essay about election 2022 in the philippines

Why the 2022 Philippines election is so significant

There are 10 candidates vying to replace Rodrigo Duterte as president, but only two really matter.

The Philippines goes to the polls on May 9 to choose a new president, in what analysts say will be the most significant election in the Southeast Asian nation’s recent history.

Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte leaves office with a reputation for brutality – his signature “drug war”  has left thousands dead and is being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) – economic incompetence, and cracking down on the media and his critics.

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Duterte has also been criticised for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed at least 60,439 people in the archipelago.

There are 10 people battling to replace him, but only two stand a chance of winning.

The first is frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr, popularly known as “Bongbong” and the namesake of his father, who ruled the Philippines as a dictator until he was forced from office and into exile in a popular uprising in 1986.

The second is Leni Robredo, the current vice president and head of the opposition, who has promised more accountable and transparent government and to reinvigorate the country’s democracy.

“This election is really a good versus evil campaign,” University of the Philippines Diliman political scientist Aries Arugay told Al Jazeera. “It’s quite clear. Duterte represents dynasty, autocracy and impunity. Robredo stands for the opposite of that: integrity, accountability and democracy.”

What happens on election day?

Some 67.5 million Filipinos aged 18 and over are eligible to cast their vote, along with about 1.7 million from the vast Filipino diaspora who have registered overseas.

Polling stations will open at 6am (22:00 GMT) and close at 7pm (11:00 GMT). The hours have been extended because of the coronavirus pandemic and the need to avoid queues and crowds.

Once the polls close, counting gets under way immediately, and the candidate with the most votes wins. There is no second round so the name of the new president could be known within a few hours. The inauguration takes place in June.

As well as the presidential race, Filipinos are choosing a new vice president – the position is elected separately to the president – members of congress, governors and thousands of local politicians including mayors and councillors.

Politics can be a dangerous business in the Philippines and there is the risk of violence during both campaigning and the election itself.

In one of the most horrific incidents, dozens of people were killed and buried by the roadside in 2009 by a rival political clan in what became known as the Maguindanao massacre .

Who is in the running for president?

Opinion polls suggest Marcos Jr remains in the lead although Robredo appears to be closing the gap.

The 64-year-old dictator’s son attended the private Worth School in England and studied at Oxford University – Marcos Jr’s official biography says he “graduated” but the university says he emerged with a “special diploma” in social studies.

He entered politics in the family stronghold of Ilocos Norte in 1980, and was governor of the province when his father was forced out of power and democracy restored.

In 1992, he was elected to congress – again for Ilocos Norte. Three years later, he was found guilty of tax evasion, a conviction that has dogged him ever since but does not seem to have hindered his political career.

Marcos Jr was elected a senator in 2010, and ran unsuccessfully for the vice presidency six years later when he was pipped to the post by a resurgent Robredo.

On the campaign trail, Marcos Jr has talked of “unity” but has provided little detail on his policies and has avoided media interviews and debates.

His running mate is Sara Duterte-Carpio , Duterte’s daughter, who took over as mayor of Davao City from her father and is leading the field for vice president.

Robredo is the current vice president and a human rights lawyer who got into politics in 2013 after her husband – a government minister – was killed in a plane crash.

She threw her hat into the ring at a relatively late stage, and has relied on a network of pink-clad volunteers to win over voters across the archipelago.

Thousands have turned out for her rallies, some of then standing for hours in their hot sun waiting to hear the presidential hopeful speak. Robredo, whose running mate is Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, is running on a platform of good governance, democracy and an end to corruption.

Other candidates include champion boxer Manny Pacquiao , Manila mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, and a former police chief Panfilo Lacson.

Why would a Marcos victory be controversial?

Ferdinand Marcos became president of the Philippines in 1965, winning over Filipinos with his charisma and rhetoric, and taking control of a country that appeared at the time to be one of Southeast Asia’s emerging powerhouses.

Backed by the United States, Marcos won a second term in office in 1969, but three years later he declared martial law claiming the move was necessary to “save” the nation from communists.

For the next 14 years, he ruled the country as a dictator.

More than 3,200 people were killed – their bodies often dumped by the road side as a warning to others – and even more tortured or arbitrarily jailed, according to the US academic and historian, Alfred McCoy.

Marcos’s biggest rival, Benigno Aquino, was assassinated as he got off a plane at Manila airport.

The killing shocked Filipinos at a time when they were increasingly angry at the corruption and extravagance of the Marcos regime. Even as many lived in poverty, the Marcos family bought properties in New York and California, paintings by artists including impressionist master Monet, luxury jewellery and designer clothes.

Transparency International estimated in 2004 that the couple embezzled as much as $10bn during their years in power, and Imelda , Marcos’s wife, has become a byword for excess.

But since the former dictator’s death in Hawaii in 1989, the Marcos family have sought to rehabilitate themselves, trying to portray the dictatorship as some kind of golden age.

In 2016, Duterte allowed Ferdinand Marcos to be buried in Manila’s heroes cemetery, complete with a 21-gun salute .

Now the Duterte family is allied with the Marcos one, and their bid also has the support of other politically influential dynasties in a country where blood ties are more important than any political party.

“The meteoric resurgence of the Marcoses is itself a stinging judgement on the profound failures of the country’s democratic institutions,” academic Richard Javad Heydarian wrote in a column for Al Jazeera in December. “Decades of judicial impunity, historical whitewashing, corruption-infested politics and exclusionary economic growth has driven a growing number of Filipinos into the Marcoses’ embrace.”

Many worry the election of Marcos Jr, particularly if Duterte becomes vice president as widely expected, could herald a new era of repression.

“The two are the offspring of two strongman rulers,” Arugay said. “Can we expect restraint and inclusive government? You don’t need to be a political scientist to answer that question.”

Earlier this week, some 1,200 members of the clergy of the Catholic Church endorsed Robredo and Pangilinan describing them as “good shepherds”. At least 86 percent of Filipinos are Catholic.

“We cannot simply shrug, and let the fate of our country be dictated by false and misleading claims that aim to change our history,” they said.

Will the result be accepted?

When Marcos Jr lost the vice presidential race by 263,000 votes in 2016, he challenged the result in court.

With the stakes much higher this time around, some analysts worry he could do so again if Robredo manages to pull off a victory.

The role of social media

Filipinos are avid users of social media and the platforms have played a key – and divisive – role in the election, intensifying the more toxic elements of political campaigning.

Marcos Jr and his team have been accused of using – and abusing – online platforms.

