Political Allusions in Philippine News Media: Framing, Rhetoric, and Democratic Discourse
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67903/ijroms0431Keywords:
Critical Discourse Analysis, Media Framing, Political Allusions, Political Communication, Rhetorical AppealsAbstract
Political allusions provide culturally and historically resonant references through which political issues and actors may be represented in news discourse. Despite their presence in Philippine political communication, their forms and rhetorical and framing functions remain insufficiently examined in local media scholarship. This study examined the types, framing functions, and rhetorical functions of political allusions in Philippine political media discourse. A qualitative Critical Discourse Analysis was conducted on 50 purposively selected political media articles published between 2024 and 2025 by ABS-CBN, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, The Philippine Star, and Rappler. The analysis classified political allusions according to their historical, mythological, religious, literary, and popular-cultural references and examined their association with hero, villain, and victim frames and with Aristotelian rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos. Historical allusions were the most frequently identified, with 22 instances, followed by popular-cultural allusions (13), literary allusions (9), religious allusions (5), and mythological allusions (1). Villain framing was the most prevalent framing pattern (38 instances), followed by hero (7) and victim (5) frames. Pathos was the most frequently identified rhetorical function (40 instances), while ethos and logos each accounted for five. The findings indicate that political allusions in the selected articles frequently drew on historical memory, moral evaluation, and culturally familiar references to position political actors and issues within recognizable narrative and rhetorical frames. Viewed through Critical Discourse Analysis and Aristotelian rhetoric, these patterns suggest that allusions contribute to the construction of political meaning by connecting contemporary issues with established cultural, historical, and moral associations. The study highlights the value of examining political allusions as textual resources for understanding how political discourse is framed and rhetorically organized in Philippine media.
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