Philippines Socio-Economic and Political Situationer In May 2026, Philippine politics were widely described as entering a period of heightened tension, reflecting deepening fractures within the country’s governing coalition. The once-strategic alignment between the Marcos and Duterte political blocs has increasingly given way to open rivalry as the 2028 national elections draw closer. Both factions have been actively consolidating influence, strengthening political networks

Synthesis This paper seeks to explore and analyze the Marcos Jr. administration’s consolidation of power amid a deepening crisis of legitimacy. It argues that the regime’s trajectory reveals a governance model anchored in elite accommodation, technocratic spectacle, and the selective use of reformist discourse to obscure entrenched patronage and authoritarian tendencies. While early efforts at regime-building enabled the alignment of key institutions—the legislature, judiciar