Although one of the 5 founding members of ASEAN, the Philippines has never been a leader of the regional grouping. In part it was due to dictatorial reign of Ferdinand Marcos, which transformed a vibrant economy and democracy into a backwater. Its democratic transition in the mid-80s to 1990s did not overcome its reputation as the “sickman” of Asia. Indeed, its democracy was often used by authoritarian governments within ASEAN as justification for their “enlightened authoritarianism.”
Source: The moral compass of ASEAN