WHAT DEFINES A DECADE?

WHAT DEFINES A

Daniel Alinsonorin and Delbert Yu Illustsration by Kyla Mondejar

Recent human history is defined by the decade. The 1960s is recognized as a time of counterculture and experimentation. The 1970s is remembered as a spiritual successor of the 60s, continuing many of the liberal crusades that the “Flower Decade” birthed, such as the Stonewall riots and the civil and women’s rights’ movement. In the national consciousness, it is the decade that ushered in Marcos’ 20-year regime. The 1980s elicits the memory of diverse events: the EDSA revolution that toppled a dictator, the rise of personal computers and mobile phones, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the devastating AIDS epidemic. The 1990s greeted the end of the Cold War, the invention of the World Wide Web, the Asian Financial Crisis, and the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Finally, the 00s calls to mind the War on Terror, the Obama presidency, the economic recession of 2008, the tumultuous Arroyo administration, and the Maguindanao Massacre.

As this year approaches its finish line, today’s Carolinians find themselves in a world significantly changed from ten years prior. What are the events that defined this decade, and how did it shape the Filipino zeitgeist? Crises in the Aquino Administration The Philippines began the decade with the presidency of Benigno Aquino III, whose term began with a hostage crisis taking place in the capital. Known as the Manila Hostage Crisis, the stand-off took the lives of Hong Kong nationals, earning the ire of the Hong Kong government. The poor handling of te crisis by the Philippine National Police (PNP) jeopardized diplomatic relations between the two countries and tarnished public expectations for the then-new administration. This event inadvertently set the tone of public perception toward the Aquino administration.

The Pork Barrel scam, arguably the biggest political scandal of the Aquino presidency, involved the alleged misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) among the congressmen of the country. It is estimated that the government was defrauded at least P10 billion, having been diverted to businesswoman Janet Napoles, who was responsible for distributing the money. The widespread nature of the scandal, permeating almost all levels of the executive department, proved to be a disastrous blow to Aquino. His oft-repeated policy, “matuwid na daan” (straight road) a campaign-era slogan calling for better transparency and responsiveness from the government, is now widely seen as just that: a slogan.

In the southern part of the country, insurgencies have been ongoing for decades as state-opposed organizations clamored

WHAT DEFINES A DECADE?

for autonomy. The Zamboanga Crisis, an armed conflict between Moro insurgents and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), sought to establish a Bangsamoro Republik in Zamboanga City. However, allegations that the insurgents were funded from the PDAF has led to widespread suspicion that the crisis was engineered to divert public attention from the pork barrel scandal.

Another crisis, the Mamasapano Massacre, resulted in the loss of 44 SAF commandos. The tragedy captured the attention of the country, furthering public distrust and criticism toward the government. The incident served as the last blow for the downhill developments of the administration. With the majority of the public distrusting the government, political instability became rampant. Through the end of the Aquino’s term, the administration had no hope for regaining the public’s trust.

Yolanda Worsened by the ever-increasing global temperature, typhoons continue to grow in intensity. For one, never had our country witnessed a typhoon as catastrophic as Yolanda. The deadliest typhoon on record destroyed the Visayas region, leaving thousands dead in its wake. The aftermath was mired with disappointing developments: Private entities were the first to provide relief to the victims due to bureaucracy, incoordination, and corruption crippling the government’s ability to fulfill its purpose. Worse, to this day, the affected areas still have no decent housing. It took years for the local government to fully recover. Accompanied by scandals of misused funds intended for rehabilitation, the public was outraged, gaining more distrust and hatred. Though it was a “natural” calamity, and unavoidable, the same cannot be said of the actions that came after.

Political Events as Catalysts of One Another The death of former President Corazon Aquino in 2009 had a profound effect on Filipino society, especially in the 2010 national elections. Her passing garnered momentous public support, almost definitely securing the presidency for her son Benigno Aquino III. However, at the end of his term, the subsequent lapses of his administration did much to deplete public goodwill, as citizens began to yearn for a more responsive government no matter the means. In 2016, Filipinos looked to the south to then-Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who promised fast and extreme policies designed to captivate frustrated voters. The resulting administration has been very controversial, presiding over a brand of leadership that can only be described as a “reign of impunity”.

On the global stage, China’s superpower status further solidified, and with it were several polarizing policies such as the 9-Dash Line and debt-trap diplomacy, that has put many states in increasingly tenuous circumstances, including the Philippines. The integrity of the borders of the West Philippine Sea, despite being ruled in favor of the Philippines by the Permanent Court

of Arbitration, continues to be contested by the Chinese government. Conversely, China remains to be the most important international ally of the Duterte administration.

The rise of ISIS, which at its height in 2015 controlled vast territories in Syria and Iraq, remains to be one of the biggest threats to international security, directly causing several attacks within the country, most notably the 2017 siege of Marawi and the 2019 bombings in Jolo.

Reign of Impunity The Duterte administration is hailed by its supporters as decisive and unencumbered by the usual trappings of due process. Since his inauguration, President Duterte has helmed an administration presiding over an unprecedented number of extrajudicial killings in the country. In his war on drugs, the police are empowered by a presidential mandate to apprehend or terminate anyone suspected of drug-related activity, incentivized by a system that rewards them generously for each successful kill. The death toll in official anti-drug operations has reached 5,779, while the number of unexplained killings has soared to at least 12,000.