In January, Twitter suspended more than 300 accounts promoting his campaign, which it said breached rules on spam and manipulation.

Joshua Kurtantzick of the Council on Foreign Relations says Marcos Jr has also benefited from “the legacy of Duterte, who fostered the spread of disinformation and made it easier for another strongman to win”.

Senatorial race

While all eyes are on the presidential race, it is worth keeping an eye on the senate, too.

Leila de Lima, who has spent the past five years imprisoned in the national police headquarters in Manila after questioning Duterte’s drug war, is campaigning for office again.

The opposition senator is hopeful she may soon be released after two key witnesses withdrew their testimony .

De Lima was the target of vicious, misogynistic attacks by Duterte and his supporters before she was charged in 2017 with taking money from drug lords while she was justice secretary in the government of the late Benigno Aquino III .

De Lima has denied the charges and Human Rights Watch has said the case is politically motivated.

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Reflections on the Philippine presidential race

By Diana J. Mendoza

T he race for the presidency in the 2022 Philippine elections may be the most highly divisive and contested referendum for the highest public office in the country. It is a high-stakes and high-risk contest with intense pressures to win from both the top contenders for the office and those who support them. Focusing on the top two contenders, it is a race between stopping one seeking a path back to power and electing one seeking a great reset of powers in the government.

Instead of focusing on what challenges await the next President and the country, we focus on what we can learn from the race for the presidency.

1. Elections are not just about voting candidates into or out of of fi ce. These are not merely about the change of names and faces. Elections are about the transfer and legitimation of power. Should we take a step forward to usher in a new (or reformed) governance system or take two steps back to restore an old, tarnished, and contested rule?

2. Elections should not be about those who run for office. It is about the people who should be served — their needs, rights, interests, and demands. Don’t we all deserve a new government that helps more (or mostly) the vulnerable and the marginalized while seeking to protect all regardless of any markers of differences?

3. People cannot be restrained or constrained. Filipinos are resilient. True. But when it’s their future and their loved ones’ future at high stake, they mobilize and organize. Doesn’t the spirit of volunteerism we all witnessed renew and give new meaning to the Filipino’s “ bayanihan ,” from that of communal cooperation to collective action and accountability?

4. Conventional politics must end. Political parties cannot effectively steer the public space until genuine political party reforms are made. Shouldn’t we sustain the “people’s movements” seeking to expand the political space available and bring in the concerns of everyday life that are silenced by dominant powers operating in the society?

5. No issues are either politically or morally compelling. Politically contentious or not, all issues are and should always be both politically and morally compelling. Shouldn’t we stand up for the oppressed and unjustly persecuted and the basic sectors who are really in need? Shouldn’t we stand against the politically and morally corrupt?

6. Public service is the name but public accountability is the rule of the game. Article XI, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states that “Public office is a public trust … officers and employees must at all times, be accountable to the people…” Why is it so difficult to execute? Shouldn’t all those who run audit themselves first even before running?

Instead of focusing on what opportunities await the next President, we focus on the salient issues and tasks for the next President to act on. These issues and tasks echo those of the Ateneo de Manila University’s Department of Political Science published in a working paper series related to the 2022 presidential and vice-presidential elections and accessible via admupol.org.

1. Pass a Security of Tenure (SOT) law that will protect workers against abusive contractualization. The next President must certify the SOT bill as urgent and mobilize support from both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Review overseas employment and prioritize the creation of jobs locally and the organization of a task force on reintegration while sustaining protection mechanisms. Forge bilateral agreements to safeguard Filipinos abroad and create migration resource centers outside of the NCR (National Capital Region) and urban areas to assist families back home.

2. Stop the misogyny and privileging of men over women that still envelope Philippine governance and politics. Socio-economic targets should not be gender-blind. They should be speci fi c and implicit in achieving gender equality and underscore bringing people together instead of polarizing the polity as well as framed and executed with an ethic of care.

3. Declare and address a crisis in education aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Provide higher funding for education where the Philippines’ current 3% budget is lower than what is required by UN standards. The next President must be able to resolve issues concerning the mismatch of the skills and talents of graduates that our education system produces and the needs of our society as well as demands of industries.

4. Develop a strong public healthcare system with strong public health infrastructure throughout the country that are able to respond to any pandemics like COVID-19, non-communicable diseases, and other-health related concerns. Toward this end, the next President must ensure the effective and efficient implementation of the Universal Health Care law, the provision of free and accessible healthcare through the National Health Insurance Program and Health Care Provider Network in provinces and cities.

5. Synergize the imperatives of the security sector and justice sector reforms with Sustainable Development Goal 16 which includes the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels. There is a need to shift from a militaristic, anti-insurgency approach toward human security and a whole-of-government approach to addressing the root causes of rebellion.

6. Put inclusivity, transparency and accountability at the core of the government. Don’t we all deserve public of fi cials who do not only demonstrate excellence in public service but also maintain a culture of excellence? Under the leadership of the next President, can all agencies and instrumentalities of the government aim for a culture of excellence by meeting International Public Sector Accounting Standards and earn the Commission on Audit’s seal of approval? Can the next President direct all government agencies to an audit of its management system to meet the international standard for quality management systems? To start the process, will the next President boldly order a full disclosure policy that can promote greater transparency in public service, and hence, start combating problems of corruption and patronage politics?

In light of these salient lessons and tasks, will the next President of the Philippines draft a new history with a renewed faith in democracy? Or will the next President thrust the country and its people back to a history that will forever remain tarnished, mired, and highly contested?

Diana J. Mendoza, PhD is faculty and former chair (2017-2021) of the Department of Political Science, Ateneo de Manila University.

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The Philippine election is the latest example of illiberalism’s popularity

The landslide victory of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of the country’s longtime dictator, has exposed one of liberal democracy’s greatest vulnerabilities.

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Last week, voters in the Philippines went to the polls — and, by an overwhelming margin, chose the son of the country’s deposed dictator as their next president.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., widely referred to by his nickname, Bongbong, ran on a ticket with Vice President-elect Sara Duterte — the daughter of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte, a populist most famous for his policy of extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers, who pushed the Philippines toward authoritarianism during his six years in office. Neither of these candidates ran away from their parents: on the contrary, they embraced them. And voters in the Philippines rewarded them for it.

Opponents and observers have raised questions about the legitimacy of the election, pointing to a climate of pervasive disinformation, reports of malfunctioning ballot-counting machines, and alleged voter fraud. But on Friday, Leni Robredo, the outgoing vice president and leading rival of Marcos, admitted defeat and urged her supporters “to accept the majority’s decision.”

