Filipino Politics in the Electronic Age

Abstract

The rapid reconstitution of Philippine civil society, the changing global order, and the revolutionary changes in the technological environment are compelling a profound change in the sphere of Philippine politics. The impact of the aforementioned factors are hastened by strategic policy changes sponsored by the state: the rapid liberalization of the economy and the consequent dismantling of the protectionist framework upon which the traditional political elite was based; the bold decentralization of the institutions of governance, allowing grassroots communities and geographical regions more substantial roles in the decision-making process; the job-creation program hinged on the encouragement of investment flows in the new economic sectors; and, the encouragement of labor migration as a response to international “pull” factors and domestic “push” factors. While these policies can be instructive as to where Filipino politics is headed, it remains difficult to draw hard and fast projections on what Philippine politics will be like in the next century. However, in the final analysis, there is little danger that Philippine political institutions and practices will lag behind real economic, structural, and sociological changes in Philippine society, such that the political system will be a liability in the process of social change.