Social Constructions of Power in the PUV Modernization Program: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis

Social Constructions of Power in the PUV Modernization Program: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis

by Lorraine Charmayne S Manansala, PhD in Psychology Candidate

ABSTRACT:

Using a Foucauldian Discourse-Analytic framework, the study explores power dynamics within the Philippine Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP). This modernization initiative reflects power struggles between state actors, and jeepney transport groups. This research illustrates how power is discursively constructed, contested, and negotiated between the “elite,” which refers to state actors who implement the policy, and the“marginalized” jeepney transport groups sidelined by the policy. Qualitative analysis of legislative hearings indicates that power is a mutually constitutive process rather than a fixed, static, and top-down hierarchy. Legitimizing and mandating discourses sustain the legitimacy of state actors, while marginalized jeepney groups produce counter-discourses of democratization and contestation, grounded in social justice and survival. The study challenges exclusionary narratives and reinterprets the multidirectional nature of power in competing discourses that shape legitimacy, resource distribution, and participation. It emphasizes the importance of inclusive, participatory policymaking, advances knowledge in power constructions in change processes, and provides insights for an equitable public transport reform program.

2:30 pm, Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Adviser:

Erwine S Dela Paz, PhD

Panelists:

Ma. Tonirose D Mactal, PhD

Jocelyn M Nolasco, PhD

Darius N Salaum, PhD

Jaimee Felice C Go, PhD

Erwine S Dela Paz, PhD

Keywords: power relations in transport policy, counter-discourse, policy negotiation, marginalized resistance, Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA)