Capital, Coercion, and Crime: Bossism in the Philippines

“…between local people and government institutions is an unequal one, which can in practice be characterised by the cooption of local community leaders and/or exclusive and often deep-rooted, clientelistic relations (see, for example, Sidel, 1999, on the emergence of ‘Bossism’ in the Philippines).”

“The causes and consequences of this situation have been debated exhaustively by foreign and Filipino social scientists (Abinales, 1998; Boyce, 1993; Hutchcroft, 1998; Rocamora, 1994; Sidel, 1999).”

“Rulers are free to concentrate power in their own hands and rule by decree (Sidel, 1999).”

“True, there is much life left in the bossism that has long dominated Philippine politics and society (Sidel, 1999).”

“For Sidel, the emergence of bosses is essentially dependent on a specific sequencing, that is, the imposition of formal electoral democratic institutions upon an underdeveloped state apparatus at an early phase of capitalist development (Sidel 1999: 13).”

“Brokers include local officials, family members and allies, and those who received assistance from the candidate in the past (Schmidt et al., 1977; Sidel, 1999).”

“This affected the powers of datus, although political bossism and strong man rule continued to shape the transformation of Mindanao (McCoy 1982, Putzel 1992, Sidel 1999, Abinales 2000).”

“Authors have described similar scenarios in the Philippines (Sidel 1999); Thailand (Ockey 1998); and machine-era America (Erie 1988, Chapter 2).”

“Indeed, a long tradition of literature in comparative politics emphasizes the ways that elites, and especially subnational elites, use their authority to exercise control over society and cultivate autonomous power bases (Hale, 2003; Herbst, 2000; Koter, 2013; Lemarchand, 1972; Migdal, 1988; Sidel, 1999).”

“, & Sidel, J. T. (2000). Philippine politics and society in the”

“…general, however, studies of political culture in Laos lack the theoretically sophisticated and fine-grained empirical analysis of clientelism and patronage that distinguish political studies of other Southeast Asian countries (see, for example, Hadiz and Robison 2005; Nishizaki 2011; Sidel 1999).”

“Politics in the country is, according to Sidel (1999), characterized by “bossism,” and the abuse of electoral practices is widespread.”

“Local politics, tightly controlled by the military regime under the New Order at least until the early 1990s, is increasingly marked by ‘predatory networks’ (Robison / Hadiz 2004) and may evolve into outright ‘bossism’ (Sidel 1999).”

“…in restricting poor peoples’ political access and in blocking reform historically is well established in the literature on Philippine politics (Crippen, 1946; Kerkvliet, 1977; Anderson, 1988; Sidel, 1999; Lara and Morales, 1990; Hutchcroft, 1991; McCoy, 1993; Riedinger, 1995; Franco, 2001a).”

“Sidel (1999) attributes the importance of families in politics to the overlaying of democracy on the emerging socioeconomic landscape of hacienda-based clans and business elites.5There is evena commonlyusedTagalog phrase that highlights the linkages between families and clientelism: kasal, binyag,…”

“Similarly, authoritarian enclaves and ‘bossism’ have blunted the impact of local government structures (Sidel, 1999).”

“See Sidel (1999).”

“Sidel (1999) has made a similar point when discussing the “strength” of the Philippine state which, from the perspective of influential elites, proves to be a very powerful instrument at their disposal in advancing their interests.”

“…and oligarchs in the Philippines and developed a multitude of concepts describing their strong influence over the political-economy of the Philippines such as ‘crony capitalism’, ‘cacique democracy’, ‘booty capitalism’, or ‘bossism’ (Anderson, 1988; McCoy, 1994; Hutchcroft, 1998; Sidel, 1999).”

“For instance, reforms in Thailand and the Philippines have revealed that competitive elections for local officials do not, in themselves, ensure that the devolved authority would be operated democratically (Kerkvliet, 1996; McVey, 2000; Sidel, 1999).”

