When Leni Robredo Rules the Philippines

Dr. Chester B. Cabalza is the founder and president of the Manila-based think tank, International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC).

On May 9, the Philippines will hold its 17th national elections since Manila had its first presidential election in 1935. While Philippine politics holds true to popular plurality vote, the voting is a referendum to populist Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte’s legacy despite minority women politicians in a country with higher female than male voters. Although, poll surveys and mass appeal pixelates indicative signs that Duterte’s daughter, a respiratory therapist and lawyer Sara Duterte-Carpio, will win a landslide victory for vice-presidency. But the keen rematch of presidential aspirants―economist and lawyer Leni Robredo and the dictator’s son Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. are yet to be seen in a close fight mounted by their avid online and grassroots supporters.??

In the span of almost six years, Duterte’s administration pivoted to China at the expense of his flip-flopping foreign policy. He challenged press freedom that gave the Philippines its first Nobel Peace Prize by Maria Ressa. He replaced the Human Security Act to the current Anti-Terrorism Law to quell communist terrorists and foreign terrorist fighters. He failed in his flagship program to sack drug lords in the controversial war on drugs while facing political sins for his human rights violations pushed by the International Criminal Court. Despite of his alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and unfinished gigantic infrastructures under a megalomaniac “Build, Build, Build” program, he recalled the Visiting Forces Agreement with the Americans to train Filipino soldiers on interoperability to improve its human, organizational, and information capital.??

The 77-year old draconian Southeast Asian leader even criticized strong women leaders of whom few of them he sent to jail or dismissed from government service. Not even incumbent vice-president Leni Robredo was spared from his crude, misogynistic, unprecedented ramblings against gender and loudly admonished that the presidency is not catered for competent women executives to his dismay that his tough daughter decided to run only for the second highest post in the Philippines. Hence, articulations of misogyny in Philippine politics may be attributed to patriarchal and feudal norms and ideological state apparatuses.

It also gives the impression that the strong tandem of Marcos Jnr. and Duterte-Carpio is poised to continue Rodrigo Duterte’s initiatives. But Robredo gathered countless legions of volunteers and seek to break the mold of political dynasties. The 2022 national elections step up to a complex journey of women in politics to unmask discrepancies in Philippine electoral system that disallows it. If a Leni Robredo and Sara Duterte-Carpio will win in spite of running on separate tickets, this will be the first Filipino matriarchal government that operates on the readiness to withstand a biased Philippine patriarchal society. ???

In both the race for president and vice-president in 2022, only a sole woman stands a chance of winning against a roster of candidates dominated by men. On the surface, the two women leaders may seem like the perfect ticket and a perfect match. Both are proud parents and carry the names of popular political figures. However, the reality is that the two could not be any more different to each other than their male rivals. For instance, widowed Robredo and married Duterte-Carpio belong to two different parties that each has their own standard bearers.

While Robredo and Duterte-Carpio belong to the same social group called women, these two candidates posted for the highest positions in the land are their own persons and cannot be assumed to be on the same page on most issues. From their family lineage to the company they keep, Robredo and Duterte-Carpio are as different as they can be. On one hand, Robredo is an ordinary woman thrust into the spotlight by circumstance while Duterte-Carpio was groomed to be in it. It is reasonable to assume then that the possibility of having both of them in power will shape up to be as tumultuous as the case between the incumbents now.

Unlike Leni, Sara’s lineage runs deep in the country’s politics. Apart from being a member of the presidential family, Duterte-Carpio is also married to lawyer Manases Carpio, with whom she has three children. Carpio is the nephew of former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales and former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio, two of the most vocal critics of her father’s administration. Politics aside, Robredo and Duterte-Carpio’s differences go beyond electoral lines as well. Sara’s political pedigree has deep roots while Leni does not. Robredo’s candidacy seeks to overhaul the policies of the current administration while Duterte-Carpio does not. Both have spent similar lengths of time in government but at different capacities and, more importantly, in different branches.

Before them, the rise of democracy icon Corazon Aquino and economics professor Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the Philippines has made an impact and created a new perspective in the last fifteen years as they served as presidents. These Filipino women, who have been rooted in a patriarchal culture in Philippine society where they are expected to be conservative and submissive individuals, have become prominent throughout the country’s history. Both were brought to the presidency as a result of mass action and protests. Each one has her own unique personality and leadership style that is marked as unforgettable in Philippine history. Aquino ended Ferdinand E. Marcos’ two-decade rule in 1986 when she challenged the candidacy of the dictator in the snap elections while Arroyo ascended to power from vice-presidency as she inherited the seat of power from fallen actor Joseph Estrada.

The role of Cory Aquino and Gloria Arroyo as female presidents had made a considerable historical impact. Despite being in a dominantly patriarchal society where male leadership is almost imperative, they still defied odds and insisted that women can take on leadership roles. Although they were not without opposition, their command of the country is still nonetheless revolutionary and has inevitably changed, in one way or another, and the view of women leadership no matter the scale, knows no gender.

The “Church vote” and “women’s vote” were important factors for the success of the past Filipino female presidents; and a similar trend is projected to presidential aspirant Leni Robredo, given the comparable gender-based sentiments and church support. This suggests that should Robredo rise to presidency, it may be a result of women’s collective vote, that is, the women’s response to misogynistic administration of President Duterte and the endorsement of the Roman Catholic institutions. However, this would not be the case for Duterte-Carpio’s vice-presidential candidacy. Aside from the fact that she is the daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, she is expected to continue the government programs and leadership style of her father.

The Philippine Commission on Women admits that proportion of women in politics or public office is still yet to meet the 30 percent critical mass. From 1998 to 2016, the percentage of elected women to public office were underrepresented and often placed on glass ceiling or glass cliff to fail from power. It makes the leadership of Filipinas in national politics and governance even more difficult with contradicting expectations and limitations. Only 8,782 of the candidates were female during the 2019 senatorial elections. A McKinsey Global Institute report showed that the Philippines leads the Asia-Pacific Region on gender equality in the workplace. The country has consistently ranked among the top 10 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report which recognizes gender equality in labor force participation, education, health, and political empowerment. Of the world’s 195 nations, only 70 countries have had a female head of government or state.

Robredo and Duterte-Carpio are both women of strong character and different leadership styles, despite opposing but complementary qualities -- participative, and compassionate on one hand, stern and decisive on the other, both are dynamic, progressive and efficient based on the achievements of their respective offices. If these women will be in the two highest positions in the land after the elections, it will be a golden opportunity for Asian women leadership to make an impact and send a message, not just in the Philippines but in other nations as well. If they can unite and work beyond their personal and party loyalties should they be elected, then this is the best time to prove that women leadership is not synonymous to the predominance of emotions and sentiments.