives, thinking that their democratic mandate justified this.

But democratic accountability and rule of law can sit side by side with robust and effective law enforcement. Achieving this requires both administration and opposition to work together towards a national consensus around workable solutions. Purposeful evolution rather than revolution is needed.

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Episode 10: The question of Philippine federalism, Part 1

Consider the following question: Would you rather have our government run by competent national officials, or by less competent local officials with better ties to local communities?

Or to paraphrase Pres. Manuel L. Quezon, who said he’d rather have a government “run like hell by Filipinos to a government run like heaven by Americans”, would you prefer your town to be “run like hell” by local officials than to be “run like heaven” remotely by distant officials from Imperial Manila? This is the question of the hour, as we consider federalism.

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Get the show notes to this podcast here.

Episode 9: Duterte's foreign policy, Part 1

(image courtesy of update.ph)

This episode is the first in a series where we will look at President Duterte’s foreign policy. Many analysts say that it is in total disarray. They cite the strained relations with the EU and US for his war on drugs, our inability to press home the advantage after winning our arbitration case against China in the Hague back in July 2016. But are they right? Does the president’s foreign policy lack cohesion and clarity? [Errata: it is mentioned at the start of the clip that China will be represented by Pres. Xi at the summit, when it is Premier Li Keqiang who is attending on his behalf. Sr Assoc Justice Carpio was referred to as a "former" justice when he in fact is a current one.]

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Get the show notes to this podcast here.

Episode 8: Can Duterte avoid the pitfalls of Marcos? Part 4

Is the Philippines about to fall into a debt trap under Duterte the way it did under Marcos? This is the fourth in a series called Can Duterte avoid the pitfalls of Marcos? In this installment we look at Marcos' strategy of promoting growth through debt, while extracting maximum personal benefit for himself from it. Vice president Leni Robredo has cautioned Pres. Duterte against falling into this same trap as he contracts loans from China in a bid to lift infrastructure spending. We examine whether her fears have any basis, and discuss ways Duterte can prevent them from happening.

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Get the show notes to this podcast here.

Episode 7: Can Duterte avoid the pitfalls of Marcos? Part 3

If Pres. Duterte wants to succeed where Pres. Marcos failed, he will need to avoid certain pitfalls. This series examines what they were and seeks to determine how Duterte can avoid them. This is the third of four parts. In this installment we look at Marcos' misguided use of violence for political ends or "might is right" pitfall. We see whether Duterte has fallen into this same trap in his war on drugs by comparing the death toll of Oplan Tokhang to other anti-narcotic campaigns in Latin America that received tacit and financial support from the United States.

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The Blogwatch post mentioned in this episode can be found here.

The opinion piece by Walden Bello referred to in this episode can be found here.