That majority seemed to ratify a proudly illiberal governing ethos. During his presidency, the elder Duterte — who was prevented by term limits from running again — jailed political opponents , cracked down on press freedom , and built an online disinformation machine that buoyed the Marcos-Duterte ticket. And yet, at the same time, close observers of the Philippines say the strongman political style was authentically popular.

President Duterte has the highest approval ratings of any president in modern Philippine history, with his low points in the polls rivaling other presidents’ highs. That he proudly violated individual rights and attacked the separation of powers was not a turnoff, but a draw. Marcos’s overwhelming victory underscored the point.

“Duterte is the first president who represented an alternative vision for the direction of the country. Marcos is a continuation of that vision — and wants to make that known,” says Dean Dulay, a political scientist at Singapore Management University who studies democracy in the Philippines.

It’s not that Filipino voters rejected democracy, exactly: survey data still shows strong support for holding competitive elections. Rather, it’s that they are rejecting liberalism : seeing constraints on power, including fundamental rights against being murdered by one’s own government, as impediments to their leaders’ ability to bring about a better Philippines.

Marcos’s victory on these terms is part of a worldwide illiberal turn. The past decade of global politics has shown that the Philippines is not the only country where strongman politics appeal to a large constituency; what its recent election shows is that this political style can be not only popular but durable. The liberal ability to address this reality is proving to be one of the defining political issues of the 21st century.

How Duterte and Marcos rode illiberalism to victory

On many issues, including vital ones like the Philippines’ relationship to the US and China, it’s not very clear what a Marcos presidency will be like. His campaign was extremely light on policy , offering little in the way of concrete solutions to ordinary Filipinos’ problems.

What he did do, however, is link himself to two strongmen: his father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., and his predecessor, Duterte. The tactic succeeded, thanks in large part to the recent history of democracy in the Philippines — and Duterte’s ability to create an alternative to it.

In a 2021 article titled “ The ground for the illiberal turn in the Philippines ,” University of Chicago sociologist Marco Garrido argues that the experience of democratic politics after the 1986 revolution against Marcos Sr. failed to live up to voters’ expectations. Filipino politics had long been dominated by a coterie of wealthy and corrupt families; neither elections nor popular protest movements seemed capable of enacting fundamental social reform.

“This string of failures has led many Filipinos to turn away from the promise of liberal democracy and reject people power as a means of achieving it,” Garrido writes.

In the 2016 election, Duterte offered a clear break, despite being the scion of an influential regional political family .

As mayor of Davao City, a city in the southern Mindanao province roughly the size of Dallas, he pioneered a brutal tough-on-crime policy involving extrajudicial killings of alleged criminals (a policy that earned him the nickname “The Punisher” ). A magnetic public presence with a tendency for outrageous statements — he has bragged about extramarital affairs and, on separate occasions, referred to both President Barack Obama and Pope Francis as a “ son of a whore ” — he sold himself as a plain-spoken alternative to the political status quo. In a tightly contested election with several candidates, he won a plurality of the vote.

In office, Duterte took a wrecking ball to the Philippines’ liberal-democratic institutions. The centerpiece of his administration was a “war on drugs” that adapted his Punisher approach nationwide, in which police and vigilante forces slaughter suspected drug dealers and users in the streets — killing between 6,000 and 30,000 people .

This willingness to flout the rules extended to other basic liberal democratic rights. Since 2017, the Duterte government has imprisoned senator Leila de Lima — an outspoken critic of the government — on flimsy drug charges . In 2018, he hounded the chief justice of the Supreme Court and ultimately forced her out of office . In 2020, his government imprisoned leading journalist (and Nobel Peace Prize winner) Maria Ressa on “cyberlibel” charges and revoked leading independent TV broadcaster ABS-CBN’ s broadcasting license.

Garrido terms this form of government a “disciplinary state.” The experience of democracy has taught many Filipinos, particularly the upper and middle class voters that form Duterte’s base , he writes, to see “the democratic state as a source of disorder: as corrupt, pliant (vulnerable to depredation by powerful actors), and ‘populist’ (catering primarily to the lower class).” In a disciplinary state, by contrast, “a strong leader steps in and imposes order by strictly enforcing valued rules ... their willingness to overreach traditional bounds is a large part of their appeal.”

In his research, Garrido found that Filipinos held these views alongside support for formal democratic institutions like elections. Instead of moving to outright dictatorship, they wanted “to ‘discipline’ democracy by circumscribing its scope with respect to certain freedoms, particularly due process and the right to vote.”

Garrido sees this attitude at work in Filipino attitudes on Duterte’s drug war. Though many Filipinos expressed some worry about the consequences of the policy, his data show that the policy remained consistently popular throughout Duterte’s time in office — reflecting the idea that it’s okay to break some rules and take some dangerous actions in pursuit of establishing order.

Duterte’s approval ratings tell a similar story. He has been consistently popular, outstripping every other president since the fall of Marcos Sr. In October 2020, Duterte’s approval rating reached a staggering 92 percent in one survey — the highest recorded at the time for any leader on the planet .

An important explanation for these numbers, according to Garrido, is both simple and dark: illiberalism has proven to be popular.

“The data suggest that Filipinos are willing to put up with extrajudicial killings, political repression, and the gutting of liberal institutions because they see Duterte as a strong leader. They question his methods but not their effectiveness,” he writes. “While there remains significant opposition to Duterte’s strongman tactics, it would seem that in general Filipinos are developing a taste for illiberal rule.”

Marcos Jr. doesn’t have Duterte’s personal charisma. What he does have is a strong support base in the country’s north due to his family’s patronage network and an ability to link himself to both the past six years of governance in the Philippines and an earlier period of strongman rule.

Though his father’s dictatorship was famously brutal and corrupt, the Marcos campaign projected a vision of the ancien regime as a golden era : a time of domestic peace, low crime, and shared prosperity. By running with Sara Duterte, he was able to sell himself both as a continuation of the Duterte model and an avatar of “make the Philippines great again”-style nostalgia politics.

Social media disinformation about the actual history of the Marcos regime did play a significant role in spreading this message, though perhaps not in the way one would think. Dulay, the Singapore-based researcher, examined the data on Filipino views of the Marcos era and found that surprisingly few voters literally believed the lies Marcos Jr. and his boosters on YouTube and TikTok were selling. Instead, Dulay argues, the propaganda tapped into a general feeling that the Philippines had gone astray in the democratic era — and that the Marcos-Duterte model represented something different and better.

