ABSTRACT
Amid continued criticism from various opposition groups and negative publicity from sections of the liberal media, the Filipino majority consistently accorded President Rodrigo Duterte high satisfaction ratings. The chapter undertakes a critical examination of Duterte’s sustained popularity after he assumed prominence and notoriety from the 2016 elections onwards. It does so by employing the concept of authoritarian populism, which captures the contradictory political phenomenon whereby Duterte enjoyed considerable social legitimacy despite, or because of, his arguably anti-democratic ideas and autocratic style of governance. Methodologically, it suggests that research on populism needs to evaluate first Duterte’s projections as presidential candidate, then his actions as the state leader, and finally the long-term socioeconomic consequences. The popular consent given to an emergent Duterte-led process of autocratization is rooted in the accumulation of democratic deficits in the Philippines during the past three decades.
