Abstract / Excerpt:

The "Davao Punch", Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte's series of physical blows delivered to Sheriff Abe Andres on July 1, 2011 over a disagreement on demolition schedule of an informal settler community, immediately went viral on various internet platforms, spurring intense discussion from both Davao and non-Davao opinion holders. Using Foucauldian Discourse Analysis, the wide spectrum of opinion in websites and personal interviews is deconstructed for storylines, social effects, subject positions and themes to reveal that discourse in virtual spaces feature a clash of opinions between those who support the mayor's "act of heroism" and those who condemn the perceived act of violence. Emerging themes see the mayor in her role as a modern day Robin Hood, The Punisher's Daughter, or as the other half of The Father-Daughter Tandem. Highly intersecting opinions imply that people construct social reality by subscribing to views that will likely endure, reshaping the interpretation of social phenomena that may have significant implications for Sara Duterte and Davao politics in the future.

Info

Source Institution	Ateneo de Davao University
Unit	Social Science
Authors	Basilio, Thessa Lin., Ferraris, Charisse, Lelis, Rogelio., Rioferio, Kiara.
Page Count	1
Place of Publication	Davao City
Original Publication Date	March 5, 2012
Tags	Davao Punch, Psychology

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