“What [the videos] actually evoke is a kind of emotional response — ‘this is how it used to be, look at our country now,’” he says. “It’s not purely about information itself, but the way that it’s conveyed: so much of it is the music, the feel of the video.”

It is this gut feeling that the system wasn’t working that Duterte picked up back in 2016 — and that Marcos rode to victory in 2022.

It’s not just the Philippines

The story of the Duterte-Marcos ascendancy is not a unique one: In broad strokes, backlash against a political system seen as corrupt and out of touch has empowered right-wing populists all over the world.

In 2010, Viktor Orbán won an overwhelming victory in Hungary against an incumbent socialist government mired in scandal. In 2014, India’s Narendra Modi defeated Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty that dominated Indian politics since independence. In 2016, Hillary Clinton’s unpopularity played a significant role in Donald Trump’s shock victory. And in 2018, Jair Bolsonaro won the Brazilian presidency amid a massive corruption investigation that implicated large swaths of the Brazilian elite.

These successful demagogues differ in many ways. But they all possess an ability to tap into public discontent with the status quo.

Their campaign messages varied by local circumstance, but all put forward a vision of re-establishing public order and social hierarchy. They alleged that the liberal elite was too soft on some subversive element of society — be it criminals, immigrants, Muslims, or the LGBTQ community — that was rotting society from within, and they promised to come in and clean house.

One temptation, common among American liberals in particular, is to dismiss this message’s popularity as some kind of trick played on voters: the result of disinformation or a lack of political knowledge. But this is too simple a reading. Yes, lies and voter misperceptions have figured into the ascent of right-wing demagogues — but there is also a genuine constituency for their illiberal message.

A useful close look at this dynamic comes out of Israel, also home to a resurgent illiberal right . In 2016, the Israeli sociologist Nissim Mizrachi published a study on the failure of his country’s left-wing parties to gain support among the socially marginalized Mizrahi Jewish community (Jews of Middle Eastern descent). His interviews, both with left-wing activists and Mizrahi voters, convinced him that there is a gulf in fundamental moral vocabulary: The Israeli left has proven incapable of understanding that the Mizrahi voters do not share their philosophically liberal premises.

Mizrahim, despite their inferior social and economic position relative to the Ashkenazim (European Jews), were not swayed by appeals to inclusive social policy or an expanded welfare state. Instead, Mizrachi finds, they express a vision that places obligations to the particularity of the Jewish people and Israeli citizens first. They disliked the left’s “sweeping — and thus threatening — disruption of the boundaries of the Jewish collectivity in favor of universalistic solidarity.”

The left’s conceptual toolbox, including its deep and correct belief that Palestinians are owed political rights by dint of their humanity, left it poorly equipped to understand what these voters believed. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who evolved into a more Trump-like illiberal demagogue during his historically long time in office, exploited this moral gulf to hold power : positioning himself as a champion of this alternative moral vision against the once-dominant left-liberal establishment.

Mizrachi’s diagnosis of the Israeli situation is worth taking seriously as a global matter. It is increasingly clear that there are large swaths of voters across democratic polities for whom liberal values are not fundamental, who see liberalism’s champions in the political elite as out of touch or worse.

The challenge for liberals today is to hold two ideas in their heads at once: that far-right leaders are not only illiberal but a threat to democracy, and that there is a significant democratic constituency that finds their illiberalism not only tolerable but actively appealing. This is the lesson of the 2022 Philippine election and of other recent elections — one that liberals ignore at their peril.

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Explainer: A guide to the Philippines 2022 election

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‘I’m disgusted’: readers in the Philippines on the 2022 election result

Seven Filipinos share their views on the victory of Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr and the future they see for the country

A fter a landslide election victory, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr is to become the next president of the Philippines . The son and namesake of the late dictator received more than 30m votes, beating his closest rival, the current vice-president, Leni Robredo.

Here, seven people in the Philippines share their views on the result and how they feel about the future of the country.

‘Utterly disappointed’

I’m utterly disappointed with how ill-informed people are and this election shows how bad democracy can be. My dad is a Marcos apologist, and I used to believe that martial law was a “golden era” because he told me so until I enrolled and graduated law school. My dad is a hardworking person and I can respect opinions, but I can’t allow historical revisionism.

My father told me that I should listen to him because he thinks textbooks and education, and news and basically all forms of credible info, are all just made up by oligarchs to control the narrative and keep Filipinos poor.

I voted for Leni Robredo and can’t believe how efficient she is with her time and how diligent she is in serving the people. I can’t believe the majority of Filipinos are trashing her for being too good to be true. I just hope that after this administration people will come to their senses. Lyn, 27, Baguio city – voted for Robredo

‘It’s a grim time in the Philippines’

The election results are appalling and are a demonstration of how history revisionism has been happening right under our noses the past few years. I honestly cannot fathom the idea of being under a Marcos administration. It is a grim time in the Philippines at the moment.

I voted for Leni Robredo. My vote was informed by my confidence in her integrity, qualifications and competencies as a leader. She proved herself during her six-year term as vice-president to Duterte. She offered hope to the Filipino people that we can actually vote for someone good and just. I hope for a Philippines rid of political dynasties. I hope that the Philippines finally rejects politicians who are unqualified and stops voting for celebrities, entertainers and others who know nothing about writing bills or passing laws.

We cannot be swayed by empty promises any more. I hope that every single Filipino holds the new administration accountable and is open to calling out and criticising where they fall short. Celina, 24, government worker, Metro Manila – voted for Robredo

I feel ecstatic about the election results. The Marcoses built a lot of infrastructure which still exists today – infrastructure in the Philippines has been neglected for decades. Our expectation is that it will now be the focus of this new administration.

I feel that the presidencies following that of Ferdinand Marcos Sr did not really bring about lasting progress. The Philippines continues to lag behind Asean [Association of South-east Asian Nations] neighbours. It is hoped that the new administration will work towards defeating the pandemic, reviving the economy and making the Philippines more competitive and investor-friendly. Mary, 48, project finance analyst, Mandaluyong city – voted for Ferdinand Marcos Jr

‘Filipinos want a Marcos return in order to instil discipline, progress, and bring back peace and order’

People don’t realise that even though there was support for Leni [Robredo], there was a more powerful silent majority who supported Marcos Jr. Filipinos want a Marcos return in order to instil discipline, progress, and bring back peace and order.

