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Philippine Corporatism: A Note on the "New Society"

Author(s): Robert B. Stauffer


Source: Asian Survey, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Apr., 1977), pp. 393-407
Published by: University of California Press
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PHILIPPINE CORPORATISM: A NOTE
ON THE "NEW SOCIETY"

RobertB. Stauffer

IN THE SIZABLE literaturethat has already been pro-


duced on the "New Society,"little has yet been said about where the
regimemight"fit"as a systemtypeor a developmentalmodel,or about
the institutionalchangesthatare being made in the Philippine polity.,
To some extentthismay be attributableto a scholarlyabhorrencefor
the repressivetechniquesthatMarcos has employed,with a consequent
tendencyto view what he and his governingcoalition are doing as
somehowconstituting a temporary aberration.This view thatthe "New
Society" is only "temporary"is strengthenedfrequentlyby a view of
causalityassigningputativelyall responsibilityformartial law to Mar-
cos. From thisit is a simpleleap to the conclusionthatwithhis elimina-
tion some sortof "normalcy"will returnthat will bear few of the in-
stitutionalhallmarksof the currentauthoritarianregime.
In my view this typeof analysisand the assumptionsthat it leads
to need balancingwith supplementary or alternativeexplanationsand
predictions.A strongcase has been made that the New Societyis more
tightlynested in a set of transnationaland multinationalnetworksof
influence-if not outrightcontrol-than at any time since indepen-
dence, and thatthese"require" (functionally)the verytypesof guaran-
tees that can only be assuredby authoritarianism.2 Others who have

1 See Tom Walsh, Martial Law in the Philippines: A Research Guide and
Working Bibliography (Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii, Southeast Asia
Working Paper No. 4, 1973) for an early review of the literature. I have begun to
address some of these problems in a recent paper: "Philippine Authoritarianism:
A Framework for Peripheral 'Development'." Robert Shaplen, in an offhand but
accurate brief comment in his excellent "Letter from Manila," mentions that the
organization of labor in the New Societymakes it appear as if the regime is creating
a "syndicalist state not unlike Mussolini's Fascist corporate state." New Yorker,
May 3, 1976, p. 89.
2See the author's "The Political Economy of a Coup: Transnational Linkages
and Philippine Political Response," Journal of Peace Research XI:3 (1974), pp. 161-
178, and "Philippine Martial Law: The Political Economy of Refeudalization,"
WSCF Dossier 10 (December 1975). Also see Herbert Feith, "South-East Asia and
Neo-Colonialism," in Edward P. Wolfers (ed.), Australia's Northern Neighbours.
Independent or Dependent? (Melbourne: Nelson, 1976).
393
394 ROBERT B. STAUFFER

analyzed the forces that produce authoritarianregimes-especially


those in Latin Americannations-have found considerable value in
the general conceptualframeworksubsumedunder dependencia the-
ory.3Schmitter,for example, believes that there "may be an elective
betweencertainstructuraland behavioralattributesof 'delayed-
affinity
dependent'developmentand protractedauthoritarianrule."4The con-
nectionsare obvious: to secure the stabilitywithout which transna-
tional corporation and national and multilateral funding support
would not be extended,the domesticpopulation mustbe depoliticized,
demobilized,and, under certain conditions,remobilized under firm
statecontrol.5Institutionallythisrequires,as Marx noted in his analysis
of Louis Bonaparte's coup against the French Second Republic, "the
victory. . . of the executivepower over the legislativepower, of force
withoutphrasesover the forceof phrases."6Legislaturesmay lingeron,
even performcertain useful symbolicfunctions,but they remain se-
curelyunder the controlof the executive,typicallydominatedby the
techniciansof development-the militaryand the technocrats.
Recentlythisgeneralframework forlookingat authoritarianism in
a specificclass of developingcountrieshas been refinedas a resultof
the "rediscovery"of corporatisttheory.Although Mihail Manoilesco
more than fourdecades ago in his Le Siecle du Corporatisme(1934)
provideda general theoreticalframeworkfor understandingunderde-
velopmentresultingfrom"externaldependence" and advanced a par-
ticularversionof authoritarianism-corporatism-asthe institutional
formof the polity most likely to be successfulin overcomingboth
underdevelopment and dependence,his workhas only recentlybecome
knownin the United States to any degree.7Manoilesco saw state cor-
poratismemergingin a ". . . contextof peripheral,delayed-dependent
capitalism;awarenessof relativeunderdevelopment; resentmentagainst
inferiorinternationalstatus; desire for enhanced national economic
and political autarky,"with these lattergoals to be achieved through
Or in its more universal form-structuralism-as developed by several Euro-
pean peace researchers,especially Johan Galtung.
4 Philippe C. Schmitter,"The 'Portugalization' of Brazil?" in Alfred Stephan
(ed.), AuthoritarianBrazil. Origins, Policies, and Future (New Haven, Coon.: Yale
UniversityPress, 1973), p. 184.
5 See Juan J. Linz, "The Future of an Authoritarian Situation or the Institu-
tionalizationof an AuthoritarianRegime: The Case of Brazil," in Stephan, .4uthor-
itarian Brazil; Ronald C. Newton, "Natural Corporatism and the Passing of Pop-
ulism in Spanish America," in Frederick B. Pike and Thomas Stritch (eds.), The
New Corporatism. Social-Political Structures in the Iberian World (Notre Dame,
Ind.: Universityof Notre Dame Press, 1974); aud Philippe C. Schmnitter, "Still the
Century of Corporatism?"in Pike and Stritch,ibid.
6 Karl Marx, The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (New York: International
Publishers,1972), pp. 120-191.
7 There is uniformrecognition of Manoilesco's important contributionsby all
those workingwith corporatisttheory.Schmitterhas provided a very fine summary
of Manoilesco's major arguments,and noted where portions of the general theory
have both been confirmedand disconfirmedby empirical developments since the
general theorywas firstadvanced. Schmitter,"Still the Century of Corporatism?"
PHILIPPINECORPORATISM 395

