As I mentioned in Chapter 1 of this series, getting the Government faction right in People Power was a big challenge. The main reason for that challenge was the narrative around the Marcos government. To some, Ferdinand Marcos was a hero, a champion of stability and democracy, and a strong leader fighting against those who would tear his country apart. To others, Marcos was a corrupt dictator, stealing from the people, denying free elections, and sparking the violence that characterized the First Quarter Storm and NPA insurgency.

These differing views of Marcos were impossible to reconcile into a single narrative, so People Power puts the agency in the hands of the player. The key concept for the Government is Patronage. In other COIN volumes Patronage represents the relationships, loyalty, influence, and positions needed to effectively govern, and the reward given to those who support the regime and continue to support it in the face of opposition. When Patronage is high, those in important positions are extremely loyal (and extremely rewarded). To western governments like the United States, Patronage often is interpreted as corruption.

In People Power, Patronage is the ill gotten wealth of the Marcos family, taken through corrupt deals, backchannel payments, shell corporations, bribes and embezzlement. This wealth was used to consolidate control while ensuring and rewarding loyalty. However, much of this wealth was taken by the Marcoses when they fled to Hawaii in 1986. While the United States and other western governments were aware of this corruption, they turned a blind eye because the Marcos administration was fighting against the Communist NPA. To the US, the enemy of their enemy was their friend, and that friend was Ferdinand Marcos. Of course, that view was present within the Philippines as well, and persists to this day.

The core question People Power asks about the Government faction is “What cost is worth paying to establish a secure state?” Is it worth a kleptocratic government if the security and safety of the citizenry are guaranteed? While it is not possible for the Government player in People Power to keep their hands completely clean, they are given tools to minimize the Patronage part of their score by focusing on Control. For the player that simply wishes to maximize their wealth, there are easier roads to victory through maximizing Patronage. The balance between these pathways is where the core decisions for the Government player lie. Let’s examine the ways they would achieve these two goals.

To establish Control, the Government will need to TrainTroops and Police in Cities or at Government Bases. The Government has a small force pool, but they are quite effective at Assaulting exposed NPA Guerrillas. Police are used to Roundup Activists in Protest spaces to keep Control Because of their limited forces, the Government will likely need to convince the Reformers to help keep the NPA out of cities. Finally, the Government can use the Reprisal Special Activity to relocate Guerrillas or Activists and expose their Bases (at the cost of placing a Terror marker and setting the space to Neutral); removing NPA Bases not only weakens the NPA (and reduces their Victory) but also gives a big boost to Aid.

There are two main issues with pursuing a Control-based strategy. First, the Government needs to Control the entire map in order to win the game at an Election card. It is more likely that a Government pursuing Control will win on margin at the end of the game, but they will need to stretch their limited forces very thin in order to achieve this. Secondly, the limited forces they have are fighting a war on two fronts – both the Reformers and NPA are attempting to wrest Control from the Government.

For the Government player looking for Patronage, there is but one main pathway: Enrich. The Enrich Special Activity removes Support from a space, adding an amount of Patronage equal to twice that space’s Population. Once that Patronage is secured, it can be spent to establish the Support of key spaces via the Charm Special Activity. Imelda Marcos was known for appearing at public works dedications or rallies to use her charisma to sway the crowd to support the Marcos family. Often, Imelda would sing to the crowd or at state dinner parties; at Marcos’ inauguration in 1986 (during the People Power revolution) Imelda sang to a crowd of 3,000 loyalists. These appearances often created great sympathy and pride in the Marcos family, and the Government player can use them to swing spaces away from Opposition or Resistance.

The main problem with a Patronage-based strategy is that Patronage is easily siphoned away. Much of the Patronage collected by the Marcos family was distributed to Marcos’ “Cronies,” including many in the military. During the People Power revolution, prominent members of Marcos’ inner circle defected and used their influence and position to force Marcos to flee. In People Power, defections to the Reformer cause (via the Reformer Convert Special Activity) and Strikes that persist to an Election round reduce Patronage.

Either way that a Government player chooses, the question remains: what is the price of stability and safety?

Next time we will talk about the Event deck in People Power.

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Previous Articles:

Laban! Chapter 1: Corruption and Patronage in People Power

Laban! Chapter 2: Support, Opposition, and Resistance in People Power

Laban! Chapter 3: Violence and Nonviolence in People Power

Laban! Chapter 4: The Reformers in People Power

Laban! Chapter 5: The New People’s Army in People Power