Fernan Talamayan

National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University | NCTU · Institute of Social Research and Cultural Studies

Social networking sites have become increasingly relevant in the study of democracy and culture in recent years. This study explores the interconnectedness of social networks, the imposition of state control, and management of social behavior by comparing various literature on the operation of repression in Thai and Philippine cyberspaces. It exami...

The increasing incidence of disinformation in the Philippines promotes romanticized recollections of Ferdinand Marcos' martial law (1972–1981). While the general scholarship remembers the era for its horrors and atrocities, narratives circulated online claim that Marcos' rule made the nation great and that several groups and institutions conspired...

While the growing influence of digital platforms on social life is now widely recognized, scholars continue to grapple with the operation of digital platforms and their mediation of social life. This article examines some of Facebook’s operational logics to shed light on the company’s social imaginary. Our argument is that Facebook imagines a socia...

The article examines the foundation and formation of populist logic in the Philippines, focusing on the presidencies of Manuel Quezon, Ramon Magsaysay, and Ferdinand Marcos—leaders who relied heavily on populist rhetoric. Combining grounded theory and critical discourse analysis, I trace the populist logic in past articulations of people’s sentimen...

This article investigates the Marcos golden age narratives on YouTube before the 2022 Philippine presidential elections. Despite evidence of brutality during the Marcos years, many Filipinos reminisce about his tenure as a period of peace and progress, influenced by selective historical accounts propagated through digital media. Expanding Laclau's...

Problem The spread of mis- and disinformation on mobile and messaging apps during the COVID-19 pandemic not only fuelled anxieties and mistrust in health authorities but also undermined the effectiveness of the overall public health response. Context Mobile and messaging apps help users stay informed and connected to their families, friends, colle...

This article revisits Duterte's populist and authoritarian performances, analyzing reports that reflect the connection between the populist logic and democratic backsliding in the Philippines. Through a systematic examination of Duterte's real and perceived achievements, the article explains how rhetorical strategies and actions, guided by the logi...

This article contributes a new layer to the existing analyses of Duterte's foreign policy by arguing that he epitomized a transactionalist approach to Philippine foreign policy. This approach favored bilateral to multilateral relations, focused on short-term wins rather than long-term foresight, adhered to a zero-sum worldview, rejected value-based...

The analyses of civil–military relations during public health emergencies are traditionally confined to applications in international and humanitarian action related to conflict and disaster. The expansive global response to the COVID-19 pandemic fused health and national security issues, and such a response involved extensive collaboration between...

This chapter seeks to explain Duterte’s remarkable success as an authoritarian populist in two main ways: by understanding the historical national dynamics that have led to his popularity and focusing on the changing role of digitally enabled media as an explosive frontier for political consolidation. In the following sections, we assess the histor...

Reexamining Rodrigo Duterte’s tirades against Western power blocs and the results of his diplomatic efforts to obtain Chinese and Russian assistance has never been more relevant, considering the measures his successor adopted to reinforce or reconfigure his foreign policy. To this end, the article revisits Duterte’s pivot to China and Russia, refin...

Tourism, as a practice, involves a projection and performance of identity in response to what the market desires. Museums convey a message through the collection, preservation, and exhibition of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. While the coverage of the two varies, their principles and operations often overlap, especially in the case of i...

This preliminary study analyzes various issues surrounding Foodpanda, a popular online food and grocery delivery platform. Combining information on the platform's scoring system with riders' sentiments, the study unpacks various allegations of unfair labor practices and contemporary technologies' creation of new tools for neoliberal exploitation an...

With the pandemic limiting people's mobility, adopting innovative research methods has never been more relevant, especially for researchers in the fields of social sciences and humanities. Learning from the COVID-19 experience, this essay stresses the need to reimagine social research. It explores different research strategies and techniques that c...

In the 1930s, several advertisements appealing to nationalist sentiments bore the mark of NEPA, or the National Economic Protectionism Association. NEPA was formed by Filipino business magnates who embraced Manuel L. Quezon's call for the strengthening of the Philippine economy and its industries. For almost half a decade, NEPA was used as a brand...

Panagbenga is an annual festival held in Baguio City, Philippines every February, celebrating Cordillera’s flora and promoting the region’s culture and economy. Despite the festival being initiated fairly recently, it has found its way to many Filipinos’ calendars. Every year, it attracts millions of visitors and contributes to the city’s flower in...

The 2018 Memorandum of Understanding between the Philippines and China on cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative ascertained a stronger infrastructure collaboration and interconnectivity in the transportation, telecommunication, and energy sectors. As I explained in an earlier publication, President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed Chinese aid with th...

The May 2020 report by the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities on the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak validates Stefania Milan and Emiliano Treré’s (April 2020) claim that the Global South is “virtually absent” from the “number-based narration of the pandemic.” Although there was an attempt to shed light on...

With increasing energy demands, the need for social infrastructure, and the neoliberalization of the environment, socio-environmental conflicts have increased dramatically in recent decades. In advocating for environmental justice and community rights, our collaborative research project titled “Socio-Environmental Conflicts in Asia: Insights from E...

Issues surrounding water reservoir construction and hydropower development in the Philippines provide glimpses of the marginalization of indigenous peoples (IPs). For the sake of “development,” state-sponsored mega dam projects encroach ancestral lands and ultimately threaten IPs’ existence. Hence, while Filipinos from highly urbanized cities recog...

The study of borders involves an analysis of infrastructures and mechanisms that allow for their multiplication and crystallization, one of which is the museum. In this essay, I explain various ways in which museums can supposedly facilitate integration and social inclusion. At the same time, I question this theoretical capacity of museums to dispe...

Curricula, cookbooks, and advertisements published in the early 1900s provide a means by which we can see the various ways that the Americans attempted to influence all aspects of Filipino life following their colonial agenda. How did the Americans use food and technology so foreign to Filipinos to entice them to participate in modernization? Throu...

Recent developments between China and the Philippines paint a rosy picture of cooperation that is closer than ever, with Philippine President Duterte’s move towards the emerging regional power that postures a foreign policy shift for many is too close for comfort. This article argues that the emergence of China as a political and economic hegemon t...

Tinipong mga katanungan hinggil kay Gat Jose Rizal. Ang mga tanong ay tumatalakay sa tatlong paksa (a) ang buhay at pag-ibig; (b) mga akda at gawain; at (3) pamana at kabayanihan.

The oppression, marginalization, and discrimination of Filipino women are prevalent in Philippine colonial history—from the misrepresentation of the image of the babaylan to replace them with friars during the Spanish colonization, to the relegation of Filipinas to an inferior position as the brawn and political aptitude of men were seen as more im...

Makikita sa kasaysayang kolonyal ng ating bansa ang pagsasantabi, pagsasagilid, at diskriminasyon ng kababaihan. Sa pagdating ng mga Espanyol, pinalitan ng mga pari ang mga babaylan at ikinulong ang kababaihan sa bahay at sa simbahan. Sa pagdating naman ng mga Amerikano pinagharian ng mga lalaki ang mundo ng politika, kalakalan, at lakas paggawa. S...