Democracy in the Philippines

RAPPLER HEADLINES GIVE ADDITIONAL CONTEXT TO THE NATION’S RECENT HISTORY AND TONIGHT’S PROGRAM

June 30, 2016

Duterte takes oath as 16th President of the Philippines

ON JUNE 30, 2016, Rodrigo Duterte, a prosecutor and longtime mayor of Davao City, assumed the presidential office. While campaigning, Duterte “said what he thought” and “was prone to offensive, off-color jokes and flashes of cruelty.” Duterte focused his platform on combating corruption, drug abuse, and criminality.

Although his six-year stay in office was riddled with controversy and he left behind a legacy of government-sponsored killings, he was widely popular and had an approval rating above 70% for most of his term. Because the Philippine constitution bars presidents from running for a second term, Duterte stepped down from office in June 2022.

February 13, 2019

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa arrested for cyber libel

THROUGHOUT DUTERTE’S PRESIDENCY, many journalists and news outlets experienced harassment and intimidation from government officials. Critical coverage of the Duterte administration resulted in frequent detainments and/or arrests of Filipino reporters.

Maria Ressa was arrested by the Philippine government’s National Bureau of Investigation on February 13, 2019, in connection with a cyber libel case filed by the country’s Department of Justice. The charges against Ressa and former Rappler researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. resulted from a story published in May 2012 that linked a businessman to illegal activities. She was convicted of cyber libel in June 2020. She is working to overturn her conviction at the Philippine Supreme Court and remains free during her appeals process.

Duterte targeted and attempted to shutter numerous news outlets, with varying success. One year before Ressa’s arrest, Rappler reporters were banned from Malacañang, the Philippine presidential residence and office. In May 2020, Duterte forced ABS-CBN, the country’s largest broadcast network, off public television and radio frequencies. Days before departing office, he ordered the shutdown of Rappler, which continues to operate, “business as usual.”

“The mission of journalism has never been stronger,” Ressa said in a public address to Rappler reporters. “Despite the online and the offline attacks against us, we find the courage to hold the line. We’re journalists, and we will not be intimidated.”

March 29, 2022

Lack of accountability paves way for more killings in Duterte drug war

AFTER TAKING OFFICE IN 2016, Duterte claimed that the Philippines had become a “narco-state” and launched a campaign against “illegal drug personalities.” What has been dubbed the “war on drugs” has led to the deaths of thousands of Filipinos.

Data from the Philippine government shows that 6,252 people were killed in police anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016 to May 31, 2022. However, data obtained by Rappler in September 2020 showed that the Philippine National Police had killed 7,884 drug suspects since Duterte assumed office.

This tally does not include victims of vigilante-style killings. The country’s Commission on Human Rights (CHR) estimated a total of 27,000 - 30,000 vigilante-style killings under Duterte. Organizations like CHR assert that Duterte’s calls to the public to aid in his efforts were persuasive. On his first day in office, Duterte addressed a crowd in Manila, “If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful.”

In “How to Stand Up to a Dictator,” Ressa states there were “daily reports of deaths: bodies found in the streets of poor neighborhoods, eyewitnesses whispering about killers descending upon homes in the night. Duterte’s drug war had begun turning Manila into a real-world Gotham City, without a caped crusader.”

The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened a preliminary investigation into these deaths in February 2018. The following month, Duterte announced his intention to withdraw the Philippines from the ICC. The withdrawal became official in March 2019.

In December 2020, then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda stated that there was “reasonable basis to believe that crimes against humanity were committed” in the Philippines in connection with Duterte’s war on drugs. The ICC’s investigation was suspended in November 2021 and has yet to resume.

May 10, 2022

36 years after ousting Marcos, Filipinos elect son as president

FERDINAND "BONGBONG" ROMUALDEZ MARCOS JR. assumed office on June 30, 2022. He is the son of Ferdinand Marcos, president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, who ruled under martial law from 1972 until 1981 and kept most of his martial law powers until he was deposed in 1986.

Marcos Jr.’s campaign centered on restoring national unity, upholding Duterte policies, and restoring what he claimed was the “golden age of his father’s rule.” He won the election with 59% of the vote, the highest count ever recorded in a Philippine presidential election.

All information sourced from Rappler.com. Information has been aggregated from multiple articles for clarity.