TriBflineWT|NUT FEAR.

I/14THOUT FAVOR

Thursday, 14 March 2019

Daily Tribune
--trfiulr"orlre
DAI "lRE]]NF

Patronage politics returns

Y

Citing stupid and shallow Both Aquino Through clandestine-

(( rationale tQ codure from a benign incumbencies were ^-"
;R budget insertions at
llhil,e the suggestion to rename the republic supported by monied lffif the House note the
Duterte incendiary fears and panic of an special interests and ffi insidious return of the
adrninisMid, imminent dictatorship cralted from the business elite. W pork barrel system
hort a convoluied conspiracy theory Under Benigno III, this W morphed from its basic
siiaeeaca Lo employ l,he hial,us l,o a federal ru, to .,,
"oug."..;liiiliii:lw$r . Priority Developmentj
:-''-,"-": form of government, the opposition select "rp"od""d
presidential r' , Assistance Fund formz
n rcturntng is rumormongering trepidation whisperers a n 4 ;r!:t:l .',::i$r:if '::1",r,:, to the Disbursement
pouer that Rodrigo Dutede is gradually influence peddlers ::i,., ,iilii:li*. :r,i: Acceleration Programl,
from the eshblishing an autocracy.
elite to the lt's hogwash. But it's expe€ted. :ilil"*,i illl;:
BysiArDER- l"i!-#1T 3'TlT"Tl -
administratio\.
electorate.. Hoping to unite behind the hate and shooting buddies, Dean de la PaZ .@

the rehrn they corfure, credibiliw continues to plus token socialists Note also the
evade the Liberal Party ( '). with capitalist Foclivities. opposition's ploy to legitimizea,
of eu sm
:',,:'"*'' If there is anlthing aggressively When these converge as an putschists as senato$.Ihis effectively
ata gravilatjng l,owards the darkest oligarchy l,hen what arms protected institul,ionalizes a subliminal reward
patronoge days of our past and an autocracy Marcos were simply replaced by system that elevates to higher offrce
and, that listens only to itself, then these businessmen's billions propping both crooks, criminals and coup plotters'
trumAional, do not emanate from the Duterte Aquinos. and emDloys them as worker termites ,

nolitics administration. History, as alqays, sets the that eat through our democratic
'looms Rodrigo Dulerte ascended to context for the present. Today, the timber.
i,
r,he Presidencv via an undeniable LP is attempting to seize and regain Note finally that with the
f,ne nofrzon.
exercise of democratic freedom and its lost powers and hfluence. candidacy of Manuel Roxas there"
i he remains there legitimately sans While the Drterte adminisbaiion hrd is ihe effective return of elitism,
military or police fasclsm or a lapdog succeeded in returning power from and oligarch-dominated politics
media. That his initial 2016 mandate the elite to the electorate - [deniable that favor a few and are prcne toi
has been replaced by overwhelming proof thai democratic popirlism hunds corrupti0n-laden wheeling-dealing
approyal ratings is undeniable proof ihe Dutede adminishati6n - the retum reminiscent of MRT-3, Mahindra a.nd?
of his sustained democratic suppoft of elitisnviapahonage ald hansactional the toxic commercial conspiracies,
is founded on the people. tle horizon.
politics looms in behind the distriburion of Dengvaxia,
Duterte does not need to be Allov us Lo ,, l,he Hacienda Luisita deal lhat
authoritarian, He has the support of analyze Iatent ll_ distoned agrarian reform, Aquino's
the public. He a.lso does not needthe developments that Dutefie Smartmatic deal that trash;d our
illegal pork barrel system that both not only testify do€s rtot suffrage rights and the Busan
Gloria Arroyo and Benigno Aquino to the utterly low need to be maintenance tontract that inflicted
III needed to keep their personal calibdr brainpower aulhoritarian, continuing costs and real physicalr
kennels contented lest they bite the behind Lhe Ee has the dangen on the commuting public.
hand that feeds them. opposition's alatm support ofthe Pandering to patronage politics r

We must remember that the
Marcos dictatorship was propped
up by a well-fed and fattened
military. Arent t0 that, both Aquino
administrations - Corazon's and
Benigno III's
-were more an oligarchy
than patently demographic and thus
buttressed bybusinessmen's billions.
regarding a Duterte puDlda and fashioning for himself both
dictatorship, but the dress and demeanor of an
what seems t0 be an underlying economist, from the negative ,
opposition agenda to guise a consequences inflicted by the Aquino.
resurrection of the same patronage administration, it becomes clear r
and transactional politics that why, despite economic grolvth, only
ran rampant pdor td the Dutefte insidious special business interests'
administration. benefrt from transactional politics.

^ "AGu -g"