I voted for Pac-Man [Manny Pacquiao]. He is clean and has the heart and will to reach out to his people. He has shown true and sincere dedication in service and is known for his public service. He has also gained wisdom through his years as a congressman and senator. On top of his rigid boxing training, he is a true Cinderella man. Rene, 63, architect, Nueva Ecija – voted for Manny Pacquiao

‘A big embarrassment’

It’s a big embarrassment, for we suffered under the brutality and greed of the parents of Marcos Jr. I couldn’t in conscience vote for Marcos Jr, because I don’t believe the narrative that the reign of his father is the Philippine golden age, which it was not.

I also could not vote for his opponent [Robredo] because I felt she would just be a repeat of Noynoy Aquino. So I voted for the leftist candidate Leody de Guzman as a protest vote but wish Sara Duterte ran for president instead. We have a weak political party system and I believe the problem in the Philippines is we have a defective constitution. I hope with the big mandate of the president he will initiate the rewriting of the constitution and change the current political system. Edwin, 63, retired, Pampanga, Central Luzon – voted for Leody de Guzman

‘Some of the other candidates just do not understand the ordinary Filipino psyche’

It’s insanity to perpetually trap ourselves in the events that transpired in 1970s and early 80s. Some of the other candidates just do not understand the ordinary Filipino psyche. I’m a Mindanaoan, [from the south of the country] and would rather have federalism than full independence. I want a country that opens our economy to the world, free and not too tied to the west or east. We want a pragmatist like Duterte is. He’s mostly misunderstood in the west – he may be crude and brash but he thinks realistically.

I voted BBM/Sara and hope they will continue the current administration’s build, build, build programme and the drug war. I didn’t vote for BBM/Sara forgetting the horrors of the past. I voted because they are the only ones left who at least have the intention to build on what we already have today. AJ, 48, computer programmer, Cagayan de Oro – voted for Marcos Jr

‘Disgusted’

I am disgusted about the results. With EDSA – the People Power revolution – on my mind, I can still vividly recall my 10-year-old self sitting atop my papa’s shoulders chanting laban [Tagalog for fight] and flashing the L sign. In that year, 1986, I was there, a part of the people power that toppled the abusive dictatorship and witnessed right before my eyes the rebirth of democracy that started from a simple yellow ribbon.

Today, 36 years after the EDSA revolution, darkness has clouded the pink ray of hope. I am dismayed and definitely not satisfied with the way the national election turned out. I am praying that every Filipino will have access to quality education, to proper healthcare, and that there will be enough nutritious food for every Filipino family’s table. Maria, 45, works in providing training and education, Albay

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The World Should Be Worried About a Dictator’s Son’s Apparent Win in the Philippines

A fter a maddening campaign season, which saw a polarized electorate disagree on everything from the methodology of opinion polls to the moral significance of showing up for public debates, voters in the Philippines have elected a new set of leaders.

In unofficial election results announced on Tuesday, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is leading Leni Robredo, his main rival and leader of the brave yet beleaguered political opposition, by a wide margin. A Marcos Jr. win would complete his once-disgraced family’s resurrection arc .

Exiled to Hawaii three decades ago in the aftermath of a peaceful revolution that overthrew his father’s brutal regime, Marcos and his family are set to return to Malacanang Palace—the presidential residence—with riches intact, new and powerful allies, and a frighteningly bold electoral mandate. Filipino columnist Benjamin Pimentel could only describe this bewildering plot twist in the language of high fantasy: “It’s as if Kylo Ren emerged and the Empire is back in power.”

Read More: How TikTok Helped Marcos Rewrite His Family’s Brutal Legacy

For a while, the Marcoses were “cancelled” public pariahs. Merely extending a social invitation to a Marcos was the stuff of scandal . But thanks in part to a patient long-term project of brand rehabilitation on social media, and expedient power-brokering with the powerful Dutertes to unify forces against their “liberal elite” rivals, the family has made a successful comeback. Their restoration presents a democratic—indeed existential—crisis for the Philippines.

The Marcos family’s rehabilitation should not be a surprise

In recent years, many analysts have unfairly caricatured the so-called “surprise” electoral victories of populist leaders as the result of uneducated voters brainwashed by disinformation. But this is reductive. For me, the Marcos victory should instead trigger a hard and honest reckoning of how and why most Philippine voters are willing to delve deeper into authoritarian fantasy and reject the high principles and hero personalities of liberal democracy. It is also reflective of the shared problems of many advanced democracies—and not just those in the global South.

The Philippines may be one of Asia’s oldest and largest democracies, but its continued embrace of strongman leaders is a wake-up call that liberal democracy’s messages of equality and rule of law will eventually run hollow once voters get tired of the same old heroes and political dynasties. The Marcos myths of a strong and stable nation—and of being misunderstood victims who could thus relate with anyone’s social and economic victimhood—would resonate in many countries. They are artfully compelling stories for the young and the excluded.

For too long, progressives have taken for granted that facts in themselves are sufficient. In the case of the Philippines, the liberal weapons of historical accuracy and fact-checking are simply no match for Marcos’ creative folklore, turbocharged by social media fan culture and relatable influencers.

When the opposition finally went to the grassroots and had a dialogue with Marcos supporters, it was inspiring, monumental, and important. It was also too little too late, coming after too many decades of blaming or patronizing the “ bobotante ” (the dumb voter) and “the masa ” (masses). At the same time, I hope such dialogues will turn from a campaign exigency into a sincere, long-term willingness to listen and understand the issues faced by excluded communities, while respecting their own agency and cunning in political participation.

Read More: How the Son of a Dictator Became So Popular in the Philippines

Such a project might help reframe the thorny issue of disinformation and trolling in the Philippines and elsewhere. Rather than scapegoating social media as a technological brainwasher, turning out voters who support populist strongmen, we must consider why communities resonate with, and willingly participate in, myth-making, misinformation, and historical revisionism online. When we actually talk to paid political trolls , we might be surprised as to why this has become a gig for many. We might also consider why progressives have failed to offer hurt and traumatized communities any satisfying narratives to address their concerns, leaving far-right media manipulators to have full control of information voids .

Marcos and the media

With his family’s comeback decades in the making, Marcos presumably has a heavy axe to grind. Canned slogans of unity and positivity during his campaign might mean that he will eschew any high-profile quarrels with rival political families. However, the incoming president and his family are very explicit about being victims of an important player in liberal democracy: the press.

