I'm sure Facebook had some say in why this is the way it is

Labour costs being low is an understatement. Average worker makes about $10 for a full 8-hour shift, and that's before tax.

Mostly though hes just genuinely very popular in Davao City and has been for decades.

This is exactly why right-wingers hate net neutrality. They want to be able to manipulate the Internet that people see.

we can't be trusted to govern ourselves as long as we are reliant on media streams owned by psychos and sickos. we the people, out in the streets, need to own truth.

and then there's the question about who counts the votes. is this really the will of the people, or is this the will of the wielders of power there?

Okay bootlicker

US primarily. Paying cold war allies to develop a patronage network of supporters. The corruption pressures of that is what creates the system. And it was the US that was primarily responsible for the original Marcos corruption, certainly not the Catholic Church. The duterte family is just playing the game the Marcos started.

It's a simple formula really. Foreign money for focusing on foreign interests over local ones delegitimizes a regime. The less legitimate it is, the more corrupt it must be with patronage networks and graft to maintain power. And so it goes.