Courts have become an increasing focus for political contestation in SoutheastAsia. Yet little is known about the basis of their political power and legitimacy. Drawing on recent scholarship in the field of judicial politics, and presenting a case study of the Philippine Supreme Court after the transition to democracy in 1986, this article explores the conditions under which the Court has exercised its powers in the context of a democratizing state such as the Philippines. More specifically, it will show how strong public support has enabled the Court to exercise its judicial review powers and its authority over contending political actors. In drawing attention to the understudied link between public support and judicial assertiveness, the paper aims to advance existing scholarship by going beyond existing indicators of judicial independence and to provide new insights into the dynamics of evolving constitutional practice in the region through the interaction of the courts with the public.
The increase in military deployments for operations other than war, and their co-location with humanitarian actors prompt an examination of how operational engagements are blurring boundaries between the two. Military-initiated coordination structures that bridge civilian and military spheres of activities are seen as signs of the securitization of the humanitarian space. Examining the dynamics between deployed Philippine military units and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the humanitarian response to the 2017 Marawi siege, the former physically separated and subsumed humanitarian actions to kinetic goals. Using data from 48 interviews of commanders, NGO representatives and local government officials in 2018-2019, military-NGO interface was limited by military restrictions on mobility and by having a separate coordination platform benefiting soldiers and evacuees, respectively. Humanitarian NGOs are more willing to work with and are differential to the securitized space compared to human rights-based NGOs.
This article examines the experiences and assessments of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on the Philippine government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is part of the growing migration literature exploring the formation of political remittances, defined as political principles, norms and practices migrants acquire during the migration process and what these imply for democratization, particularly in migrants’ home countries. Data for the study came from an online survey of OFWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from the ordered logistic regression suggest that overseas Filipinos’ experiences of successful pandemic management and aid distribution in host countries may influence OFWs to expect and demand similar measures in the Philippines.
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