An eternally controversial policy
The Philippines is a republic where the president is elected by popular vote for a six-year term. After the fall of dictator Marcos in 1986, the return to democracy proved difficult. The Philippines adopted constitutional democracy for government, under the 1987 Constitution. This Constitution is very much inspired by the American model. It increases the number of checks on the executive by the legislature, and gives the latter considerable power. The Philippine system therefore implies a constant balance of power, and the need for the President to establish consensual relations with Congress and the Senate. Successive presidents have failed to keep their promises and convince the population. Between 2016 and 2022, Rodrigo Duterte, nicknamed "Asia's Donald Trump", waged an anti-drug war, strongly criticized internationally, which is said to have killed over 30,000 people. Filipinos, increasingly disillusioned and aware of the problems of corruption that plague their country, nevertheless continue to hold out hope, to get involved in local politics and to fulfill their civic duty by voting (over 83% in the last presidential elections). In May 2022, Ferdinand Marcos Junior, son of former dictator Marcos, was elected president. Sara Duterte, the daughter of the outgoing president, was elected vice-president. In his speech, the new president declared that his priorities would be to combat rising prices and increase food production, while continuing his predecessor's less violent anti-drug campaign.
The economic situation
At the end of the 1950s, the Philippines was Asia's second largest economy after Japan. At the time, the country was expected to develop very rapidly, but pervasive corruption and flawed policies didn't help. Over the past decade, excluding Covid, the economy has grown at an annual rate of around 6%, one of the best in the region. This dynamism is notably driven by investment and household consumption, which is the main engine of the economy (75% of GDP). Interestingly, financial transfers from overseas Filipino workers account for almost 10% of GDP (the world's leading economic diaspora). There are around 2 million Oversea Filipino Workers (Filipinos working abroad) who have left to find decent work and wages (with Saudi Arabia in the lead, the USA, Hong Kong, etc.). This migration phenomenon began in the 1970s, under the Marcos regime, which encouraged it to alleviate the unemployment problem. The next generation saw it as a way of life. Women in particular are leaving their families. This detachment, seen as a sacrifice, is a means of providing for their families and offering their children a better future. Most of the time, they do domestic work. Filipinos also specialize in working as crew members on the large cargo ships and oil tankers that criss-cross the world.
Today, the country's economy is trying to recover from the consequences of the Covid health crisis. Unemployment, which had doubled to over 10%, fell to 5.4% in 2023. But almost 3 million more Filipinos had fallen below the poverty line as a result of the pandemic, and almost a third of families still live below the poverty line. Indigence is blatantly obvious in Manila, where it is common to come across children with skin blackened by exhaust fumes, searching for treasures hidden in the city's garbage. The distribution of resources remains appalling: 5% of Filipinos own 80% of the wealth.
International relations
The Philippines has traditionally enjoyed a privileged relationship with the United States. This changed slightly under President Rodrigo Duterte, between 2016 and 2022, when he declared his intention to distance himself from the United States in favor of a closer relationship with China. The new President Marcos Junior, meanwhile, has stated that he will re-establish a more balanced relationship with the two powers, while continuing to oppose Beijing over the situation in the hydrocarbon-rich South China Sea, which is claimed by several Asian countries, including China and the Philippines. This conflict over the South China Sea is intertwined with the conflict over Taiwan, in which the Philippines is a major military and strategic ally of the United States. The other axis of the country's foreign policy is ASEAN, the world's fifth-largest economic bloc. The Philippines was a founding member of ASEAN(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in 1967. The country also participates in APEC(Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), the G24 and was one of the fifty-one founding members of the United Nations on October 24, 1945. Finally, the country's other major economic partner is Japan, the second largest trading partner and leading investor in terms of official development assistance, accounting for 30% of the aid received by the Philippines. The European Union is an important economic partner (fourth largest trading partner), but a low-profile political interlocutor.
Tourism
The Philippine archipelago remains a little frequented destination (compared to its neighbors), which however knows a marked development (the number of tourists has more than doubled between 2010 and 2019). French-speaking visitors are not yet very important, but show an undeniable growth. The television program Koh Lanta filmed in the Philippines in 2007 gave the first impetus to the arrival of French people in this region of the world and the 2022 edition in Palawan and the 2023 edition off Luzon should confirm this momentum. Japan and Southeast Asia provide more than 50% of the clientele, but this clientele is rapidly diversifying with the arrival of Europeans and especially Americans. There are also many Australians. Before the health crisis, the tourism sector represented 3% of GDP, or about 10.23 billion euros. In 2020, this turnover has collapsed to 2.42 billion, a dramatic decrease of 76%. Only 1 million tourists had entered the country. In 2021, the country had recorded only 163,000 tourists and then 2.02 million in 2022. This is still far from the pre-pandemic annual rate of over 8 million visitors.
