October 10, 2021

a new hope

Hey there friend, thanks for opening! This week has been extra giddy and I think you know why! So some on thoughts on VP Leni’s announcement and some resources moving forward. Hope you find something useful here! -K

When I started volunteering for Dapat Si Leni toward the end of July, I knew there was a real chance that we were working towards nothing. I joined the weekend before the SONA, because I believed that a President’s final SONA usually started the unofficial campaign season for the succeeding national elections. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing remarkable about the President’s final SONA; he barely even discussed his government’s pandemic response.

In fact, it was Vice President Leni Robredo’s counter-SONA, delivered the morning after, made much more sense. (The SONA was also overshadowed by weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz’s gold-winning performance at the Olympics. Almost none of the major newspapers carried the SONA as the banner–but this is beside the point.)

Anyway. In the months that followed, we waited for the Vice President’s official word about her candidacy in 2022. Personally, I think the incumbent vice president is always the strongest contender for succession. After all, there are only two nationally elected officials that are chosen by their lonesome to occupy one post – the President and the Vice President. (Though nationally elected, the senators, even the front-runner, are always “one of twelve”–something to think about.)

I admit I got worried when she started talking about unification–if she truly wanted to, she could just go ahead and do it. But because she is a problem-solver–and because she saw what happened to Mar in 2016–she knew she couldn’t be so reckless.

So when OVP announced that VP Leni was set to deliver “a very important announcement” on Thursday, I was filled with hope. True enough, she did not disappoint: She was finally offering up herself for the presidency.

Is this what hope feels like?

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A common question across different friend groups is this: How do we make sure that a repeat of 2016 will not happen? After much reflection, I think there is merit in saying that this should go beyond ensuring a return of the Marcoses and Dutertes will not be possible. I believe the VP when she said it’s really about changing the kind of leadership that we have right now–but what does that mean, like, really. What does this mean for you and me and our families? I don’t have the perfect answer. Of course, we can go for the morally safe “non-murderous, non-corrupt leadership” but as my best friend J points out, not everyone votes based on their morals.

People ask often for help in convincing their relatives who are pro-BBM or pro-Duterte, or even pro-Isko, to consider voting for Leni. But how? What do you do when the facts don’t work? C has this very question for her Davao-based Duterte-supportive family members. One thing I am sure of: There is no one-size-fits-all answer. We can’t template our way into convincing other people to see things the way we do. We listen, we converse. That’s a lot of energy required, true. We can pace ourselves; we have six months.

In the meantime: Any tips?

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From the internet

• Some resources for those asking, What now? Straight outta VP Leni’s personal Facebook page here.

• C and I made our initial set of slides on why we support VP Leni - available for grabbing on my Facebook and Twitter. Are there any messages you think we should get out there to convince more people to vote for her? Let us know!

• I mean, in addition to these 120 reasons, that is.

• Last: If you volunteered for Dapat Si Leni but have yet to receive a reply – the onboarding team is vetting so many volunteers! Let me know so I can vouch for you. :)

So much work left to do, but as always, we are thankful there is work to be done in the first place! Hope your weekends have been swell.

XO,

K