Publication

On January 20th, Vice-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was sworn in as the 10th president of the Republic of the Philippines under the most unusual circumstances. The coalition that had lobbied and demonstrated for the ouster of her predecessor, President Joseph Estrada, accused of graft and corruption, heralded her ascension to the presidency as an example of “People Power”. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said it was a “victory for democracy”. Was it a victory for democracy? What do the events of January tell us about the state of democracy in the Philippines? Can we expect a new era of “good governance” fighting corruption which has now become one of the key prescriptions for developing countries promoted by international agencies like the World Bank and our own government? What does President Macapagal-Arroyo’s new government look like and what sort of economic policy and programme is likely to emerge from it? These are the questions addressed in this paper.