Criselda Yabes is a journalist based in the Philippines. She is author of "The Battle of Marawi," her 10th book, which was published last year.
The political telenovela unfolding in the run-up to the 2022 Philippine presidential elections has shown so much of what has gone so wrong with the country that its best chance of emerging unscathed is to find a reboot. The gamble with autocratic populism has not paid off.