Date & Time: 23-24 (Thu/Fri) February 2023, 9:00-17:00 Philippine Standard Time (10:00 – 18:00 JST)
Online via Zoom:
Registration is required.

Organizers:
Department of Sociology, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology
Department of Political Science, Ateneo de Manila University
Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines – Diliman
Ateneo Martial Law Museum
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University

Half a century after Ferdinand Marcos Sr. put the Philippines under the grip of authoritarian rule, his son is elected as the republic’s 17th president. The election of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the nation’s highest office, on the same year that the 50th anniversary of Martial Law is being commemorated, heralds a turning point in Philippine history necessitating a critical reassessment of the country’s darkest years in the 20th century. What has the historic authoritarian turn, embodied by the enactment of Martial Law, meant for the political economy of development in the Philippines? This question gathers particular significance as the return of a Marcos to national power fuels fears of historical revisionism, particularly in the portrayal of touted achievements of Marcos Sr. The deployment of political economy lens in assessing the consequences of Martial Law also enriches contemporary debates on industrialization, sustainable development, neoliberalism and global market integration, and inclusive growth.   

The conference explores three important tropes of political economy research to unravel consequences of the authoritarian turn and ensuing years of liberal democratic consolidation in contemporary Philippines. Firstly, it is important to recognise the shortcomings of the so-called Edsa Republic (1986-2016), which is increasingly characterized by an embrace of neoliberalism as a hegemonic ideological paradigm that guides development planning and economic policies. Many scholars have already criticized the limitations of free market economics as a guide to development strategies for growth and inclusion, for example, by emphasizing the lack of trickle down effects of development policies; the subversion of environmental goals to economic interests; the growing concentration of economic wealth among families with intimate connections to national political elites;  and the near absence of industrial manufacturing capacity otherwise seen in  East Asian developmental states (Bello et al. 2005; Bello et al. 2015; Ofreneo 2015; Sidel 1999; Thoburn and Natsuda 2018).

Secondly, notwithstanding the failures of the Edsa Republic, one must not lose sight of the critical juncture in contemporary Philippine politics: the rise of Rodrigo Duterte, and  the accompanying amplification and legitimation of conservative-authoritarian and populist praxis as a central tenet of an emergent political economy model (Ramos 2020; 2021). Whilst earlier scholarship explains the populist base of his electoral victory (Curato 2017; Kusaka, 2017; Garrido 2022), further studies are needed to unpack the coalitional politics and the emergent political economy model(s) characterizing his regime (see for example Camba 2020; 2021). A new agenda within political economy scholarship must explore the institutional configurations, elite bargaining and coalitional alignments, and the multiple developmental strategies across sectors.

Finally, the rise of Marcos Jr. requires a more nuanced contextualization in historical and comparative terms. Starting with the origins of Martial Law, scholars must locate the rise and fall of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in the wider 20th century, thereby, identifying how authoritarian, corporatist nationalisms in the “Third World” laid the foundations for the fascisms of the 21st century. In so doing, we can build on existing scholarship that characterized the Marcos years in terms of corruption, rent-seeking, and plunder as well as the continuing role of clan politics in maintaining regime stability post-1986 (Kang 2002; McCoy 1994; Purdey, Tadem, and Tadem 2016). In identifying the continuities and change in economic policymaking over the long durée, scholars can reflect more effectively on why Duterte and Marcos emerged as the preferred alternative to the Edsa Republic. The rise of both regimes also occurred and should be situated within a wider global context, particularly the shift from aid to soft infrastructure, the rise of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the growing significance of China as an alternative foreign financier.

Program: (All times are in Philippine Standard Time)
– DAY 1 [February 23]
09:00 AM – 10:00 AM　PLENARY 1: OPENING SESSION
Writing Today About Martial Law and the Marcos Years
Speakers:
Teresa Encarnacion Tadem, Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines – Diliman
Patricio Abinales, Department of Asian Studies, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Jan Carlo Punongbayan, School of Economics, University of the Philippines – Diliman

Chair:
Miguel Paolo Rivera, Ateneo Martial Law Museum, Ateneo de Manila University

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM　PANEL 1:
Denials and Deceptions that Made the Marcos Dictatorship
Panelists:
Miguel Paolo Reyes, Third World Studies Center, University of the Philippines – Diliman
Larah Vinda Del Mundo, Third World Studies Center, University of the Philippines – Diliman
Joel Ariate, Third World Studies Center, University of the Philippines – Diliman