. . . extension of state control throughregulatorypolicies, sectoral


planning and public enterprise;emergenceof a more professionalized
and achievement-oriented situsof civilservants;and the forcedcorpora-
tizationof interestrepresentationfromabove."8
The most satisfactory statementof the internalcharacteristics of
corporatismdefinesit "as a systemof interestrepresentationin which
the constituentunits are organizedinto a limitednumberof singular,
compulsory,noncompetitive,hierarchicallyordered and functionally
differentiated categories,recognizedor licensed (if not created)by the
state and granteda deliberaterepresentationalmonopolywithin their
respectivecategoriesin exchangeforobservingcertaincontrolson their
selectionof leaders and articulationof demands and supports."9This
definition,coupled with Manoflesco's understandingof the larger
world setting supportive of corporatistresponses, will guide the
analysisof Philippineinstitutionalchange under the New Society.
An examinationof institutionbuilding in the Philippines under
the New Societyrichlydeservesstudy,with or withoutan attemptto
utilize such work for the refinementof theory.But since there is an
urgentneed forcase studiesof possible corporatistregimesif theoryis
to be given an empiricalgrounding,and since thereis clearlyan in-
version-empirically-in one of Manoilesco's centralpropositions(e.g.,
thatcorporatismwould advance national autarkyagainstties of depen-
dency),examinationof the Philippine case becomes even more attrac-
tive.10Finally,to the degree that state corporatiststructuresare being
institutionalizedin the Philippines,some importantconstraintsover
futureoptions for the systemare being imposed. If, as some argue,
corporatistregimes-despite their viabilityin the early stages of de-
layeddependentdevelopment-become"moreand morecostlyto main-
tain throughrepressivemeasuresand less and less capable of . . man-
aging the moderncapitaliststate,"and if theyare at that stage likely
to degenerateinto "openly conflictful" class and interestpolitics,then

8 Schmitter'sSummary,and "translation" into currentterminology,ibid., p. 193.


9 Ibid., pp. 93-94.
10 The limited list of studies includes Lawrence R. Alschuler, "Le Corpora-
tisme comme Infrastructurede la Dependance au Mexique." Paper presented at a
colloquia on "Socialism, Populism, and Corporatism in Latin America," (lUni-
versite Laval, Quebec, January, 1976); Robert R. Kaufman, "Transitions to Stable
Authoritarian-CorporateRegimes: The Chilean Case," Sage Professional Papers in
Comparative Politics,5, 90-060 (BeverlyHills and London: Sage Publications, 1976);
and James M. Malloy, "Authoritarianism,Corporatism and Mobilization in Peru,"
in Pike and Stritch,Tie New Corporatism. In his paper, which is an important
contribution,Alschulernotes that corporatismat an earlier stage in its development
in Mexico served to advance Mexican autarkyand developmentmuch as Manoilesco
predicted but that today the same structuresserve as a solid support fordependency.
One additional reason for examining the Philippine case derives from its long
Spanish colonial heritage. Howard J. Wiarda argues that corporatismis a political
form peculiar to the "Iberic-Latin" world. See "Corporatism and Development in
the Iberic-Latin World: Persistent Strains and New Variations," in Pike and
Stritch,The New Corporatism.I will not examine these historical roots, however.
396 ROBERT B. STAUFFER

our studymightcontributesomewhatto a more controlledbase from


whichto predictthePhilippinefuture."

Trendsin theNew Society


Corporatist
The definitionof corporatismgiven above excludes any mention
of the guiding ideology of corporatistregimesexcept indirectly:the
conditionsof the definitioncould not be fulfilledwithoutpositivead-
herenceto the belief that hierarchy,discipline,state cooperativedom-
inance of sectorallife,etc.,are proper,legitimatecharacteristicsof the
polity,and thatnational well-beingmustbe soughtin an organichar-
monyof intereststhatreplacesthe class and interestconflictsof typical
parliamentaryregimes.'2Every one of these themes appears repe-
titiouslyin the speeches delivered by President Marcos and his top
technocratssince the imposition of martial law in 1972.13In his
speeches,Marcos returnsagain and again to a criticismof politicsand
of thenational
politiciansin the"old society"as divisiveand destructive
interest.In turn,he eloquentlyarguesfor unity,fordiscipline,forre-
spect of the great role the militaryis playing in nation-building,for
forharmonyratherthan conflict.'4He portrayshis role clearly
sacrifice,
as thesupremeleader of the New Society(althougharguingthatit is a
role constitutionallyheld), one who rules sternlywith justice but who
will use all the coercivepower of the state to maintain order (hence
his overarchingconcernwith social discipline).
This ideological frameworkwithin which the institutionsof the
New Societyare being formedis widely disseminatedthroughoutthe
Philippinesby the governmentthroughits massivepublic information

