2024 Philippines Update: Beyond Geo-Politics: The Philippines in the New Marcos Era

The 2024 Philippines Update Conference is set against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving and increasingly robust relationship between Australia and the Philippines. This year’s event comes in the wake of pivotal diplomatic engagements, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's September 2023 visit to the Philippines, where the two countries forged a strategic partnership, and the historical February 2024 address of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to the Australian Parliament. The Marcos administration has promoted significant policy shifts, most especially in foreign policy: a renewed focus on alliances with Western partners, a more assertive stance on territorial disputes in the West Philippine/South China Sea, and efforts to attract international investment in such sectors as mining, green energy, and infrastructure. Domestic affairs have been given less attention, even in such realms as agriculture that were to have been a major early focus of presidential attention. Policy reforms including constitutional revision are topics of discussion, albeit often overshadowed by political jockeying. Most significantly, the critical political alliance that propelled President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte to victory in the 2022 presidential election has thoroughly unravelled well ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

While fully recognising the centrality of geopolitical trends and issues both for the Philippines and for the Australia-Philippines partnership, the 2024 Philippines Update Conference aims to put particular attention on domestic-level political, economic, and social developments under the Marcos administration. Key themes will include memory, community, and activism; the changing nature of oligarchic politics; and economic resilience and growth. The conference will also address such critical challenges such regional strategic partnerships, cybersecurity, climate adaptation, central-local relations, developments in the BARMM, and the experiences of Filipinos in Australia. We will explore questions such as: What are the major political, economic, and social developments under the current administration? Why has there been policy progress in some areas but not others? Most importantly, how successful have these policies been and to what extent have they been hampered by the lack of fundamental governance reforms?

To answer these questions, the conference will bring together experts from the Philippines, Australia, and beyond to provide an update on political, economic, and socio-environmental issues as well as additional concerns related to security, international relations, and more.

Conference program
Head over to our website to view the program: https://philippinesinstitute.a...

About the conference
The ANU Philippines Update is organised by the ANU Philippines Institute and receives support from the ANU College of Asia & Pacific and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The ANU Philippines Institute wishes to thank the ANU and DFAT for their substantial support.

Image Credit: Office of the President of the Philippines Presidential Communications Office, Photo Releases – Presidential Communications Office (pco.gov.ph)