Research

As the national university, we champion and support innovative research that addresses the country’s most pressing challenges.

28 Jul 2026

Themes of betrayal and loyalty anchored the affective polarization seen in the 2025 Philippine midterm elections

Before the 2022 Philippine presidential election, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte formed a strategic alliance, combining two of the...

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27 Jul 2026

Nearly 31% of Philippine cropland converted to built-up areas was located within legally protected zones

Rapid urbanization in the Philippines has intensified pressure on agricultural lands, heightening concerns regarding national food security and environmental sustainability....

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24 Jul 2026

Candesartan emerges as a safe and effective option for migraine treatment

Migraine is a prevalent and debilitating disorder characterized by recurrent headaches that usually last between 4 and 72 hours and...

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22 Jul 2026

Paper analyzes CEDAW Committee’s ruling that the Philippines’ failure to help WWII sexual slavery survivors constitutes gender discrimination

The issue of Japan’s World War II wartime sexual slavery remains a sensitive topic, shaping how it is publicly discussed...

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21 Jul 2026

Multi-site study finds no clear proof that “Western” respondents favor analytic thinking while “Eastern” respondents favor holistic thinking

It is widely accepted that culture affects psychology. Examples of this are certain beliefs about social relations, or when the...

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20 Jul 2026

Study examines student perspectives on AI detection tools and their appropriate use in teaching

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more powerful, students are increasingly using AI tools to help write their academic requirements. While...

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17 Jul 2026

To enhance the Alternative Learning System, support must not only provide teachers with tools and training but also address their working conditions and motivation

The digital divide, or the gap between those who have access to technology and those who do not, continues to...

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16 Jul 2026

Geological analysis of the Kematu epithermal deposit reveals its origins and offers key insights for future resource development

The Kematu epithermal gold deposit in Tboli, Mindanao, contains significant gold and silver reserves. The Tboli gold rush began in...

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15 Jul 2026

Compared to authoritarian governments, democracies request user data from Facebook at a higher rate

Think only authoritarian regimes spy on their citizens? Think again. A new study finds that democracies— yes, even the ones...

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14 Jul 2026

Although tuyo processing in Pandawan Fish Port follows standard codes, certain handling methods raise safety and hygiene concerns

Dried, salted fish, also known as tuyo, is a well-known Filipino staple. To many small fisherfolk in Pandawan Fish Port,...

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13 Jul 2026

What students know about the SDGs and where they learn it directly impacts their commitment to sustainability and their future plans

Despite the international initiatives on integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in educational curricula, there is limited research that looks...

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10 Jul 2026

Paper looks into Crozat’s Gettier-type case that supposedly shows how pain-beliefs are not Gettier-proof proof and thus subject to fallibility

In this paper, “Are Pain-Beliefs Gettier Proof,” we respond to an argument presented by Eliott Crozat. In ‘The Case of...

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Research

Before the 2022 Philippine presidential election, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte formed a strategic alliance, combining two of the nation’s most formidable political dynasties under a campaign promising stability and unity. Although this UniTeam coalition achieved a decisive electoral victory, its demise was apparent in 2024, triggering visible affective polarization.

This article deals with emotions and politics. Long has it been held that we need to sideline emotions and be “more rational” especially in dealing with matters of governance and politics; but perhaps in the growing uncertainty and crises in our contemporary world, we ought to deal with emotions and politics as they are real experiences that inform the way we act and react. Dealing with how emotions play a role in the 2025 Midterm Elections in the Philippines, the article asks us to be introspective and see how emotions drive the ways we see our place in the political spectrum in the country, and how, then, do we feel about those on the other side(s). With the break-up of the UniTeam in the lead-up to the elections, how then do we see emotions playing out in the ways Bongbong Marcos and his supporters dealt with the Dutertes and their supporters. Here, I argue, we see the relevance of betrayal and loyalty as important facets that anchored the affective polarization seen in the elections.

This particular piece is significant both on a theoretical and an empirical level. The study of emotions remains an emerging field in political science and international relations, especially in the Philippines. Within this broad research agenda, we find works that deal with affective polarization and tackle how emotions play a role in understanding political polarization. This particular field is very much underexplored in the Philippines, and the 2025 midterm elections show its relevance in our context. On a theoretical level, my article finds its significance in its attempt to locate affective polarization in the Philippines and invites other similar studies that deal with emotions and politics. This will prove to be an engaging and fruitful research endeavor. In an empirical and methodological sense, this work also invites innovations in ways we approach and analyze data to understand political phenomena in the Philippines.

Author: Aaron Abel Mallari (Department of Political Science, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg/component/get/23418

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