Reflection: The Political Divide of the Philippines

One of the most contentious topics in modern Filipino society is politics. Coming to the forefront of global scrutiny after former President Rodrigo Duterte's arrest and subsequent detention at the International Criminal Court in 2025, there has been much contention between groups for and against the Duterte family in the Philippines and abroad.

Similar to the United States, the Philippines' 81 provinces are politically divided based on urbanization and geographical location. The southern region of Mindanao is the home of the Dutertes and leans heavily in support of the former president despite the policies of extrajudicial killing that led to thousands of deaths during his time. Davao, specifically, is their home.

Rodrigo Duterte was the mayor of Davao City off and on for a total of 22 years until his election to president in 2016. Before heading to Davao, I read up on the Davao Death Squad, Duterte's vigilante group responsible for the murder of thousands of accused criminals, drug users, street children, and unhoused people. Similarly, I learned of hundreds of people killed, injured, or kidnapped by fundamentalist groups like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf. While I was largely unfamiliar with the history of Mindanao before my visit, I remembered hearing of pirate attacks and violent robberies around the Sulu archipelago in the past. My mind filled with notions of fundamentalism and fascism, I had no idea what to expect from Davao. Having visited a number of politically-charged parts of the world, though, I was committed to my role as a listener and learner and was excited to gain more insight into the current situation in the Philippines.

The group was also kept abreast of the protests happening throughout the country during our time. While many of these were related to the upcoming national election and recent impeachment of Duterte's daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, one of the biggest demonstrations was held outside of the US Embassy in Manila. Since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order 32 in 2023, the construction of digital infrastructure like call and data centers skyrocketed. Promising to accelerate permit processing for such centers to encourage growth, this rapid expansion has come at the expense of extreme environmental strain, destruction of animal habitats, and displacement of rural communities. And, of course, the majority of these companies are American.

With all of these inputs setting the stage, I was eager to learn everything I could during our time in Davao. Over the course of the beginning of our trip, a few things stuck out to me. First, Davao maintains a pride in its indigenous diversity and Islamic heritage that cities like Manila have lost to capitalistic ventures. Secondly, Davao as a city is extremely clean and well-organized. I had heard that the wealth divide in Davao was less significant than in Manila, and, in my experience, that is true. While there is poverty, the severity seemed less extreme than what we witnessed in Manila. And, lastly, there are Duterte banners and signs everywhere. Though none of this came as a huge surprise from what I had learned before our trip, it was fascinating to see how all of these attributes can coexist in one city.

As our time with our hosts progressed, they began sharing more about their own support for the Dutertes, both in Davao and nationally. Members of the Tausug tribe, the Muslim indigenous group that we had the privilege of meeting with, shared the historical disenfranchisement that their people experienced, especially under American imperialism. Duterte's nationalist ideals, and his push to resist American expansion in the Philippines, felt like a breath of fresh air for the Tausug people. This, along with his tough-on-crime policies, finally quashed the Islamic fundamentalist groups terrorizing the Mindanaoan islands and worked towards reversing some of the persecution felt by Muslims in the Philippines. Given the US's tendency towards destruction of the Philippines, whether through the genocide of hundreds of thousands of mostly-Muslim Filipinos in the early 1900s or through the current environmental devastation brought by tech companies, it's hard to argue with this stance. Furthermore, one of the earliest actions of the American colonial regime was to reroute trade from Mindanao north to Luzon, economically destroying the region and creating the conditions perfect for disenfranchised rebel groups to surface. In addition to being from Mindanao, Duterte also traces his bloodline back to the indigenous Muslim Maranao people, leading to intense Mindanaoan and indigenous pride expressed by the Tausug leaders.

Similar lines of conversation came up with those at PSHS. Recalling the danger of their youth, whether from street gangs, drug criminals, or wild packs of dogs, most Davaoenos associate Duterte's tenure with plummeting crime rates. Finally, they felt safe walking the streets and proud of the cleanliness and order of the city. Though this is fundamentally difficult to reconcile with my western human rights morals, that inherently comes from a position of privilege. While crime is high in Oakland, we certainly don't have to worry about the realities that people were forced to live with in Davao, largely due to American imperialism and western colonialism.

I left with a new critical consciousness around the issue of Duterte, especially as he sits in the Hague as war criminals like Trump and Netanyahu go completely unchecked. Ultimately, I've decided that it's not my place to determine what is right and wrong for the Filipinos, especially given my insulation from the issues that they are forced to deal with every day.