11 Schmitter,"Still a Century of Corporatism," p. 126. Also see Arthur K.


Smith, "Corporatism and the Garrison-ManagerialState," Society (May-june 1975),
pp. 63-68.
12 This downplaying of the ideological dimension is perfectlyunderstandable
consideringthat corporatismhas so long been identifiedwith fascism. Many cor-
poratist theorists point out that all modern polities contain elements of "cor-
poratism." 'While recognizingthe accuracy of such an observation,I still agree with
one summarystatementon the subject: "Corporatist politics is necessarilyauthori-
tarian. . . . [Its] ideology accepts social inequality of individuals as founded in
innate differencesamong human beings. Social stratificationis deemed to be pre-
ordained by God and is thereforejust." Smith, "Corporatism and the Garrison-
Managerial State," p. 64.
13 Some wider intellectual support for these themes is appearing. See Remigio
E. Agpalo, "The Organic-Hierarchical Paradigm and Politics in the Philippines,"
Universityof the Philippines Press, ProfessiorialChair Lecture Series, No. 1, 1973,
in which he argues that Marcos is correctlydirecting the New Society back to the
proper Filipino organic-stateform; and Roman Dubsky, "The Institutionalizingof
Social Conduct and the New Society in the Philippines," Philippine Journal of
Public Adnministration, 18:2 (April 1974), pp. 127-145, where he supportivelyre-
views the government'smany programsto resocialize Filipinos and to instill in them
new values, especially that referredto as "social discipline."
14 His speeches are most easily located in the Republic of the Philippine's
OfficialGazette (weekly) where they typically fill 30-50 pages of each issue. In
several of the speeches he admits that others have writtenthe texts fromwhich lie
reads.
PHILIPPINE CORPORATISM 397

programsutilizingits own media as well as the "self-censored" private


media channels,througha restructured educational systemand various
youthprograms,and throughattemptsto develop a controlledformof
political mobilization.The overarchingpurpose to which thisideology
is directedis to achieve national "development,"a termthatis repeated
in a thousanddifferent contextsand that has come to definethe New
Society.

ofEconomicSector:Even prior to martiallaw, Marcos


Rationalization
had establishednew centraleconomicplanning and developmentagen-
aes largelyfreefromany controlsotherthan thosehe himselfimposed.
These agencieswererapidlyexpanded afterSeptember1972,along with
a national indicativefouryear plan and strongpressuresfromgovern-
ment to eliminate"wasteful"competitionin a varietyof sectorsof the
economy-industrial and agricultural.The automobile industry,for
example, was rationalized down to a maximum of five producers
(througha combinationof carrotand stick methods)with a limited
numberof automobilemodels permittedeach manufacturer. The same
integrativepressureswere applied to a number of other industries,
frommotorcyclesthroughcementto fertilizers. Weaknessesin the econ-
omy are identifiedand special enticements(for local or foreignentre-
preneurs) offeredto shiftresourcesto remedythe deficiencies.Where
thesemethodsfail-or wherethegovernmenteconomicplannersdecide
that the sectoris too large to be handled by local investorsand too im-
portant to be entirelytrustedto foreigninterests-the government
moves directlyinto developing the sectoritself.No single patternfor
this latterapproach has been settledon: typicallya public corporation
is employedbut its structuremayvary.It may be whollyowned by the
Philippine government,may be open to Filipino privatestockholders,
or may be a joint venturewith a foreigntransnationalcorporation.
These public corporationshave been createdforeconomic activitiesas
disparateas oil refiningand distribution,transportation, ship building,
steel production,public utilities,fertilizer
production,communications,
to name a few.Further,the governmenthas moved stronglyinto mar-
ketingseveralof the major agriculturalexportcrops.
Despite thesemanyindicationsof a veryactive state-capitalist role
being played by the centralplanning and controlagenciesof the New
Society, Marcos and his technocratsrepeatedly assure the domestic
and foreignbusinessmenthattheregimeis firmly committedto reliance
on freeenterpriseas the chosen economic systemfor the development
of the Philippines. This is perfectlyin accord with corporatisttheory
on the properrelationshipbetweenthe state and the economy.Where
Philippine practicedeviatesdramaticallyfromtheoryis in the uses to
which state interventionand coordination of the economy are put.
Rather than contributingto the enhancementof "national economic
and political autarky,"corporatisttendenciesin the Philippine econ-
398 ROBEERTB. STAUFFER

omy have been associated with a more complete integrationof the


Philippineeconomyinto the world marketsystem,greaterpenetration
into the economyby transnationalcorporationsand a varietyof mul-
tilateral banking consortia, "advisory" groups, national and multi-
national fundingagencies,etc.,than at any time in Philippine history.

