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The Philippines' COVID-19 Response
[journal article]
Abstract The Philippine response to COVID-19 has been described as being one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world. Why has the Philippine government relied heavily on draconian measures in its "war" against COVID-19? And what discourse informed the framing of its response as a war against the ... view more
The Philippine response to COVID-19 has been described as being one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world. Why has the Philippine government relied heavily on draconian measures in its "war" against COVID-19? And what discourse informed the framing of its response as a war against the virus? This article argues that the government’s reliance on draconian measures was a consequence of securitising COVID-19, appreciating the virus as an "existential threat". The securitisation of COVID-19 was reinforced with a narrative characterising the situation of the country as being at war against an "unseen enemy". This war-like narrative, however, invariably produced a subject, the pasaway. As the perpetual enemy of health and order, the pasaway became the target of disciplining and policing. The targeting of the pasaway was informed by deep-seated class prejudices and Duterte's authoritarian tendencies.... view less
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
Philippines; COVID-19; securitisation; Duterte; populism; policing
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 224-244
Journal
Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 40 (2021) 2
ISSN
1868-4882
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed