Philippines midterm elections boost Rodrigo Duterte’s power
Candidates supported by President Duterte looked set to win most of the seats in a key midterm senatorial election in the Philippines, unofficial results showed Tuesday. With 94 percent of ballots counted, Duterte allies were on track to take nine of 12 open seats in the country’s upper house.
Official, complete results from the nation’s election commission are expected in the coming days, with the winning candidates expected to assume office by the end of June. “A win by pro-administration candidates would mean successful consolidation of power under the president,” Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform, told DW.
Read more: Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drug war — A Filipino mother’s rage
“Usually, the last part of a president’s six-year term is when you see popularity going down and an administration having a hard time implementing campaign promises and passing laws. But that is not the case with this president,” he added.
Unprecedented popularity
The preliminary results of the elections reflect Duterte’s most recent public approval rating, which stood at a staggering 79%. Such a high approval rating almost three years into a presidency is unprecedented in Philippine politics.
After taking power in 2016, Duterte launched a series of polarizing initiatives like a brutal crackdown on illegal drugs, which is estimated to have claimed thousands of lives, and pro-China policies despite Manila’s territorial disputes with Beijing over the South China Sea.
The deadly drug war drew condemnation internationally but mostly approval in the Philippines. “I don’t like that a lot of people have been killed in the drug war, but I like that the streets are now safer at night. Even criminals are scared of Duterte,” said Tonying Lopez, an office employee.
Others like Annie Cortez, a 58-year-old housewife and devout Catholic, have learned to dismiss the president’s vulgarity and cursing of God. “Those are just words. What’s important is his actions like passing a free education and healthcare law,” she said.
Read more: Has Duterte ‘surrendered’ to Beijing on the South China Sea?
Many Filipinos view Duterte’s strongman image and invectives aimed at the likes of the European Union and the United Nations as elements of his uncompromising political will.
Duterte’s deadly war on drugs is estimated to have claimed thousands of lives over the past three years
Political analyst Richard Heydarian says that Duterte’s popularity is less about him and more about a longing for an authoritarian leader. In his book, “The Rise of Duterte,” Heydarian writes that just before Duterte’s rise to power, close to 60 percent of Filipinos preferred “a strong leader who does not have to bother about parliament and elections.”
Similar numbers were observed in places like Turkey and India — countries that have also elected their own kind of a strongman ruler.
Opposition in shambles
The midterm elections had about 43,000 candidates making a bid for some 18,000 government posts, among them more than 200 mayors and governors and 245 seats in a lower house in which Duterte is all but certain to retain his huge majority. The most crucial positions at stake are the 12 available slots in the 24-seat Senate.
Read more: Rappler’s Maria Ressa: Duterte government ‘weaponizing’ information and law
Many experts see the Senate as the last hold out that stands in the way of Duterte’s total dominance of the political landscape.
The lower house is already filled with Duterte allies and without a strong opposition in the upper house to temper the administration’s divisive policies, many fear that Duterte will have the legislative clout to push through his economic and political agenda, including a constitutional change to a federal form of government that may allow Duterte to stay in power indefinitely.
“This will mean the elimination of the opposition. This will be a rubberstamp government that will serve the purposes of the Duterte administration and China. The lone voices of the opposition may be effectively silenced through the outright removal of the office of the vice president through constitutional change,” Jose Antonio Custodio of the Manila-based think tank Institute for Policy, Strategy and Development Studies told DW.
“The issue now is if Duterte can translate these election results into sufficient votes to pass draconian laws like the reinstitution of the death penalty or push for constitutional change,” political analyst Heydarian told DW.
However, not everyone seems concerned about the impact of the election results on the Senate. “Historically, the Senate has always been independent, regardless of the party list. It’s the presidential elections that will really matter,” said political analyst Alex Magno.
Online searches for ‘migrate’ trending
Meanwhile, Filipinos took to the internet to express their dismay with the initial election results. Local news outlets reported that online searches for “migrate” and “migrating,” particularly to Canada, Australia and New Zealand, surged. Similar sentiments were also trending on Twitter with some users posting about their plans to “migrate as soon as possible” given the initial election results.
Sonny Thakur, a 32-year-old photographer, is one of those frustrated by the poll outcome, but told DW that migration is not an option for him. “Simply put: The Philippines is my home. I don’t have a better reason to migrate.”
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Philippines’ war on drugs — Remembering the dead
Daunting challenge
Mimi Garcia holds the pictures of her son Richard and daughter-in-law Robilyn who were killed by masked vigilantes on motorbikes at their shanty home in Camarin, Caloocan city, on October 7, 2016. She faces the daunting responsibility of taking care of her two grandchildren while being jobless at the same time.
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Philippines’ war on drugs — Remembering the dead
Brutal incidents
Andres Fernandez and his son Wesley rest at an altar inside the family home in Bagong Silang, Caloocan. On October 4, 2016, two armed men in masks went inside the Fernandez home and pointed a gun at Wesley. They made him kneel as Andres tried to help. They responded by shooting at Andres first before killing Wesley.
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Philippines’ war on drugs — Remembering the dead
Suspicious killings
One of the children of alleged pusher Kenneth Trasmano lights a candle during the wake of his father in Manila. Kenneth was killed in a police undercover operation after allegedly fighting back on February 2, 2018. His family and neighbors claim the police forced them to leave their homes and get out of sight, and thereafter heard the gunshots.
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Philippines’ war on drugs — Remembering the dead
Left alone
A child holds the pictures of her deceased father Joseph and grandfather Marcelo. Marcelo was killed in a police operation inside their home on July 22, 2016. Her father was rounded up and taken by the police. His lifeless body was later found “salvaged” along a roadside.
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Philippines’ war on drugs — Remembering the dead
Last message
The picture shows letters written by children who have lost either one of their parents in the drug war, as part of their counselling session at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Camarin, Caloocan city.
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Philippines’ war on drugs — Remembering the dead
Funeral march
Family and friends walk the funeral procession of Rogelio Gilbuena and his common law wife Jenny Royo, who were both found dead (several hours apart) in different locations in Navotas city, Manila. Prior to their death, the couple were taken from their house in Navotas by 10 men who introduced themselves as police.
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Philippines’ war on drugs — Remembering the dead
Remembering the dead
Families of victims of drug-related extrajudicial killings offer flowers to their departed loved ones during the Holy Eucharistic Mass Action in Bagong Silang, Caloocan.
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Philippines’ war on drugs — Remembering the dead
Calling for justice
Her husband Luis and her son, Gabriel, were killed in September 2016. During their burial, she was stoic. The days after she had laid them to rest were different. “I began looking for them and could not stop crying.” MA nowadays attends protest rallies calling for a stop to drug-related killings and justice for those who have died. She hides her face as she doesn’t want to be identified.
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/philippines-midterm-elections-boost-rodrigo-duterte-s-power/a-48730391?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf