Philippine Legislature: Democratic Facsimile

Regional dynasts, celebrities, Duterte acolytes dominate both houses in wake of election

The overwhelming victory of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in the Philippine presidential election, thanks at least in part to the re-writing through social media of the oppression and pillage that characterized his father’s rule in the 1970s and 1980s, is not the only reason to worry about the direction of Philippine democratic politics.

As expected, t…