Against the backdrop of the successful democratic movements in the Philippines in 1986 (against Marcos) and 2001 (against Estrada), the support of the middle class for Duterte's strongman leadership, characterized by political intimidations and alleged human rights violations, requires an in-depth analysis and empirical underpinning.
This book, therefore, focuses on the middle class's support towards Duterte during his early political life in Davao City, where he initiated unique social programs that benefit not only the poor but also the middle class. The narratives provided by the respondents of the study suggest perspectives relating to prominent "Asian Values" features, such as familism, communalism and the preference for strong leadership.
Davao appears to constitute an in-group or the self-styled law-abiding residents and an out-group or the suspected criminals and drug personalities who are perceived to be a threat to the in-group's constructed exclusive community. The support of the middle class for Duterte's leadership can be understood in the context of a constructed exclusive society of self-styled law-abiding citizens whose protection depends mainly on Duterte's ability to
provide security through his war against drugs and crimes, which hints at a possible recurrence of "Asian Values."
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Table of Contents
Abstract v
Kurzfassung (Abstract in German) vii
Acknowledgments ix
List of Tables and Figures xvii
List of Abbreviations xix
1 Introduction 1
1. 1 Theoretical and Conceptual Foundations 3
1. 1. 1 The Modernization Theory s Perspective on the Middle Class 4
1. 1. 2 Non-Western Studies on the Middle Class 7
1. 1. 3 Good Governance Approach in Explaining Duterte s Support from the Middle Class 10
1. 1. 4 Populist Approach in Explaining Duterte s Support from the Middle Class 14
1. 2 Significance of the Study 19
1. 3 Structure of the Book 20
2 Who Compose the Middle Class? 23
2. 1 Middle Class in the Western Literature 23
2. 2 Filipino Middle Class 30
2. 3 Importance of the Middle Class 37
2. 4 The Middle Class Respondents 40
2. 5 Summary 43
3 Research Design 45
3. 1 Research Participants 45
3. 2 Biographical Narrative Interview 46
3. 3 Grounded Theory 47
3. 4 Research Trips 49
3. 5 Ethical Considerations 50
4 Background of Davao City 53
4. 1 General Background Profile 53
4. 2 History of Davao 54
4. 2. 1 Pre-Colonization Migration 55
4. 2. 2 Spanish Colonization 55
4. 2. 3 American and Japanese Occupations 56
4. 2. 4 Migration from Luzon and Visayas 57
4. 2. 5 Davao as a Chartered City 58
4. 2. 6 Davao and the Second World War 58
4. 2. 7 Davao During Martial Law and Alsa Masa 59
4. 3 Rules and Regulations in Davao City under Duterte 61
4. 4 Summary 62
5 Socio-Cultural and Psychological Perspectives on the Support for Duterte 65
5. 1 The Recurrence of the Asian Values : Post-colonialist Perspective 65
5. 1. 1 The Asian Values Debate 68
5. 1. 2 Support for Duterte and Asian Values 72
5. 2 Psychological Perspective: Who comprises the community in Davao? 75
5. 2. 1 Social Identity Theory 76
5. 2. 2 The Majority and the Minority 78
5. 2. 3 The Clean and the Unclean: Limpyo Leadership 79
5. 2. 4 The Non-Threat and the Security Threat: No Fault No Fear Mentality 80
5. 2. 5 The Community and the Enemy: War on Crime and Drugs 81
5. 3 No to Marcos and Yes to Duterte 82
5. 4 The War on Drugs 86
5. 4. 1 Methamphetamine 87
5. 4. 2 Framing of the Drug Users 90
6 Davao City Before Duterte 93
6. 1 Marcos Martial Law 93
6. 1. 1 Militarization and Military Intimidation 94
6. 1. 2 Human Rights Violations and Abuse of Power 97
6. 1. 3 Marcos and Duterte s Martial Law 99
6. 2 Anti-Marcos Movements 101
6. 2. 1 Student Activism 102
6. 2. 2 The Presence of the New Peoples Army in Davao City 104
6. 2. 2. 1 The Kangaroo Court 106
6. 2. 2. 2 Agaw-Armas 107
6. 3 Alsa Masa in Davao City 108
6. 4 Violence and Chaos 111
6. 5 Summary 113
7 Leadership of Duterte in Davao City 115
7. 1 Davao City without the Threat of the NPA 115
7. 2 Crime Incident Reduction 116
7. 3 Discipline among the Residents of the City 118
7. 4 Handling of Issues on War on Drugs 119
7. 5 Davao Death Squad and the Killing of Suspected Criminals and Drug Personalities 121
7. 6 Limpyo Davao 126
7. 7 No Knowledge and No Evidence 128
7. 8 No Fault No Fear Mentality 129
7. 9 Police Visibility 131
7. 10 Freedom of Expression 132
7. 11 Comparison between Duterte and De Guzman 132
7. 12 Summary 133
8 Understanding the Support for Duterte in Davao City 137
8. 1 Subjective Themes 137
8. 1. 1 Relationality of Duterte with the People 138
8. 1. 2 Non-discriminatory Treatment of Minority Groups 140
8. 1. 3 Inclusive Leadership 142
8. 1. 4 Character of Duterte 143
8. 1. 5 Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod 145
8. 2 City Government Programs during Duterte s Mayoralty in Davao City 147
8. 2. 1 Lingap Para sa Mahirap 148
8. 2. 2 Tribal Deputy Leadership 150
8. 2. 3 Anti-Discrimination Ordinance 152
8. 2. 4 Davao Central 911 154
9 Conclusion 157
9. 1 Key Insights of the Study 157
9. 2 Implications for Research 161
9. 3 Practical Implications 163
9. 4 Limitations of the Study and Future Research 163
References 165
Annex: Lists of Interviewees 197
