A Mid-Term Critical Change or Crisis
January 24, 2026
Closing the chapter on a Marcos-era governance requires institutional reckoning, credible accountability for extrajudicial killings, and a deliberate reorientation of security policy across Metro Manila—recent admissions by the Department of Justice and continued monitoring of drug‑war killings make this an urgent governance priority.
Context
The phrase “closing the chapter of a Marcos” functions here as both metaphor and policy imperative: it denotes a transition from personalized, punitive security paradigms toward routinized, rights‑based statecraft. Extrajudicial killings (EJKs)—a hallmark of the prior drug‑war era—remain a salient metric of that legacy, with civil‑society monitoring documenting hundreds of killings and international watchdogs noting persistent impunity.
Patterns of Violence and the Emergence of Salvage Phenomena
Historically, salvage in the Philippine lexicon refers to vigilante or summary executions that often flourish where formal justice is perceived as slow or complicit. Contemporary reports suggest localized spikes in summary killings around the National Capital Region, driven by a mix of criminal networks, rogue elements within security forces, and community‑level vigilantism. These patterns reproduce the structural conditions that enabled the earlier drug‑war EJKs: weak investigative capacity, politicized policing, and social tolerance for extrajudicial solutions.
Institutional Transition: Taking the Reins of the Residency
A genuine closing of this chapter requires three institutional moves:
- Transparent accountability: reopening and properly resourcing investigations into past EJKs, with independent oversight and forensic standards. Recent public admissions by the DOJ about investigative failures create a narrow political opening for reform.
- Depoliticized policing: professionalizing local police commands in NCR through meritocratic promotions, civilian review boards, and clear operational protocols that prioritize due process.
- Community‑centered prevention: investing in social services, harm‑reduction, and local dispute resolution to undercut the social demand for vigilante justice.
Projected Changes Over the Next Decade
If reforms are pursued, the next ten years could see:
- Normalization of judicial remedies with improved case clearance rates and fewer summary executions.
- Institutional resilience as police and prosecutorial agencies adopt forensic standards and digital case management.
- Political realignment where security policy is reframed from spectacle to evidence‑based crime prevention, reducing the political utility of hardline rhetoric.
Conversely, failure to act risks entrenching parallel justice systems, perpetuating cycles of violence, and inviting renewed international scrutiny.
Risks, Trade‑offs, and Practical Steps
- Risk: Reform efforts may be co‑opted or stalled by vested interests within security institutions.
- Trade‑off: Rapid demilitarization of policing can create short‑term enforcement gaps; mitigate with phased capacity building.
- Practical steps: legislate independent investigatory mandates; fund forensic labs; strengthen witness protection; and institutionalize public reporting of use‑of‑force incidents.
Conclusion
Closing the chapter is less an act of erasure than of transformation: it requires credible accountability, structural reform, and social investment to replace the incentives that produced EJKs and salvage killings. The political moment—marked by official admissions of investigative failure—offers a fragile but real opening to reconfigure the residency of power toward rule‑bound governance and durable public safety.
Furthermore, closing the chapter on a Marcos‑era governance demands an urgent, multi‑vector campaign for accountability, transparency, and institutional reform—anchored in economic renewal, resilient infrastructure, and intergenerational civic engagement in Metro Manila (including Mandaluyong) as of 24 January 2026.
Framing the Imperative
The contemporary call for accountability and transparency is not merely moral rhetoric but a governance necessity: entrenched corruption in public works and opaque procurement practices have demonstrably eroded public trust and fiscal capacity. Reparative retribution here denotes lawful, procedural redress—criminal and administrative remedies that restore rule‑of‑law norms rather than perpetuate cycles of extra‑legal violence. Recent public debates and investigative reporting underscore the scale of misallocated infrastructure funds and the political salience of open‑government reforms.
Political Economy of Reform
- Accountability mechanisms. Strengthening independent oversight bodies, empowering ombuds institutions, and institutionalizing forensic audits are immediate priorities. These measures must be legally insulated from partisan capture to be credible.
- Transparency architectures. Open contracting, real‑time budget dashboards, and civic data portals reduce information asymmetries that enable graft; the Philippines’ OGP participation provides a template for such reforms.
- Retributive justice within rule‑bound limits. Prosecutions for corruption and human‑rights violations must follow due process, with independent prosecutors and witness protection to avoid politicized show trials.
Economic and Infrastructure Strategy
- Growth through governance. Economic revitalization requires that public investment be insulated from rent‑seeking: transparent bidding, performance‑based contracting, and independent project evaluation.