In some interviews, Marcos has let slip that he sees himself as the victim of mainstream media, insinuating that journalists have “their own agenda.” Borrowing a line from Donald Trump’s playbook against liberal media outlets, he has recast as “fake news” legitimate evidence of his family’s ill-gotten wealth. Marcos and his sister, Senator Imee Marcos, have also accused social media giant Facebook of bias in its choice of fact-checking organizations.

Read More: The Philippines’ Problem With Dynastic Politics

Rather than introduce top-down censorship of the press, as his father did during martial law, Marcos Jr.’s strategy will likely involve stigmatizing unsympathetic news outlets. He may support a stratified media ecosystem, split between friendly organizations granted access to the halls of power and critical ones, banished from Malacanang’s antechambers. Philanthropic foreign attempts to bolster the local liberal press, or support democratic organizations and opposition groups, will likely be attacked as unpatriotic by Marcos in the emotive language of nationalism—as Duterte did before him and as Modi does in India.

Tech platforms must now tread very carefully under a leader determined to rewrite his family’s—and the nation’s—history. If they are too hostile, then they might find themselves villainized and restricted, as in other illiberal democracies . Platforms instead need to work collaboratively with academics and legal experts for strategic policy advocacy. Content takedowns and de-platforming alone will not solve the disinformation crisis in the Philippines or elsewhere.

Authoritarian incumbents and exiles around the world are watching the Marcos comeback story with avid interest and have already been given a powerful takeaway. As authors of the first draft of history, the press are Marcos’ first target and an easy one. But his ultimate target is history itself. By recasting himself as the victim of “elite” historians and academics—as the victim, even, of the activists who survived torture and abuse during his father’s dictatorship—Marcos shows that false victimhood claims can effectively appeal to an anxious public when packaged in compelling myth and melodrama.

To fight back, progressive leaders should advance their own counter-narrative and persuasive vision. But first, they must acknowledge their failure to listen.

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[OPINION] Method in the madness: Our 2022 electoral options

Already have Rappler+? Sign in to listen to groundbreaking journalism.

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Graphic by Nico Villarete

The following is the first part of a two-part essay. You may read the second part here.

As in previous elections, I have been invited by various organizations to share my take on what truly matters, and seeing through all the noise and smoke that blur our senses as a country. This is a work in progress as political developments unfold. On August 18, I will share in an Ateneo Eagle Watch briefing a more complete version of the framework I am using.

The framework, which can provide citizens a method to understand the chaos of our politics, stands on three main pillars. First , we have to ensure that we have a COVID-safe election campaign and election day that will allow for maximum participation. Second , we have to ensure that we have good choices for 2022 for all positions, both national and local. Third , we have to ensure that we have a positive agenda for the future to be implemented after the elections.

Safe elections with maximum participation

The Philippines must ensure that we have a COVID-safe election campaign and election day that will allow for maximum participation. I believe that we, as a country, must push for the conduct of our elections consistent with our Constitution’s mandate. However, the risk of the whole electoral process, from campaigning to the casting of ballots, being a super spreader should not be understated. The safety of every electoral actor is on the line: voters, election officials and staff, political party volunteers, and even the candidates themselves.

Survey showing Filipinos’ hesitation to vote in 2022 polls alarms watchdogs

On a positive note, however, these risks can be studied to inform policy decisions in necessary interventions that may be specifically adopted. This is precisely what was initiated in the policy note released by Project Participate, a non-partisan, non-profit movement dedicated to engaging and empowering the political participation of the Filipino people, which is led by the Ateneo School of Government (ASOG). The study looked at international experiences, particularly of the US and Indonesia, as well as domestic experience in the conduct of the Palawan plebiscite in early 2021. Another highlight is the study’s estimate that an additional budget of roughly P10 billion is needed to augment the usual budget of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in order to “COVID-proof” the May 2022 election.

Notably, Comelec had introduced innovations that provided alternatives for voters’ registration , such as the mobile registration app. Because of a pro-active registration campaign, there are now 5.4 million newly registered voters. However, we expect a lag on last-minute registration due to the ECQ. Further, the election season has yet to peak, especially during the campaign period and election day itself. We hope to see progressive changes in the guidelines to reflect the realities now posed by the pandemic with an aim of maximizing citizen participation and voter turnout.

Our 2022 choices

The country must ensure that we have good choices for 2022 for all positions, both national and local. We can understand our 2022 choices by looking at the following political blocks: the Duterte coalition (administration), the opposition, and those that claim to be in the middle ground.

The Duterte coalition

Sara Duterte, the President’s daughter and now mayor of Davao City, is the foremost presidential contender from the coalition. Although she has not yet confirmed her bid for the presidency, her meetings with prominent political figures such as the Marcoses and Arroyos, courtesy calls with various local officials, and pending alliances between her Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) party with other national and local parties seem to give away her eventual move.

As for her running mate, her father President Rodrigo Duterte may as well slide down and heed the call to run as vice president, though he has publicly discouraged his daughter to run. Both politically allied with GMA, former Secretary of Defense Gilbert Teodoro and House Majority Floor Leader Martin Romualdez are also on standby. 

Personally, if Teodoro is chosen by Sara Duterte, I would endorse and support him. I have known him for more than 30 years and I know very well his record as a public official. He is qualified to be president – which is the only qualification for vice-president.

Senator Bong Go, who has been a constant sight in every COVID-19 briefing in Malacañan, has also been remarked by Duterte as a possible presidential candidate. He has managed to maximize his political capital during this pandemic as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and President Duterte’s most trusted aide. We may as well see a Go-Duterte tandem in 2022 , if PDP-Laban pushes through with its latest move of endorsing the tandem as its standard-bearers.

I suspect that in the end the Dutertes, like any Filipino political dynasty, will settle this issue among themselves, and that we will see soon enough if it will be Go-Duterte, Duterte-Duterte, or Duterte-Romualdez/Teodoro.

Fragmentation of the Duterte coalition

The Marcoses are also a crucial part of the coalition. Despite his loss in the election and in his electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo, former Senator Bongbong Marcos is still hopeful for his political career. He definitely wants his family to be back in Malacañan. However, we have yet to see his place in the already crowded Duterte line up. For sure, if the Dutertes and Marcoses find a way to combine political forces, they would have a big lock on the Mindanao and Ilocos votes.

