Corruption and the politics of 'survival' in southern Philippines

Abstract

This thesis looks deeper at the relationship between the central and local

governments that might offer reason(s) for the lack of development in the South.

Specifically, it looks at corruption and how it has been embedded within Southern

Filipino society. Therefore, it aims to study the extent to which corruption has

impeded development in the South. 'Survival' refers to the livelihood of the lay

people, or the political longevity of local elites (datus) and central government who

engage in corruption to stay in power. It would be unfair to impose the oftunderstood

(negative) yardstick of corruption in its political and legal sense unto a

society which has normalised the practice; a sociological and historical approach

should be taken to give a more nuanced perspective in understanding corruption. I

highlight the role of the datus as being the driver for corruption within the Muslim

South. More specifically, I show how corruption and patronage is an economic

means to ensure their survivability in the changing political context of the

Philippines and in the South. Patronage between the central and local governments

(controlled by clans headed by datus) would be fundamental in understanding how

deep corruption is embedded, with multiple and complex patron-client relationships.

Therefore, I assess the necessity of corruption to the 'survival' of various parties and

clarify the (de)merits that corruption might have. I find however, that there is no

clear determining relationship between corruption and development, considering the

culture and 'internal colonialism' between Manila and Southern Philippines.