of Society
Rationalization
The exuberantlydiverse,uninhibited,and unregulatedmass media
of the precoup era has been drasticallypruned in numbersof publica-
tions,TV stations,and other communicationchannels permittedby
themartiallaw government. Each of the twomajor sectorsof the media
is organizedinto an integratedassociationof all thoseworkingin the
industry("Kapisanan ng mga Broadkastersa Pilipinas" forradio and
TV, forexample),with each associationheld responsiblefor fostering
theideals of theNew Societyand forhelpingenforceself-censorship on
what is produced,broadcast,or published.A peak governmentcouncil
(Philippine Council for Print Media, for the publishingindustry,for
example)setscensorshipguidelines,polices its half of the total media,
and coordinatesthe role the privatesectoris to play in the successive
governmentpropaganda campaigns.In doing this, the councils must
work closely with the large government-owned sector of the media
whichis under the directionof the Departmentof Public Information.
Structurally, the transformation of the mass media under the New
Societygivesstrongsupportto the propositionthat the Philippines is
being transformedtowards a corporatisttype of polity. Moreover,
the uses to which the media is being put-censorship and the promul-
gation of the themesthat were discussed in an earlier section-give
additionalcredenceto thisreading.
The transformations imposed on labor since 1972, however,con-
stitutean even more clear cut example of corporatistinstitutionaliza-
tion.In the firstyearof martiallaw (forall practicalpurposesthe right
to strikewas denied labor immediately),the governmentorganized a
National TripartiteCongressof Labor, Managementand Government,
and simultaneously began to push forthe unificationof the labor move-
ment. The Congresswas used by the governmentto push througha
new Labor Code providingforcompulsoryarbitrationof labor disputes
and, more recently,to permit a degree of controlledbargainingover
demandsby labor foran increasein the minimumwage.15In a speech
15 Labor during the winter of 1975-1976 had demanded an increase in the
minimum wage from P8 to P18 per day to permit some catching up with an in-
flationrate that had been running above 40% the previous two years (with no wage
increasespermitted).Management opposed any liftingof the minimum wage rate,
arguing instead for ad hoc adjustments. A special meeting of the National Tri-
partiteCongresswas called in April 1976 to work out a compromise.Agreementwas
reached to "recommendan increase in the minimum wage with the final figureto
be decided by PresidentMarcos." Daily Express, April 28, 1976, p. 1. He set a figure
of only PlO for workersin Manila, lesser levels for urban workers in other cities,
and still lower for farm workers.
PHILIPPINE CORPORATISM 399
before a special session of the National TripartiteCongresscalled to
discussthe new labor code, PresidentMarcos spoke about how the gov-
ernment"introducedrationality"into the relationsbetweenlabor and
management,and praised those assembled for their "acceptance of
sacrificeby each and everysectoron an equal burden basis."16Without
touchingon the repressivemeasuresdirectedespeciallytowardslabor
by the regime,thereis ample evidencethatlabor is payingformuch of
the "progress"in the New Society:at a minimum,skilledand unskilled
labor has sufferedan absolute decline of 30% in its real wages since
martial law.17
Pressure has been applied by the governmentto integrate the
widely factionalizedlabor movement,pressurefinallyculminatingin a
Labor ConstitutionalConvention held in December 1975 that pro-
duced a peak labor organization-the "Katipunang MaggagawangPili-
pino" (Trade Union Congressof thePhilippines)-within whichnearly
all labor federations(the Federation of Free Workersremained out)
and the largernational unions are represented.As one account sum-
marized the process:"The TUCP ... was formedin line with the gov-
ernment'srestructuringof the labor movement."The account con-
tinued by pointing out that the basic philosophyof the government
was to push towards a "one-union-one-industry" structurefor labor
unions.18
Justas labor is being rationalizedinto institutionalpatternsclosely
coordinatedby the government,so also for business and industry.As
mentionedearlier,theNew Societyis activelypromotingtherationaliza-
tion of industriesit considersoverlycompetitive.At the organizational
level this same pressureis carried over into sectoral associations.For
example, the variousrival printingassociationshave been coordinated
into a unified,national federation-the PrintingIndustriesAssociation
of the Philippines-a pattern that has been repeated in a varietyof
other industriesranging fromthe metal castingindustryto garment
making. Beyond this the governmenthas encouragedthe businessand
industrial communities-throughtheir respectivechambers of com-
merceand industry-to participatedirectlywith the governmentin the
planningprocess.Finally,the New Societysucceededin 1974 in getting
the various associationsthat can be grouped loosely under the term
"management"to forma peak organization.This association-the Em-
ployersConfederationof the Philippines-is composedof the Chember
of Commerceof the Philippines,the Philippine Chamberof Industries,