HINDI TOTOO: Imee Marcos inihayag ang Bongbong-Sara tandem para sa 2022 halalan

Senator and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao remains with the Duterte coalition for now. In the past months, we have seen Pacquiao’s attempt to expose corruption controversies under the Duterte administration, which was later “rewarded” with his ouster as PDP-Laban’s president. Whether this was enough to keep Pacquiao in line or push Pacquiao to distance himself from the Dutertes will be seen after his boxing fight in late August. I suspect he will break away from the Duterte coalition and may run a credible campaign building on the popularity of our athletes, given the enthusiastic support our athletes in the Tokyo Olympics have been getting. Imagine the return of a victorious Pacquiao and what that will do to his candidacy, especially in Mindanao where he could cut into the Duterte support. 

The Cayetano and Villar block under the Nacionalista party have achieved political strides during the Duterte administration, so it would be nonsensical for them to part ways with the current government. Alan Peter Cayetano was Duterte’s running mate in 2016, then Secretary of Foreign Affairs, then House Speaker. Despite losing Duterte’s backing for continued speakership last year, Cayetano still aligns with the coalition. Mark Villar, the current Secretary of Public Works and Highways, has risen to political prominence on the national scale as he leads the administration’s Build Build Build program.

Lacson, Sotto, and Gordon

Senator Ping Lacson and Senate President Tito Sotto are the first tandem to publicly declare their candidacy as president and vice president (although the official announcement has been postponed to September). They bank on their length of service and experience in the Senate, now that they’re on their third and fourth terms, respectively. Further, they claim to have kept the Upper Chamber’s independence through the years on their watch, especially during the Duterte administration’s supermajority in Congress to which Sotto himself belongs.

Senator Richard Gordon, who is concurrently the chairman and CEO of Philippine Red Cross, also contemplates a higher office. Known for his aggressiveness on the Senate floor, especially during investigations, he has been in the limelight for quite a while. His defining leadership of the Philippine Red Cross in the time of pandemic, which has helped the country, might just be the push that he needs to join the race again . He previously ran for President in 2010.

Lacson, Sotto, and Gordon are all in their seventies. They believe that the main argument in their favor is the experience they bring to the job of president. But frankly, it is difficult to imagine that these gentlemen will be able to excite the young electorate that we now have.

Read the second part of this essay here.

– Rappler.com

Tony La Viña teaches law and is former dean of the Ateneo School of Government.

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Election in the Philippines (Essay Sample)

Election in the philippines.

Politics in the Philippines is very complicated. Politicians use many kinds of gimmickry to put their name across the country to gather voters. Every election in the Philippines, the country seems to active; too many things seem to be happening: from mindless banter to violence. The Philippines is known for how politics in the country can be very personal. Politicians attack other politicians to a personal level and all these are witnessed by the country and are sometimes perceived as entertainment for its pettiness.

During campaign, candidates use many gimmicks. Those who have enough funds afford to be in commercials on primetime television. Some even get to the point of showing their political ads by the hour. In the Philippines, a 30 second ad can cost up to hundreds of thousand pesos. In light of this, it is easy to say that politicians are able to do gimmicks as long as they have the funds. Those who are part of the main political parties campaign as one slate which is bound together by the same set of beliefs, interests, motivations and platforms. For independent candidates, these are politicians who usually don’t agree with the platforms of the major political parties. Usually, independent candidates tend to be tagged as dissenters.

When it comes to tactics and strategies, streets are filled with different people wearing different colors representing specific politicians distributing pamphlets and reminding people who to vote for. The campaign season is also the time when the roads are filled with cars with flags and banners with faces of different politicians. There also mini-vans with speakers spouting names of politicians as well as songs of campaign. There is no time like election time in the country. Behind this great energy, election in the Philippines is also filled with controversy and is sometimes tarnished with numerous cases of killings. Many voters, both in the cities and provinces are sometimes succumb to vote buying. People are given certain amounts of many to make sure that they vote for certain candidates. Obviously, this is an illegal act but somehow, people who commit it continue to get away with it. Aside from this, there are also cases of flying voters and ghost voters. The commission on elections has a list of registered voters and flying/ghost voters are voters who may sometimes be made up. Up to now, these discrepancies still come up. Back in early 2000s, the Philippine president at the time was caught cheating in the presidential elections. Unfortunately, nothing was done to the president and she went on to continue her term. All that she gave the public was an insincere apology that caused the country to be subjected to even greater turmoil. Putting this aside, the Philippines is also notorious for having deadly politics. In 2010, a massacre in the province of Maguindanao in the country left more than 50 individuals dead, mostly journalists. They were massacred by the leading political dynasty of the province and up until now, justice still isn’t served. During the country’s election period, there are many cases of shootings and killings all because of the pressure of politics.

The dynamics of Philippine politics and elections mirror the true condition of the country. In the Philippines, politicians scramble on their feet and attempt to spend the last of their fortunes just to win a position. When they win, usually, their promises just vanish into the air. This is a simple explanation of why the Philippines is still in turmoil and there is a lot to be improved and developed. The Philippines have many politicians yet there are still no real leaders visible.

Detecting localized systematic fraud in the 2022 Philippine national elections

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Aldrich Ellis C. Asuncion , Jeric C. Briones , Eden Delight P. Miro , William Emmanuel S. Yu; Detecting localized systematic fraud in the 2022 Philippine national elections. AIP Conf. Proc. 10 April 2024; 3024 (1): 030006. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0204898

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Based on existing election fraud detection methods, we apply different parametric generative models to the May 2022 Philippine national elections. Our analysis shows that because of how these parametric models rely on vote concentrations, the models are inconclusive at a national level, and must be adapted to lower levels of aggregated election data. In particular, preliminary results suggest that further analysis of the elections should compare vote distributions in individual provinces and investigate election fraud at the local level.

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Thirteen Tory election nominations are 'invalid'

Thirteen Conservative election candidates are no longer due to appear on ballot papers in May because of admin errors.

The Tory candidates' nominations for Castle Point Borough Council in Essex have been ruled as invalid.

The party are now due to field 22 candidates instead of 35 for the 39 seats on the council.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said it was down to "human error".

No other party or individual had an invalid nomination according to the full list of candidates published by the local authority.

A Conservative source said: "There has been a number of admin errors made at the last minute."

It is understood an old nominations form may have been used for the candidates' applications.

The Conservative spokesperson said: "Due to human error on nomination papers, 13 of the candidates are unable to stand in next month’s elections.

“We fully apologise to those candidates unable to stand and to the local people who will be unable to vote for a Conservative candidate in the upcoming elections."

