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"Imperial Manila" (, ) is a pejorative epithet used by sectors of Filipinos society, particularly outside Metro Manila, to express the idea that all the affairs of the Philippines—whether in politics, economy and business or culture—are decided by what goes on in the capital region of Metro Manila, without considering the needs of the rest of the country, largely because of centralized government and urbanite . Empirical research finds that the "Imperial Manila" concept and its persistence over time has led to prolonged underdevelopment in Philippine provinces.
This sentiment is sometimes expressed by the proverb "Not a leaf can fall in our country without Malacañang's permission." Another expression of Manila's powerful influence was voiced by National Artist of the Philippines Nick Joaquin, who said, "When Manila sneezes, the Philippines catches cold."
Contemporary use of the term dates to around the time of the People Power Revolution, when political writers, particularly those living outside Metro Manila, began using the term in the belief that the country's former president, Ferdinand Marcos, was toppled from his position without the participation of Filipinos living in areas outside of the capital region. In the 1970s, Marcos borrowed US$2.5 billion from the World Bank in order to establish Manila as a globally-competitive city. The funding facilitated government-backed expenditures on infrastructure and urban developments that displaced and relocated the urban poor while benefitting elites, who were able to profit.
In an article published in The Manila Times the day after the People Power Revolution, columnist Amando Doronila wrote that:
Local have also been lambasted for solely sampling "Imperial Manila-based residents" when it comes to surveys that deal with nationwide issues. Meanwhile, the term also appears in government websites such as those of the League of Provinces and the Bohol.
Sara Duterte, Mayor of Davao City, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte and future Vice President of the Philippines, questions the use of 1976 song Manila by Hotdog during the parade of Team Philippines at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony. She claims the title is capital-centric and does not represent the whole country, even suggesting to use budots instead since her fellow Davaoeños "invented" it.
"Imperial Manila" is also used by many in the business sector in reference to the notion that advertising or marketing a product only requires a single campaign that would work in Mega Manila (another Manila-centric term used most frequently by the media), thinking that it would also attract customers in the provinces. Advertising agencies in Metro Manila are also faulted for publishing print advertisements in Manila-based newspapers that would reach other cities by mid-morning (when the residents have already read their own local daily) or running a television commercial at a Prime time slot of 21:00 in Manila while the rest of the country is already asleep.
In 2009, economists from the University of the Philippines and the World Bank made statements encouraging the Philippine government to further concentrate national economic activity within Metro Manila rather than disperse it around the country. Meanwhile, in some parts of Luzon, in some scattered areas in the Visayas and in Mindanao, happen almost daily. Metro Manila commuters, too, many of whom have had to leave their families in other parts of the country in order to Economic migrant, suffer from the effects of traffic congestion.
The legal imposition of Tagalog as a national symbol also has social implications, such as pressure to use the words po and opo (a contraction of oo po, honorifics used for elders and persons of authority),Daly P. (2015, January 30). " Philippine every-day phrases that acknowledge the beauty within others". Bagong Pinay. honorifics which have no equivalent in most other indigenous languages in the country.Dado, N. L. (2015, June 7). " There is no po + opo in Cebuano". Touched by an Angel. Attempts have also been made to bring the orthographic conventions of other languages closer to those of Tagalog.
Notably, Tagalog-speakers themselves who are not from the capital region (e.g. Calabarzon or Mimaropa) are often derided as unsophisticated promdi (Tagalized form of "from the"; hicks or country bumpkins) because of their accent, grammar, vocabulary or rural customs.Ranada, P. (2016, April 21). Duterte: I shot a bully San Beda law student. Rappler. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections/2016/130284-duterte-shot-bully-san-beda-student.
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