- Infrastructure stability. Prioritize climate‑resilient transport, flood control, and power grid upgrades with multi‑year funding commitments and third‑party technical audits to ensure continuity across administrations.
- Business sector growth. Incentivize small and medium enterprise (SME) scaling through streamlined permits, digital registries, and targeted credit lines; couple incentives with anti‑monopoly enforcement to prevent capture by entrenched conglomerates.
Youth, Civic Awareness, and Cultural Reorientation
- Intergenerational civic literacy. The younger generation’s digital fluency can be harnessed for participatory budgeting, watchdog platforms, and civic journalism, but requires formal civic education and legal protections for whistleblowers.
- Cultural shift. Move public discourse from personality‑driven politics to policy literacy, emphasizing measurable outcomes (service delivery, reduced corruption indices, infrastructure uptime).
Risks, Trade‑offs, and Implementation Pathways
- Risks: Reformers face co‑optation, institutional inertia, and short‑term political backlash. Anti‑corruption drives can be weaponized if not procedurally anchored.
- Trade‑offs: Rapid procurement reform may slow project rollouts initially; phased implementation with pilot projects mitigates disruption.
- Practical steps: legislate open‑contracting mandates; fund independent forensic audit units; create youth civic fellowships; institutionalize multi‑stakeholder infrastructure oversight boards.
Guiding Questions for Policy Design
- Which agencies will be legally insulated to lead investigations?
- How will budget transparency be operationalized at barangay and city levels?
- What incentives will align private investment with public‑interest infrastructure?
Conclusion
A credible closing of the Marcos chapter is a transformative project: it fuses juridical redress with systemic governance redesign, economic reorientation, and a cultural investment in youth civic capacity. Success hinges on procedural integrity, transparent institutions, and sustained civic engagement—not episodic denunciations—so that the next decade yields durable public goods rather than renewed cycles of capture.
Amiel Gerald A. Roldan™ 's connection to the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) serves as a defining pillar of his professional journey, most recently celebrated through the launch of the ACC Global Alumni Network.
As a 2003 Starr Foundation Grantee, Roldan participated in a transformative ten-month fellowship in the United States. This opportunity allowed him to observe contemporary art movements, engage with an international community of artists and curators, and develop a new body of work that bridges local and global perspectives.
Featured Work: Bridges Beyond Borders
His featured work, Bridges Beyond Borders: ACC's Global Cultural Collaboration, has been chosen as the visual identity for the newly launched ACC Global Alumni Network.
Symbol of Connection: The piece represents a private collaborative space designed to unite over 6,000 ACC alumni across various disciplines and regions.
Artistic Vision: The work embodies the ACC's core mission of advancing international dialogue and cultural exchange to foster a more harmonious world.
Legacy of Excellence: By serving as the face of this initiative, Roldan’s art highlights the enduring impact of the ACC fellowship on his career and his role in the global artistic community.
Just featured at https://www.pressenza.com/2026/01/the-asian-cultural-council-global-alumni-network-amiel-gerald-a-roldan/
Amiel Gerald A. Roldan™ curatorial writing practice exemplifies this path: transforming grief into infrastructure, evidence into agency, and memory into resistance. As the Philippines enters a new economic decade, such work is not peripheral—it is foundational.
I'm trying to complement my writings with helpful inputs from AI through writing. Bear with me as I am treating this blog as repositories and drafts.
Please comment and tag if you like my compilations visit www.amielroldan.blogspot.com or www.amielroldan.wordpress.com
and comments at
amiel_roldan@outlook.com
amielgeraldroldan@gmail.com
A multidisciplinary Filipino artist, poet, researcher, and cultural worker whose practice spans painting, printmaking, photography, installation, and writing. He is deeply rooted in cultural memory, postcolonial critique, and in bridging creative practice with scholarly infrastructure—building counter-archives, annotating speculative poetry like Southeast Asian manuscripts, and fostering regional solidarity through ethical art collaboration.
Recent show at ILOMOCA
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Asian Cultural Council Alumni Global Network
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Amiel Gerald A. Roldan™ started Independent Curatorial Manila™ as a nonprofit philantrophy while working for institutions simultaneosly early on.
The Independent Curatorial Manila™ or ICM™ is a curatorial services and guide for emerging artists in the Philippines. It is an independent/ voluntary services entity and aims to remains so. Selection is through proposal and a prerogative temporarily. Contact above for inquiries.
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