16 Official Gazette, 71, No. 21 (May 26, 1975). "Speech to Tripartite Congress
on Implementation of the Labor Code," April 28, 1975, p. 3040-D and p. 3040-L.
17John H. Power, "Philippine Economic Development in the 1970s: Goals and
Strategies." Paper presented at a SEADAG seminar, November 1975, p. 25.
18 Business Day International, December 29, 1975, p. 7. In 1976 the TUCP an-
nounced that in line with a study done by the National Economic and Development
Authority some 400 labor federationswould be phased out relative to collective
bargaining and forced to merge into one or another of 12 broad industry labor
unions. Manila Journal, August 22-28, 1976, p. 3.
400 ROBERT B. STAUFFER

the Philippine Council of Management,the Chamber of Agriculture


and Natural Resources,and the Filipino Chinese Chamber of Com-
merce. The structuralpatternsemergingseem ideally suited to the
needs of state-capitalism, and illustratethe state-corporatisttypes of
institutions being createdin the Philippinesunder the New Society.
The drive to rationalize the private sector and to encourage
(force?)competingassociationsin the same sectorof societyto combine
in peak organizationsextends to the professionsas well as to labor,
business,and industry.Even beforethe impositionof martiallaw, an
attemptwas underwayto legislatethe integrationof the rival factions
of thelaw professioninto a singleassociation.This has since been done
-by PresidentialDecree No. 181 creatingthe "IntegratedBar of the
Philippinesinto a Body Corporate and ProvidingGovernmentAssis-
tanceThereto."119 A similarintegrationhas been providedforthe civil
engineersand the architects,and the government'sProfessionalRegu-
lation Commissionhas been assigned the task of 'integrat[ing]and
unify[ing]the fragmentedprofessionalgroups in the country...."20
Since the governmenthas decided to recognizeonly one organization
for each profession,and since governmentapproval and support are
crucial for the well-beingof each profession,integrationcan be ex-
pectedto prosper.
In its attemptto restructurethemedia and the associationalaspects
of society,the New Societyhas been successfulin imposingnew peak
organizationson each of the major sectors,and in encouragingintegra-
tion of the many smallerunits under each of these associations.The
resultis an imposingframework havingsymmetrical balance, order,and
hierarchy, and providingforeffective governmentpenetrationthrough
itsparticipationas a coordinatingpartneras in the National Tripartite
Congress-or throughits regulatoryrole. The total patternis strongly
corporatistin designand execution.

ofPolitics
Rationalization
As was suggestedin the introductoryparagraphs,authoritarian
systemsconstituting
regimes(withstate-corporatist a sub-type)in Third
World nations typicallyproceed to depoliticize and demobilize their
populations-or attempt to do so-after which a limited degree of
controlledmobilizationfornation-buildingpurposesis carriedout. The
phase of the New Society is too well
depoliticization/demobilization
known to require extensivereview here. Thousands of nationalists,
19F. D. Pinpin (compiler and editor), Presidential Decrees Nos. 108-227 and
Related Documents. Book Two. Consolidated Edition. (Mandaluyong, Rizal: Cacho
Hermanos, Inc., 1973).
20 Manila Journal,April 25-May 1, 1976, p. 1. The item continues with "This
will be in line . . . with the President's desire to band the professionsinto one
integratedbody for greater orderlinessand effectiveness."
PHILIPPINECORPORATISM 401

partyleaders,studentactivists,media people, writers,labor leaders,


farmworkerorganizers,etc., were immediatelyjailed afterthe coup.
Political partieswere broken up, the legislaturedisbanded, the press
muzzled,and prohibitionson any formof organizedpolitical activity
promulgated.The New Society quickly destroyed the institutions
throughwhichthefluid,competitive, relativelyopen-and also corrupt
-politics of the "old society"functioned.
Constructionof new political institutionsfullycontrolledby the
government formanaginglimitedamountsof popular mobilizationwas
begun almostsimultaneouslywith the completionof the dismantling
processthat the New Societywas carryingout on the political institu-
tionsof thepreviousregime.By the end of November1972,the govern-
mentmountedits firstpolitical movementin supportof the New So-
ciety.On November30 PresidentMarcos addressedthe opening rally
of the "Mabuhay ang Pilipino Movement,"a rallyat which a reported
3000 werein attendanceand thattook place simultaneouslywith "mas-
sive rallies at the provincialcapitals . . . all over the country."The
MPM was organized,accordingto the President,to promote"the true
meaning of community,"and to promote the ideals of "social con-
science. . . and the ideal of unity that animatesthis crusade."'2'The
"crusade" never got offthe ground-if it was ever supposed to-al-
though as late as 1975 it made an appearance when some 250 of its
memberswere called to Manila for a meetingwhere theywere man-
dated by InformationSecretaryTatad, speakingfor the President,to
''serveas an educationalarm of the New Societyin preparingFilipinos
for the adventof parliamentarygovernment."22 This occurredat the
timewhen pressuresbegan to surfaceforcalling the interimNational
Assembly-providedforin the constitutionof 1973-into sessionpend-
ing the holdingof parliamentaryelectionsas providedforby thatcon-
stitution.Little is known about this "movement"since it has so rarely
surfacedin the Manila press.
Shortlyafterfoundingthe "Mabuhay ang Pilipino Movement,"
the New Societyfounda moresuccessfuldevice forassuringgovernment
controlover mass mobilization.The need to create an institutionfree
fromthe "old society"thatcould be used to mobilizemass approval for
a new constitutionprovided the impetus.President Marcos issued a
presidentialdecree at the end of December 1972 settingup "Citizen's
Assemblies"in all the barrios of the nation. These were hastilyor-
ganizedby the Departmentof Local Governmentand CommunityDe-
velopmnent (DLGCD) during the firsttwo weeks of January1973, and
readied in time for the firstnational plebiscite.Voting was done in

