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While Filipinos reclaimed their political rights after the downfall of Marcos in February 1986, scholars began wondering about the outcome of political reforms in the archipelago. This article argues that although the Philippines has moved from an authoritarian regime to an electoral democracy, liberal democracy has not yet matured in the country. The key reason is that there are challenges ahead in the ongoing process of political transition in the archipelago, including the threat of military coups and secessionist movements, slow economic growth, and the need to evolve a sustainable democratic culture.
Introduction
Since mid-1986 the Philippines has embarked on a series of political reforms, which started with a revised Constitution. Corazon Aquino, then president of the Philippines, organized a committee to draft a new Constitution, which was ratified by over three-quarters (78 per cent) of the voters in a referendum in February 1987. The Philippines then conducted three presidential elections in 1992, 1998, and 2004 based on the new Constitution. Thus, while the Philippines had been ruled by the authoritarian Ferdinand Marcos for more than twenty years from 1965 to 1986, the polity seems to have transformed into a democratic one.
Is the Philippines already a liberal democracy, or just an electoral democracy? What political reforms are being implemented? How will leaders in the archipelago restructure the political dominance of powerful factions in the country? Is a Western liberal democracy really the political goal? Given the potential threat of the military to the legitimate government, can the Philippines achieve democratic consolidation in the future? In addition, the Philippines achieved modest economic growth in the early 1990s, but the Asian financial crisis hit the country badly: without strong economic development, can the Philippines continue to move towards liberal democracy? As the first civil democracy in Southeast Asia after the end of WWII and the first country to implement political reforms since the mid-1980s, can the Philippines also become the first consolidated liberal democracy in the region? These are the questions explored in this article.
While Filipinos reclaimed their liberties in the People Power revolution in February 1986,1 some scholars and observers have begun questioning the success of political reforms in the archipelago, particularly because of the sustained rebellion on Mindanao Island and potential military...