Philippine Democracy and its Discontents: The Failed Promise of Social Justice Under the 1987 People Power Constitution

  • Tanya Karina A. Lat Ateneo de Manila University
Keywords: Philippines, inequality, poverty, social justice

Abstract

The Philippines has one of the highest rates of inequality in Southest Asia, and it is growing. Inequality in the Philippines takes various forms. There is the inequality between urban and rural areas. There is also the inequality borne out of ethnicity. But the most serious form of inequality is class stratification, that can be traced to the country’s pre-colonial and colonial past. To top it off, the levels of poverty are also very high. While the concept of social justice was already present in the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions, it was in the 1987 Constitution that it became the “centerpiece”. However, as we will see, this has not been enough to put an end to inequality and to eradicate poverty.

Received: 12 April 2018
Accepted: 25 June 2018
Published online: 03 October 2018

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Author Biography

Tanya Karina A. Lat, Ateneo de Manila University

Professor of Law

Published
2018-08-03
How to Cite
Karina A. Lat, Tanya. 2018. “Philippine Democracy and Its Discontents: The Failed Promise of Social Justice Under the 1987 People Power Constitution”. Estudios De Deusto 66 (1), 133-58. https://doi.org/10.18543/ed-66(1)-2018pp133-158.
Section
Studies