The Martial Law in Mindanao, originally a month-long imposition that has now lasted for two years, has created a conflicting reality for its inhabitants. Supporters of the president, mostly composed of middle-class families that live near cities and towns, maintain that Martial Law has improved the security and stability of the island. However, communities in far-flung regions of Mindanao say otherwise.

The situation of the Lumad, the collective identity of the indigenous peoples in Mindanao, is no less grave. For decades, they have withstood government and corporate aggression that has deprived them of their land, resources, security, and even their lives. Numerous killings of Lumad leaders and their people has happened repeatedly, with their community often pointing to elements of the AFP as responsible for the slaughter. The proclamation of martial law has only worsened their situation. To educate their youth and help alleviate the plight of their people, many Lumad communities built schools in their territory. However, in 2017 the president accused these Lumad schools of teaching students “subversion and communism”, threatening to bomb their communities if they do not leave immediately. Since then, the increased military presence in their area has forced many Lumads to evacuate, both for safety and to increase public awareness of their predicament.

Throughout this reign of impunity, many Filipinos have voiced out their objections against the heavy-handed measures of the government. These protests are often met with indifference from authorities or even outright persecution. Sen. Leila de Lima, a prominent critic of the administration, was imprisoned for drug charges. She is now considered a prisoner of conscience by many human rights organizations. Other dissenters have also faced harassment, such as the November 1 arrests of over 50 activists under questionable charges in Bacolod City. However, this has not lessened the call of various sectors of society for accountability. If anything, the impunity of the government has only caused protests to persist and intensify.

The Liberalization of Private Information The past decade has seen the fastest developments in technology yet. This comes with consecutive threats to the security of the digital world. In 2013, Edward Snowden – a former CIA employee – leaked classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) which exposed the global surveillance programs of the US government. The program was purportedly for counter-terrorism, collecting the phone records, online chats, and browsing history of over 300 million Americans and the citizens of over 30 other countries, including the Philippines. Criticism was cast over the fact that such a level of surveillance seemed to take advantage of a post-9/11 world, effectively ending the concept of privacy. The exposé caused paranoia throughout the globe, reigniting the controversial discussion on how states handle their citizens’ data.

Another compromise to the public’s privacy was the FacebookCambridge Analytica data scandal in 2018. Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm, had harvested the personal data of millions of Facebook users without their consent, utilizing it for political advertising. Current investigations revealed that the breach had a significant impact on the elections that happened in the world, including the Philippines and the United States. The scandal has deeply affected the reputation of Facebook, as calls for tighter regulation of tech companies intensified.

Protest and the Internet The 2010s witnessed numerous and diverse protests throughout the globe, but none were as important – or as influential – as the Arab Spring. It is an ongoing series of demonstrations in the Middle East, that has precipitated revolutions that toppled several regimes in the region. The movement’s inception was marked by a combination of state oppression and corruption, fueling public sentiment to end existing Arab regimes, accomplished through an unprecedented level of cooperation in social media.

The Arab Spring is notable not just because it led to several revolutions, but also because it happened at all. Many observers have long regarded the authoritarian governments in the Middle East to be untouchable – few could have predicted that Libya’s Muammar Gadaffi, who had created a cult of personality as pervasive as that of Kim Jong-il, would meet his end with bullets in the outskirts of Misrata, small Libyan town.

The Me Too movement is another example of a phenomenon that owes its success to the internet. Despite gaining worldwide prominence in 2017, the movement began in 2006 with its resurgence is attributed to the potential of social media platforms. Its crusade is focused against sexual harassment and assault and has identified numerous sexual predators in media and business, inciting greater calls for accountability. The movement’s success — and the almost universal resonance its advocacy engenders — has inspired similar campaigns across the globe, particularly in India and South Korea.

In Asia, the Hong Kong protests of 2019 dominated international news, gripping the attention of the world as an entire city struggles for democracy. Seen as the spiritual successor of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution in 2014, the widespread condemnation of China’s interference in Hong Kong politics today has, as of writing, lasted for 36 weeks. The catalyst of the demonstrations — the now-dead extradition bill — has proven to be the initial spark of an entire phenomenon. Hong Kong’s citizens are now demanding unconditional accountability from its government and police, who have utilized questionable methods to suppress the movement. Their demands may yet be answered, as the result of the recent Hong Kong elections have changed the power dynamics in the city, catapulting pro-Hong Kong officials into power, while most pro-Beijing officials lost their positions.

The decade has witnessed many tumultuous changes in the country, both within and without. Events that occurred beyond our borders have had a great impact on our imaginations, and on what it means to be a citizen in the information era. It has been a period when many evils, both old and new, have come back to the forefront of Filipino consciousness.

It is important to recognize that these conditions do not exist in a vacuum. This decade is not simply a chronological order of years; it is an entire period of human existence, complete with its wonders, failings, achievements, and tragedies. Recognizing this means recognizing that apathy for events is simply not an option. A new decade approaches and the world teeters at the edge of change. Filipinos must greet it with open eyes, ready and responsive. TC