Discussant:
Nathan Gilbert Quimpo, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba

Moderator:
Cleo Anne Calimbahin, Department of Political Science, De La Salle University

11:30 AM – 01:00 PM　PANEL 2:
Marcoses’ Disinformation and Restoration
Panelists:
Arnold P. Alamon, Department of Sociology, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology
Chelsea Agapia and Reggy Bartido, Department of Sociology, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology
Joel Jan Alvarez, Department of Sociology, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology

Discussant:
Ramon Guillermo, Center for International Studies, University of the Philippines – Diliman

Moderator:
Teresa Melgar, Department of Sociology, University of the Philippines – Diliman

01:00 PM – 02:00 PM　Lunch Break

02:00 PM – 03:30 PM　PANEL 3:
Justice, Human Rights and Lived Experiences
Panelists:
Mary Grace Concepcion, Department of English and Comparative Literature, University of the Philippines
Elmar B. Albios, Vickcel Jane Tamayo, Jed B. Otano, and Marjorie Joy Magdadaro, Department of History, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology
Hermenio Cabusog Jr., Bukidnon State University

Discussant:
JPaul Manzanilla, Department of International Studies, De La Salle University

Moderator:
Nicole CuUnjieng Aboitiz, Faculty of History, University of Cambridge

03:30 PM – 05:00 PM　ROUNDTABLE 1:
Political Economy of Structural Stagnation in the Philippines
Speakers:
Carmel Abao, Department of Political Science, Ateneo de Manila University
Alvin Camba, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver
Charmaine Ramos, University of Utrecht

Moderator:
Jojo Nem Singh, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Rapporteur:
Jerome Patrick Cruz, Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

– DAY 2 [February 24]
09:00 AM – 10:00 AM　PLENARY 2:
Authoritarian Legacies and the Political Economy of Development
Speakers:
Walden Bello, State University of New York at Binghamton
Antoinette Raquiza, Asian Center, University of the Philippines

Discussant:
Vicente Rafael, Department of History, University of Washington

Chair:
Malou Mangahas, Right to Know Right Now! (R2KRN) Coalition

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM　PANEL 4:
Energy Transition and (Socio)environmental Transformations
Panelists:
Jared Carlo Echevarrria, Ateneo de Manila University
Jonel Maria Caba, Department of History, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology
Kenneth Cardenas

Discussant:
Julie de los Reyes, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University

Moderator:
Kristian Karlo Saguin, Department of Geography, University of the Philippines – Diliman

11:30 AM – 01:00 PM　PANEL 5:
Japan and the Philippines before and during the 1st Marcos Years (1945-1986)
Panelists:
Rey Ventura, Meiji Gakuin University and Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Ohno Takushi, Asahi Shimbun (Ret.)
Tsuda Mamoru, Osaka University

Discussant:
Wataru Kusaka, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

Moderator:
Rita Alfaro, Department of History,Ateneo De Manila University

01:00 PM – 02:00 PM　Lunch Break

02:00 PM – 03:30 PM　ROUNDTABLE 2:
The Realities of Academic Freedom in the Philippines
Speakers:
Oscar Campomanes, English Department, Ateneo de Manila University
Rommel Rodriguez, Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature, University of the Philippines-Diliman
Jayson Lamcheck, Faculty of Business and Law, Deakin University
Jean Encinas-Franco, Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines – Diliman
Phoebe Zoe Maria Sanchez, College of Social Sciences, University of the Philippines – Cebu

Moderator:
Vina Lanzona, University of Hawai’i at Manoa

Rapporteur:
Sol Iglesias, University of the Philippines-Diliman

03:30 PM – 05:00 PM　ROUNDTABLE 3:
Closing session – Ways forward

Moderator:
Oliver John Quintana, Department of Political Science, Ateneo de Manila University

Rapporteur:
Kenneth Cardenas

Organizing Committee
　Carmel Abao, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
　Arnold Alamon, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, Philippines
　Alvin Camba, University of Denver, USA
　Kenneth Cardenas, Canada
　Julie de los Reyes, Kyoto University, Japan
　Sol Iglesias, University of the Philippines – Diliman, Philippines
　Jewellord Nem Singh, International Institute of Social Studies, the Netherlands
　Charmaine Ramos, Utrecht University, the Netherlands