21 Ferdinand E. Marcos, A Dialogue with my People: Selected Speeches,


(Manila: Department of Public Information,Republic of the Philippines, 1973),
pp. 42-43.
22Manila Journal, December 7-13, 1975, p. 1.
402 ROBERT B. STAUFFER

open assemblyby a showofhands: more than90% reportedlyapproved


thenew constitution and a seriesof questionspertainingto matterssuch
as approvalof martiallaw and of the New Society,the terminationof
congress,suspensionof electionsforseven years,etc. Three additional
plebisciteshave been held since: a second in July1973 at which voters
were asked to give carte blanche approval to Marcos' rule,23one in
February1975 primarilyon local governmentand the national assem-
bly questions,and one in October 1976 at which time nine constitu-
tional amendmentswere approvedincluding provisionfor a National
LegislativeAdvisoryCouncil in place of the interimnational Assembly.
In all plebiscitesafterthe first,formalvotingprocedureswith secret
ballot wereemployed.24
The BarangayAssemblies-as theyhave come to be called-are
organizedaround the premartiallaw barrio councils,expanded to in-
clude representatives of youth groups and other associations,but are
now, in contrastto the pre-1972situation,totallyunder the controlof
the national government. The officialsare all carry-overs
(except those
thathave been replacedforpoliticalreasons)fromcompetitiveelections
beforemartiallaw was imposed.Today theyhold officeat the pleasure
of PresidentMarcos workingthroughthe officialsof the DLGCD and
theNational BarangayOperationsOffice.The systemis effective in that
it assuresthe national governmentdirect controldown to the lowest
local government level. The barangayshave provento be successfulin
managing"mobilization"in the four plebiscitesand in takingon an
increasingnumberof administrative duties forthe centralgovernment.
The barangayshave been givenresponsibilityfor distributinggovern-
ment subsidizedrice and corn, and for establishing"vigilantegroups
to help locate hidden stocksheld by hoarders,"25a controlrole that
does not stop with hoarders.The barangayshave been used in road-
buildingprograms,to mobilizethepeople of Manila fortheFirstLady's
"cleanlinessand sanitationprogram,"26 to provide a "networkof nu-
tritionalservicesand surveillance"and "food production,"27etc.
The barangayrecordto date seemsto indicateclearlythatthe New
Societyhas been able to produce a centralizedstructureto mobilize
mass action under firmadministrativecontrol in support of the re-
23 The single question read: "Do you want President Marcos to continue beyond
1973 and finish the reforms he has initiated under Martial Law?" See sample
"Official Barangay Ballot," Bulletin Today, July 27, 1973. This single question,
however,"covered" nine other officialmatters,including approval for convening the
interim National Assembly,of the Green Revolution of the First Lady, of the
presence of American bases in the Philippines, etc. See Evening Express, July 10,
1973.
24 By 1975 the number of barangays had been increased to 45,000 as they were
extended into urban areas where the barrio form upon which they were originally
based did not exist.
25 Daily Express, August 12, 1973, p. 2.
26 Some 25,000 barangay and youth group leaders were mobilized to in turn
mobilize the Manila population. Daily Express, February 14, 1976, p. 1.
27 Daily Express, March 5, 1976, p. 5.
PHILIPPINECORPORATISM 403

gime'spolitical goals (90% plus votesforwhatever"question" is offered


for resolution)and to carryout a varietyof administrativetasksthat
involvemobilizinglarge numbersof persons.Moreover,as will be dis-
cussed more fullyin the concludingsection,the barangaymovementis
especiallyaimed at reachingthe youthand at socializingtheminto be-
havior patternsstronglysupportiveof the regime.
The patternsjust discussedconstitutethe New Society'ssolutionto
the problem of controllingpolitical mobilizationand politics by plac-
ing both under centraladministrative authority.To be complete,how-
ever,some hierarchicalstructures otherthanpurelyadministrative ones
are required: the representativefeatureof the Barangay Assemblies
needed to be reproducedat higherlevels.As earlyas theoriginallaunch-
ing of thebarangaymovementin 1973,the government moved to estab-
lish a hierarchyof BarangayAssemblylevels,culminatingin a national
peak body,with the whole structurebeing quite similarto that of the
Pakistani "Basic Democracies." Interestingly, the firstmeetingof the
national assemblyin the barangay system-the "Katipunan ng mga
Barangay" (Societyof Barangays)-was reportedas the beginningof a
"People's RevolutionaryCongress."28 The terminology"People's RevQ-
lutionaryCongress"died immediately,but the idea of using the baran-
gays as the basis fora structureof assembliesdid not. The barangay
structure,however,was not to remainthe New Society'sfinalanswerto
corporatistrepresentative institutions.
Under the best of conditions,creatinga legislativebody that is
safelyundergovernment controlfora nation thathas had long experi-
ence with strong,freelyelected representative institutionswould have
posed a difficult problemto the New Society.The problem had been
somewhatcompoundedby the provisionin the new constitutionforan
interimNational Assemblyto be composedof all membersof the Con-
stitutional Convention who voted for the constitutionand all ex-
congressmen willingto supportthe New Society.Potentially,thiswould
have meant an interimNational Assemblyin which possiblyas many
as 90% of theelectivenationalpolitical elite of the "old society"would
have been present,an explosivesituationeven with all nationalistand
opposition leaders in jail or otherwiseisolated frompublic forums.
Each of the firstthreeplebisciteswas interpretedby the regimeto have
been a vote against calling the interimNational Assemblyand for
settingup some alternativestructure. Despite this"voice of the people"
rejection of the interimNational Assembly,pressure-admittedpub-
licly in the mass media-periodically appeared for calling that body
into being.Probablyto counterthis,the "Katipunan ng mga Barangay"
was called into sessionin August1976 to providePresidentMarcos with
a strongresolutionagainst"calling the assemblyprovidedforunder the

