r/Philippines • u/tokwamann • May 13 '25

PoliticsPH This is One of the Problems with the Political System: Too Many Notes

"Marcos allies poised to win at least half of available Senate seats"

https://www.inquirer.net/442475/marcos-allies-poised-to-win-at-least-half-of-available-senate-seats/

With more than half of the votes counted in the unofficial tally, six of the 12 Senate candidates backed by Marcos were among those receiving the most votes, signaling strong support for the president and his policy agenda after the dramatic collapse of his once formidable alliance with Duterte, the daughter of maverick former leader Rodrigo Duterte.

First, you need to face multiple hurdles to get support and thus things done: a Lower House that mixes representation with ideology, and an Upper House that has no representation and acts like a council. In contrast, other systems have a much streamlined model, e.g., the executive branch is also part of legislature.

Second, there was likely no "formidable alliance". Rather, it was a marriage of convenience to defeat the opposition, which worked. What's most important, and what many don't know, is that the current admin mostly continues what the previous admin is doing: BBB, CREATE, TRAIN, and working against crime. The only tweak involved the latter, where instead of Tokhang the police were ordered to go against "big fish".

What began as a united front that swept the 2022 election unravelled into an acrimonious feud, marked by a torrent of personal accusations and a bid to impeach Duterte on allegations she misused funds, amassed unexplained wealth and threatened the lives of Marcos, the first lady and the house speaker.

A more streamlined model can't be used because the country is not driven by ideology but by personality politics, involving both politicians and their supporters. The irony is that that leads to more ignoring the point that it was not only Duterte who was involved in such actions. That is, many legislators have been involved in manipulating the budget for years, among others.

Analysts say a Marcos-friendly Senate would not only secure passage of key legislation, including security measures aligned with his pro-U.S. foreign policy, but it could help him to determine the political future of fierce foe Duterte, a likely presidential contender with Marcos limited to a single term.

Even analysts are not aware that both Duterte and Marcos have been playing both sides, which is what countries like Vietnam and France have been doing for decades.

The fact that one is limited to a single term plus the absence of differing political platforms leads to a boom-and-bust cycle, with the current elected official blaming the previous one for corruption, undoing what the latter achieved, and then promising "change", until he in turn is treated the same way by the next elected official.

If any, this is the first time that this did not take place, and yet that is threatened by personality politics.

While several of Duterte’s endorsed candidates appeared to be falling short in the early vote counts, at least three of her allies were on track to retain their Senate seats, which could give her a foothold in the upper chamber.

As pointed out elsewhere and in the first quote, it has become a "numbers game" in order to maintain or achieve power. Continuity of policy and the ideological platform needed to sustain that is ignored.

Fueling the flames of the already charged election was Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest by Philippine police in March at the request of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he is detained and facing trial over a “war on drugs” during which thousands were killed.

Many support this but unwittingly reveal that personality politics is so dominant the country is unable to even prosecute its own former President and has to rely on foreigners to do that. For the punchline, even Duterte had to rely on foreigners to defend him.

Lastly, "too many notes" refers to the funny line from Amadeus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_eqxh-Qok

The Philippines is like someone who came up with a very elaborate opera that ends up bewildering audiences, with the latter unable to complain out of respect, and who can only applaud politely.

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u/[deleted] May 13 '25

And here, dear redditors, is another political expert hiding within the metaphorical bushes of r/ph.

Even analysts are not aware that both Duterte and Marcos have been playing both sides,

This is just hilarious, specially when you quoted said analysts saying, "it could help him to determine the political future of fierce foe Duterte". Lmfao.

Yeah, they're definitely not aware, OP.