Castle Point is in no overall control and is run by two local independent parties.

The Tories ran the local authority until May 2022, when they lost their majority.

Usually, Castle Point elects a third of its councillors every year there are elections, but this May every seat is up for grabs following changes to the boundaries.

Contesting parties will need to win at least 20 seats if they want to run the council with a majority.

The local Tory association asked the BBC to contact the party's central office, which has not yet commented.

Follow East of England news on Facebook , Instagram and X . Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830

More on this story

• Who can vote in local elections in Essex this May?
• Essex PFCC election: Who is standing?
• Tories lose council control after nearly 20 years

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Biden Talks to Xi About Conflicts, From Ukraine to the Pacific

President Biden aimed to keep relations stable in a call with Xi Jinping of China, but also raised concerns over Beijing’s activities around Taiwan, the South China Sea and Russia.

By Edward Wong and Erica L. Green

Edward Wong reported from Washington and Taipei, Taiwan, and Erica L. Green reported from Washington.

President Biden spoke with Xi Jinping, China’s leader, in a call on Tuesday morning that was aimed at addressing a variety of combative and cooperative issues, as the United States grapples with wars and other global crises, U.S. and Chinese officials said.

The topics raised by Mr. Biden included fighting narcotics production , the Middle East conflict, North Korea’s nuclear program and China’s support of Russia during the Ukraine war, according to a White House summary of the call.

Mr. Biden intended the talk to be a “check-in” rather than a discussion with concrete outcomes, said a senior administration official, who spoke to a small group of reporters on Monday night on the condition of anonymity, as is customary for such Washington briefings. But it was a crucial marker during a pivotal political year and as the countries try to steady a relationship that hit a multi-decade low last year.

John F. Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said on Tuesday that the two leaders had a “candid and constructive” conversation, which he said also included the topics of unfair trade policies, wrongfully detained U.S. citizens and TikTok.

“We believe that there is no substitute for regular communication at the leader level to effectively manage this complex, and often tense bilateral relationship,” Mr. Kirby said. “Both presidents agreed: Pick up the phone and speak when needed.”

The call took place days ahead of a trip to China by Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen, who will be followed soon afterward by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, the official said. Those would be the first visits to China by cabinet members this year; both officials traveled to Beijing last year to stabilize relations after tempers flared during the Chinese spy balloon episode .

Since last summer, Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi have sought to prevent any eruptions between their nations. Mr. Biden is seeking to focus on his tight race for re-election this year. Mr. Xi is grappling with a range of domestic issues, including a troubled economy and corruption in the top ranks of his military.

Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi held a face-to-face summit in November at a lush estate in Woodside, outside San Francisco. The two also met in November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia — their first in-person summit as national leaders — and had their last call in July 2022.

The senior U.S. official told reporters that the call on Tuesday was part of U.S. efforts toward the modest goals of maintaining contact and managing competition “responsibly.”

Mr. Biden raised two issues over China’s aggression in the Pacific: Taiwan and the South China Sea, according to the White House summary.

The Biden administration has warned China to rein in its coast guard ships, which have been firing water cannons at Philippine resupply ships in a contested area of the South China Sea. And the United States has said the Chinese military is using jets and ships in a provocative manner near Taiwan, the de facto independent island whose status is the biggest flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.

However, Mr. Biden reiterated to Mr. Xi that the United States abides by its “one China policy,” which recognizes the mainland People’s Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China — while saying nothing about Taiwan’s status.

During the call, Mr. Xi “stressed that the Taiwan question is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations,” according to a description of the call released by the Chinese government. Mr. Xi called for “concrete actions” from the United States to demonstrate a commitment not to support Taiwan’s independence, the description said.

Like previous Chinese leaders, Mr. Xi has said Taiwan must be brought under China’s rule, by force if necessary. Mr. Biden has said four times that U.S. troops will defend Taiwan if China tries to invade. Those remarks were a deviation from the decades-long efforts by the U.S. government to leave ambiguous whether the American military would defend Taiwan from a Chinese assault.

Joseph Wu, the foreign minister of Taiwan, said in an interview with The New York Times in Taipei on Thursday that China had steadily increased its military activity around Taiwan, as well as its cyberespionage efforts and promotion of online disinformation, all amounting to “gray zone” aggressions short of a full war. “We need the U.S. to work closer with Taiwan,” he said.

In the call, Mr. Xi also criticized the “endless stream of measures” taken by the United States to try to suppress China’s economy, science and technology, the Chinese government’s summary said. Mr. Biden has imposed limits on the export of advanced semiconductors to China.

Mr. Biden told Mr. Xi that his government “will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our national security, without unduly limiting trade and investment,” according to the White House summary of the call.

Mr. Kirby said that the two leaders discussed TikTok and that Mr. Biden reiterated his concerns about the ownership of the social media app. The House voted last month to force the Chinese company that owns the app to sell it or face a nationwide ban. The bill is bottled up in the Senate now, but Mr. Biden has said he will sign it if it reaches his desk.

“He made it clear to President Xi that this was not about a ban of the application but rather our interest in divestiture so that the national security interests and the data security of the American people can be protected,” Mr. Kirby said.

The senior U.S. official said Mr. Biden wanted to stress to Mr. Xi that China must not continue helping Russia rebuild its military-industrial base. Russian arms production has been robust despite economic sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries after President Vladimir V. Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The steady production of ammunition and missiles — as well as weapons aid from North Korea and Iran — is helping Russia in Ukraine.

China has picked up some areas of trade European nations have stopped, and that has allowed Russia to rebuild its weapons production capabilities, the official said.

Mr. Biden also wanted to get Mr. Xi to help curb the attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by the Houthi forces of Yemen, an Iran-backed military group that says it will continue strikes as long as Israel carries out its war with Hamas in Gaza, the U.S. official said. The Biden administration has pressed China to ask Iran to rein in the Houthis, especially since Chinese ships also pass through the Red Sea.

The official said Mr. Biden would like to cooperate further with China on several issues: limiting the export of chemicals used to make fentanyl, senior-level military talks, discussions over artificial intelligence and climate change policy.

Meaghan Tobin contributed reporting from Taipei, Taiwan.

Edward Wong is a diplomatic correspondent who has reported for The Times for more than 24 years from New York, Baghdad, Beijing and Washington. He was on a team of Pulitzer Prize finalists for Iraq War coverage. More about Edward Wong

Erica L. Green is a White House correspondent, covering President Biden and his administration. More about Erica L. Green