Attempt at Dissecting Duterte’s Presidency Using the Political Ideas of Plato, Hobbes, Locke, and Machiavelli

Abstract

Western philosophers have made significant contributions to the establishment of government around the world. Philosophers like Plato, Locke, Hobbes, and Machiavelli dramatically influenced the government system not just in foreign countries but also in the Philippines. Hence, this paper explored the political notions of four Western philosophers and positioned them in Duterte’s six years of presidency. In pursuit of this study, I employed a systematic literature review. A systematic review process is used to collect articles, and then a qualitative approach is used to assess them. I came up with four major themes in this study particularly (1) Duterte is a dictator, not a philosopher-king, (2) violators of natural rights, (3) the sea monster of Davao, and lastly (4) love, fear, cruelty, and Duterte. Thus, I concurred that all of the philosophical ideas of the four Western philosophers did not fit or even violated during Duterte’s six years of presidency in the Philippines.