28 Primitivo Mijares, "People's Congress seen in Wake of Assembly Meetings,"


Daily Express, January 15, 1973, p. 1.
404 ROBERT B. STAUFFER

Constitution."29Soon afterin the October 1976 plebiscitethe issue was


settled,as notedearlier:the constitutionwas amended to eliminatethe
interimNational Assembly.
While thenational barangayassemblymaywell continue,its limi-
tationswhen it was advanced as a substitutefor the interimNational
Assemblyweretoo greatto permitthe New Societyto assumethe prob-
lem of findingan institutionthatboth assuredgovernmentcontroland
gave it legitimacy(abroad as well as at home) had been solved.30An
importantnew seriesof developmentswas begun in November1975 at
the timethe Presidentcreated"MetropolitanManila" out of the City
of Manila and its major suburbs,and made Mrs. Marcos its firstgov-
ernor.In the presidentialdecreeorderingthischangeover,he also pro-
videdforthecreationof a new councilforthenew "metro,"to be called
a "SangguniangBayan" ("town" council). A shorttime later,he issued
a new decree changingall provincial,city,and municipalitycouncils
into "SangguniangBayans" (SBs) and, somewhatlater, an order pro-
vidingforregional federationsand a peak body at the national level.
The projectwas pushedwithgreatspeed so thatit was possible to hold
a generalconventionof representatives fromlowerlevel SBs in January
1976, with some 4,100 delegatesin attendance.3'In September1976, a
modifiednational council met brieflyfor the firsttime as an interim
National Legislative AdvisoryCouncil. A month later this body-
composed of the President,cabinet members,and representativesof
the "Sangguniang"system-was designated the National Legislative
AdvisoryCouncil (now titledthe "Batasang Bayan") as a resultof the
constitutionalchangesunder the plebiscite.
At everylevel in the "Sangguniang"system-fromthe town SBs
up throughthe "Pambansa" (national)-a complex sectoralrepresenta-
tion formulais applied. Basicallythe formulaprovidesforformalrep-
resentationof the following:the higherunits of the barangayand the
youth barangay systems;officialsof defunctcouncils and boards re-
placed by the "Sangguniangs";previouslyelected local governmentex-
ecutives(above the barrio level); and for four "sectors"-the profes-
sional sector,the "capital" sector,the industriallabor sector,and the
agriculturallabor sector.32
The overall systemthat seemsto be emergingis much more com-
plex than thisbriefschematicoutline suggests.What is importantfor
our analysis,however,is not so much the details of how the new ad-
visorycouncils are being organizedbut that the leaders of the New
Societyhave opted forwhat is the quintessentialhallmarkof corpora-
29 Manila Journal, August 1-7, 1976, p. 1. Recently the word "Pambansang"
(national) has been added to the assembly's title: "Pambansang Katipunan ng mga
Barangay" (PKB).
30Chief among the limitationsare the excessivelylocal character of the baran-
gays, the open subserviencyof the units to governmentdomination, and the lack
of an adequate urban base.
31 All those "nominated" to attend had to be approved by President Marcos.
32 Daily Express, January 20, 1976, p. 12.
PHILIPPINE CORPORATISM 405
tism-reliance on "sectoral" formsof representationas the base for
an advisory,proto-legislative structure.It is too early yet to say very
much about how well this will work in the Philippines. The regime
seemscommitted,however,to make the attempt.In doing so, it is pro-
viding the "popular" structurewithinwhich the other corporatistfea-
turesof the systemcan be neatlyfit.Simultaneously,by relyingon in-
stitutions(barangays;the peak associationsforthe respective"sectors";
etc.) alreadysafelybroughtunder directstatecontrol to "elect" repre-
sentativesto these advisorycouncils,the New Societyremainsassured
of the political reliabilityof thoseselected.
If the compulsory,hierarchicalorderingof separate categoriesof
societyconstitutesone of the definingcharacteristics of corporatism,
then the New Society'shandling of the youth constitutesone of the
strongerexamplesof the corporatizationof the Philippinesunder mar-
tial law. From the early days of the new regime,special attentionhas
been given the youth.Those in the 15-18 year bracketwere given the
right to vote in the national plebiscites,all are forcedto participate
in the Youth Civic Action Program(a school-relatedcommunitywork
program),and all are pushed to be more active in sportprograms,to
be more disciplined (reflectedin the impositionof a common school
uniformforstudents),to takepart in themanyyouth-oriented activities
of the New Society,etc.
In April 1975,a new dimensionwas added. Through a presidential
decree a hierarchyof "Kabataang Barangays"(youthassemblies)paral-
leling the regularbarangaysystemwas created.Some 45,000 Kabataang
Barangays(KBs) are to be formed(or have been already),with munici-
pal, provincial,and regional federationsabove these base units, a na-
tional assemblyat the top, and a parallel hierarchyof executiveposi-
tions related to theirappropriateunits-a structuremirroringthat of
the Barangay Assemblies.The task of trainingKB leaders has been
lavishlyfundedwith a major national trainingfacilityin operationon
the slopes of Mt. Makiling near Manila and at least threeothercenters
elsewherein the nation. Thousands of youthhave alreadybeen trained
in programs"designed to evolve a scheme that would revolutionize
youth participationin nation-building."33 Judgingfrom accounts of
the graduation ceremonies,all the stage props for mobilizing a mass
audience into an emotional identification with national goals are used
with greateffectiveness. Employedwithyouthin the KB age range,the
effectmustbe overpoweringto many,deeplymovingformost.34