“…competition, Jakarta retains an autonomy from regional interests that have been eroded in neighboring capitals like Bangkok (Ockey 2000) and Manila (Sidel 1999).35 In a different way events from Thailand and the Philippines provide compelling examples, although at the national level, that parallel…”

“For inmate leaders who engage in these practices, it resembles the all-out war nature of Philippine local politics where politicians use guns, goons, and gold to remain in office (Linantud, 1998; Sidel, 1999).”

“…resources in the banking industry and rent-seeking behavior in the media and communication services, and become ‘warlords’ with their own private armies both to ward off rivals and violently consolidate their grip on power (Carter, 1993; Hutchcroft, 1991, 1998; McCoy, 1994; Sidel, 1997, 1999).”

“Consequently the political institutions remain by and large in the hands of very dynamic and often changing coalitions between politicobureaucratic and business interests (Hadiz 2003; Sidel 1999), while social forces that might have demanded more comprehensive reforms, and there-”

“The result of the latter was that provincial elites effectively came to exercise ‘monopolistic personal control over coercive and economic resources in their territorial jurisdictions or bailiwicks’ [ [76]: 141].”

“Al sees his role not as a political patron or a local boss that have been staple features of small town politics in contemporary Philippines (Sidel, 1999).”

“…second degree of consanguinity or through marriage are coded as 1, and all else 0.12 This is because past empirical work on Philippine politics has shown how dynastic entrenchment in domestic politics has been linked to inferior governance (McCoy, 2009; Sidel, 1999; Tusalem and Pe-Aguirre, 2013).”

“First, the chief of police’s appointment or dismissal at the municipal level is highly influenced by the mayor (Sidel 1999, p. 26). With this influence, the chief of police is really a subordinate to the mayor and not in a position to check corrupt practices. 160 Trends Organ Crim (2010) 13:147–166”

“…all; it is a freedom 3For histories of Philippine state formation that emphasize the dialectics of insurgency and counterinsurgency, see Abinales and Amoroso (2017); Coronel (2017); Kramer (2006); Lara (2014); Lara and Schoofs (2016); McCoy (2009a, 2009b); Rafael (1999); and Sidel (1999a, 1999b).”

“Many citizens were hopeful that a revitalized civil society could buffer the negative outcomes of ‘‘top-down’’ interventions driven by political families (Contreras 2000; Sidel 1999).”

“Although more recent additions emerged in the early twentieth century through political connections with the government under the American colonial rule (Sidel, 1999), the Philippine oligarchy has largely been created and supported by an unusual level of high concentration of wealth.”

“Such persuasion took the form of money to add a further incentive for compliance or the provision of manpower for forced evictions (McAndrew 1994; Coronel 1995; Sidel 1999).”

“Militant and moderate unions stayed away from Cavite, intimidated not only by zone police, but also by the disappearance and &dquo;salvag, ing&dquo; of emergent labor leaders (Sidel 1999).2 The governor was particularly effective in maintaining control through the political loyalty of local mayors.”

“Sidel 1999, 19.”

“In the Philippine literature, there has been a discussion of “bossism,” local strongmen who use violence, or its implicit threat to secure their bailiwicks (Rocamora, 1995; Sidel, 1999).”

“…absence of political competition is the one characteristic that the empirical range of subnational authoritarian regime variants share (Gelman 2010, 8; 2014: 506; Gervasoni 2018, 30; Gibson 2012, 13; Giraudy 2015, 35; Matsuzato 2001, 61; Sidel 1999, 24; 2004, 56; 2014, 163; Trounstine 2008, 25).”

“At the subnational and local levels, Philippine politics are characterized by the prevalence of local power brokers who achieved sustained monopolistic control over both coercive and economic resources within given territorial jurisdictions or bailiwicks (Sidel 1999).”

“…colonial conquest whose legacy includes the concentration of land in the hands of Filipinos of Spanish ancestry who in turn constitute an entrenched elite class generally opposed to land reform and who occupy a prominent position in the country’s politics and business (Sidel 1999; McCoy 2009).”

“Sidel ( 1999 ) builds on the idea of ‘command and coercion’ and ‘bossism’ as essential elements of Philippine politics.”