Liberalism in the Philippines

Part of a series on
Liberalism
Schools Classical Conservative Cultural Feminist Equity Green Internationalist Muscular National Neoclassical Neo Ordo Radical Religious Christian Catholic Islamic Jewish Secular Social Techno Third Way
Principles Consent of the governed Due process Democracy Economic liberalism Economic globalization Equality Gender Legal Federalism Freedom Economic Market Trade Press Religion Speech Harm principle Internationalism Invisible hand Labor theory of property Laissez-faire Liberty Negative Positive Limited government Market economy Natural monopoly Open society Permissive society Popular sovereignty Property Private Public Rights Civil and political Natural and legal To own property To bear arms Rule of law Secularism Secular humanism Separation of church and state Separation of powers Social contract Social justice Social services Welfare state Whig history
History Age of Enlightenment List of liberal theorists (contributions to liberal theory)
Philosophers Milton Locke Spinoza Montesquieu Voltaire Rousseau Smith Kant Turgot Burke Priestley Paine Beccaria Condorcet Bentham Korais De Gouges Wollstonecraft Staël Say Humboldt Constant Ricardo Guizot List Bastiat Martineau Emerson Tocqueville Mill Spencer Arnold Acton Weber Hobhouse Croce Cassirer Mises Ortega Keynes Collingwood Čapek Hu Hayek Popper Aron Berlin Friedman Rawls Sen Nozick Kymlicka Badawi
Politicians Jefferson Kołłątaj Madison Artigas Bolívar Broglie Lamartine Macaulay Kossuth Deák Cobden Mazzini Juárez Lincoln Gladstone Cavour Sarmiento Mommsen Naoroji Itagaki Levski Kemal Deakin Milyukov Lloyd George Venizelos Ståhlberg Gokhale Rathenau Madero Einaudi King Roosevelt Pearson Ohlin Kennedy Jenkins Balcerowicz Verhofstadt Obama Macron
Organizations Africa Liberal Network Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party Arab Liberal Federation Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats European Democratic Party European Liberal Youth International Alliance of Libertarian Parties International Federation of Liberal Youth Liberal International Liberal Network for Latin America Liberal parties Liberal South East European Network
Regional variants Europe Latin America Albania Armenia Australia Austria Belgium Bolivia Brazil Bulgaria Canada Chile China Hong Kong Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia Denmark Ecuador Egypt Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Venizelism Honduras Hungary India Iran Israel Italy Liberism Japan Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Mexico Moldova Montenegro Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Nigeria North Macedonia Norway Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Cracovian Portugal Romania Russia Senegal Serbia Slovakia Slovenia South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand Tunisia Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Cobdenism Gladstonian Manchester Whiggism United States Arizona School Classical Jeffersonian Modern Uruguay Venezuela Zimbabwe
Related topics Anti-authoritarianism Anti-communism Bias in American academia Bias in the media Capitalism Democratic Centrism Radical centrism Economic freedom Egalitarianism Empiricism Humanism Individualism Anarchist Land value tax Libertarianism Left Right Pirate Party Progressivism Sexually liberal feminism Utilitarianism
Liberalism portal Politics portal
v t e

Liberalism in the Philippines first emerged during Spanish rule, along with broader liberal developments within Spain. The ideology became prominent among an educated group known as the ilustrado, including the author José Rizal, whose writing contained liberal themes. Liberal ideas were adopted by the nationalistic Philippine Revolution, and later co-opted by the American administration. Liberalism became popular under American rule, which saw the creation of the Liberal Party of the Philippines, one of the oldest parties in the Philippines. This elite ideology became contested following independence. The lack of progress on economic inequality led to a communist insurgency. Liberal democracy was further challenged by the establishment of Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos. A return to liberal democracy following the People Power Revolution was upturned by the rule of Rodrigo Duterte.

The 19th century saw the rise of liberalism in Spain, culminating in the Spanish Constitution of 1812.^{[1]: 163–164} This constitution even included the representation of the Philippines within the Cortes of Cádiz. However, this representation was short-lived.^[2] The promises of liberalism in Spain were never fully implemented in the Philippines, where the powers of the state and church increased rather than decreased. The promise of equality under the law for all Spanish citizens in particular was never achieved, with non-peninsulares not being granted equality with native Spaniards in a racially segmented Spanish Empire.^{[1]: 163–164}

Luis Rodríguez-Varela, a writer in the Philippines of European descent, sometimes known as "El Conde Filipino", began releasing books espousing a liberal view in 1799. These views were inspired by the French Revolution, and Varela later became a supporter of the 1812 constitution. He sought its full implementation of the constitution in the Philippines, along with representation for the Philippines in the Spanish Cortes. He also called for a school system independent of the church. Varela's views circulated among others of Spanish descent living in Manila, and the spread of these views eventually led to the creation of the Comite de Reformadores of 1869, the first Liberal political party in the country.^[3]: 92 Famous members include José Burgos, while the youth wing in the University of Santo Tomas included Felipe Buencamino and Paciano Rizal. The party was suppressed by the government following the 1872 Cavite mutiny. Some members went on to become members of the ilustrado, and the liberal ideas were revived through the Propaganda Movement.^{[3]: 92–93}

Members of the Ilustrado, including those in the Propaganda Movement, sought reform of the governance of the Philippines and a curtailing of Catholic power. In particular, they called for an end to racial discrimination, and thus the full application of Spanish law in the Philippines, which would provide full rights to those in the Philippines as Spanish citizens with full representation in the Spanish Cortes.^[4]

The most prominent ilustrado was José Rizal.^[5]: 2 Rizal's novel Noli Me Tángere features a figure named Elias, who espoused secular and liberal beliefs that conflicted with reactionary beliefs regarding overbearing civil and religious authorities.^{[3]: 93–94} Rizal remained more religious than many liberal thinkers in Spain proper, treating liberal freedoms as natural results of God's justice.^[6]: 239

Liberal thought represented a powerful challenge to the conservative colonial governing structures.^{[3]: 91–92} The ilustrado were Spanish-speaking and university-educated and desired assimilation into the mainstream of Spanish society. These political aspirations caused conflict with the influential friars in the Philippines, and the state generally sided with the religious authorities.^[1]: 163 Rizal wrote that "modern ideas" were "asphyxiated upon touching the shores of Manila".^[3]: 92 Liberal thought thus formed the core of a nascent nationalist movement, with the ideas of Rizal and other ilustrado being espoused by the nationalist Katipunan group.^[5]: 2

During American rule, liberalism was a key component of state-building, with many liberals promoted to important positions in the administration.^[5]: 2 Rizal's legacy was adopted by American authorities, who positioned him as espousing peaceful reforms that American rule had brought.^[6]: 231 While common among the elite in Filipino politics, liberal philosophy did not spread far within the economically unequal wider society, where Catholic conservatism competed with socialist movements.^[7]: 2 Beginning in the 1920s, the Filipino elite began to travel to the United States, becoming more familiar with American liberal ideas and the concept of a liberal democracy.^[7]: 19

Liberalism was the dominant ideology of the political elite upon independence.^[7]: 19 Nationalist historians have sometimes drew a distinction between the liberal ideas of the ilustrado and the ideals of the revolutionaries.^[7]: 8 20th-century Filipino critics such as Renato Constantino and Jose Maria Sison viewed Rizal's writings as elite and bourgeoisie,^[3]: 90 believing his ideas of reform were unambitious compared to nationalist figures with whom Rizal disagreed.^[6]: 232

Broadly liberal rule was ended by the Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos. Ferdinand Marcos implemented martial law, justifying the move as necessary to combat the communist New People's Army rebellion as well as elite oligarchic families. The language and justification was couched in liberal ideals, although in practice they served as a means to maintain power. The Liberal Party developed to become a political opponent of the Marcos regime. A revolution driven in part by the urban Manila middle-class, named the People Power Revolution, ended the Marcos regime and reestablished a liberal democratic political system.^[5]: 2–3

The 2016 Philippine presidential election was run by populist Rodrigo Duterte, a dark horse candidate who campaigned on the failures of the existing political system to achieve change. This election followed the presidency of Benigno Aquino III, son of the first post-Marcos president Corazon Aquino, allowing for a strong link to be created against the Aquinos and their liberal democratic tradition. The ideology underlying Duterte's presidency became known as "Dutertismo", and was opposed by Liberalists and Catholic priests; the regime was also opposed following allegations of mass murder.^[5]: 1–4 The populist rule of Duterte came into conflict with institutions and ideas associated with liberal democracy, such as liberal conceptions of a free press and human rights, although it maintained broadly liberal economic policies.^[8]

In the early 20th century, debating groups developed in the Philippines among those who held liberal beliefs. This was seen as a role to prove to Americans that Filipinos were responsible citizens, and liberal ideas were deployed to argue for the Philippines' independence. Prominent liberal figures involved in debating included educator Camilo Osías and diplomat Carlos P. Romulo.^[9]

• de Llobet, Ruth (2018). "Luis Rodríguez Varela: literatura panfletaria criollista en los albores del liberalismo en Filipinas, 1790-1824". Revista de crítica literaria latinoamericana (in Spanish). 44 (88): 131–154. ISSN 0252-8843.