33 Daily Express, May 13, 1976, p. 1.


34 See Daily Express, January 12, 1976, p. 6, for an account of the ritual, the
catechism employed, the use of banners quoting statementsby Marcos ("You are
living in a revolutionarycentury; you will have the opportunity of directing the
revolutionary advance") and flags. This account also contains portions of Mrs.
Marcos' emotional speech to the graduation class. For a more detailed account of
life in one of the camps, see "Inside the Camp September 21st Movement: Kaba-
taang Barangay Training Program Bared," Signs of the Times, March 26, 1976,
pp. 9-12.
406 ROBERTB. STAUFFER
Like the barangaysystemafterwhich it was patterned,the Kab-
ataang Barangayis highlysuggestiveof a corporatistapproach to po-
litical organizationby the New Society: dependence on government
initiativeforits creationand support;rigid reliance on hierarchy;ac-
ceptanceby thosein authoritypositionsat all levels in the structureof
the need to limit demand-making-to participate in depoliticizing
society-and to cooperatein the approved formsof mobilization.Be-
yondthis,theKBs, because theyrepresenta decisionto createstructures
fora discretecategoryof thepopulation,emphasizefurtherthe corpora-
tizationprocess.
A final observationon the rationalizationof politics under the
New Society:in a veryreal sense,the degreeof controlexercisedby the
stateover the systemsthat are being createdto fill the void left after
theprecoupinstitutionswere destroyedgoes well beyond that typically
postulatedfor the corporatistmodel. In theory,corporatismpermits
a greaterdegree of limited autonomyto political institutionsthan so
farhas been the patternin the New Society,althoughother empirical
caseswill probablyestablishthe Philippinesas closer to typicality.35

Conclusions
The leadersof the New Society,afterhavingdestroyedthepolitical
institutionsof the precoup regime,have used authoritarianstatepower
to proceed to constructnew institutions,not only for the political
sphereof public life but for the economic and social as well. In each
sector the new institutionshave decidedly corporatistcharacteristics:
competinggroupsare forcedto mergeunder statesponsorship;labor is
coercedinto "cooperating"with managementand the governmentin
buildingthe economy;privateassociationsare integratedunder a for-
mula of a singlepeak body for each profession,economic function,or
social activity;government-sponsored and controlled "representative"
bodies-some with "sectoral" representation-are created; disciplined
"harmony"is decreed as the basis forbuilding the New Societyalong
with "developmentalism";the militaryis accorded new honor,respect,
and power; and massivepublic informationprogramsare directedto-
wardssocializingthe population into the values of the new order.
These trendsfullyjustifyusing the termcorporatismto describe
the basic system-typetendenciesso farevidentin the New Society.The
uses to which these new institutionshave been put, however,do not
35 The New Society has not as yet attempted to create a corporatist political
party to serve along with other institutionsto guide political life. Manoilesco, in a
sequel to Le Siecle dit Corporatisme,theorizes that a corporatiststate requires a
strong, supportive single mobilization party. Schmitter observes that practice in
corporatistregimes demonstrates that such has not been the case. Typically at-
temptsto create such a party end wvithit becoming a weak, bureaucratic appendage
of the state. See Schmitter,"Still the Centuryof Corporatism?"
PHILIPPINE CORPORATISM 407

seemto supportwhat is certainlyone of the most compellingjustifica-


tions for turningto state corporatism-namely,that a more highly
rationalizedpoliticaleconomywill enhance the abilityof the nation to
controlits own decisions,free it at least to a degree from outside
domination,and break dependencypatterns.Although only limited
data have been examined in this paper on the matter,work reported
elsewherestronglyarguesforexactlythe opposite: the New Societyhas
providedthe framework fora closerintegrationof the Philippinesinto
the world marketeconomyunder conditionsthat increase its depen-
dence on outsideinputsand correspondingcontrols.This findingcalls
formodifyingcorporatisttheory,especiallywhen comparablepatterns
have been found elsewhere-Mexico, for example. Corporatistinsti-
tutionscan apparentlyas easily serve to maintain dominance-depen-
dencyrelationshipsas to break them.

ROBERT B. STAUFFER is Professor of Political Science at the University of


Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu.

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