September 26, 2021

micdrop

Hey there, thanks for opening! Just like that, we’re at the end of September. Where did that year go, amirite? While Q4 has always made me naturally anxious, the next few weeks are particularly stressful personally and politically because of the upcoming COC filing season. Some notes on that herein, hope some of it will be useful at least. -K

Earlier this week, when the country marked the 49th anniversary of Martial Law, I got into a Facebook argument with an uncle, who was commenting below a #NeverAgain Facebook post by former senator Bam Aquino, ranting about how it was all lies.

Of course, I was incensed; I did not spend bulk of my years in the Inquirer compiling stats about the atrocities during martial law year after year only to have these falsehoods being bandied around BY MY OWN MOTHER’S BROTHER, UNDER A FORMER SENATOR’S FACEBOOK POST–a senator whose own UNCLE was killed by the Marcoses because he was a political rival.

I do not usually engage, but that night I felt especially compelled to. I responded with a curt, “Parang tama naman.” Underneath which I posted a link to a story we did about young martyrs who died during Martial Law. He replied with a similarly curt, “Ah sa Inquirer pala galing yan?” To which I said, “Oo, ako sumulat niyan.”

He then told me that it seems like our views vary, as he is a Marcos-Duterte supporter. To which I said, “And you still have time to change your mind. After all–would I, your niece, lie to you?”

That was just a short exchange on social media, but it was terribly exhausting. We ended by, more or less, agreeing to disagree–he with his patronizing, “I love you but I just hate dilawans OK” and me with my, “If you really love me, you’ll think about my suggestions”.

I don’t know how people who regularly engage with other people on social media threads do it. This feeling is exactly why I left the paper–that feeling that no matter what I do or how hard I try to work at giving people enough facts to help them discern fact from fiction, it still amounted to nothing. The people still elected the madman. The problem was beyond my control, my hands, my pay grade.

So I rage-quit media. True, I stayed mad at some level through the years, but I kept my relative distance, especially in the first few years after 2016. It was not a sustainable feeling; I was so burnt out. The only way out was through.

Here I am five years later. I’m out, I’m through, I’m ready and looking for a fight.

If you are, too, then I’m with you.

*

If there’s anything I’ve learned from late 2015 leading up to the elections, it’s not to fall for spectacles: Nothing is final until the candidates have formally submitted their Certificates of Candidacy to the Comelec–and, because of Duterte’s shenanigans in 2015, perhaps until the final deadline for substitution filings has passed as well.

We spent the past couple of weeks listening to announcements from personalities with intentions. So far the list is bleak: the Panfilo Lacson-Tito Sotto President and VP tandem; Manny Pacquiao; Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Willie Ong, a doctor with a social media following. I think Sen. Bong Go and President Duterte have also been endorsed as President and VP by their own PDP-Laban wing; Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte may have said she was not interested in running for national office, or something. On Friday, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan said they were endorsing former senator and defeated vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos for President come 2022.

None of these candidates look like the correct choices for 2022, at least for me. In interviews, Isko Moreno has been quoted as saying we ought to give the Marcoses “the chance to explain their side”, and that he was willing to give President Duterte a position in his Cabinet, if it comes to it. MY GOD. If you can’t tell how horribly incompetent Duterte has been, then I certainly can’t vote for you.

Many have taken these announcements–Ping’s, Pacman’s and Isko’s in particular–as a blow to the Vice President’s “United Opposition” efforts. Right from the start, Leni Robredo has been emphasizing the need for a United Opposition to prevent “this brand of leadership from winning again”. Expectedly, she is now being urged to declare her own candidacy, not only by her supporters, but also by other personalities who are perhaps itching to also announce that they will be supporting her.

Though I am one of those begging for her to announce already, I do respect her United Opposition efforts; it’s the one thing she actually owes us: A decision that will ensure that a Duterte or Marcos 2.0 will not get elected. I also acknowledge that this may or may not involve her candidacy.

I’ll be the first to admit I’ll be terribly heartbroken if she sits 2022 out. After all, I have spent the past few months pitching in to Dapat Si Leni’s volunteer-driven comms efforts as a way of channeling my anxiety about the future into productive initiatives, in a manner of speaking.

A couple of days ago, while washing the dishes (lol), I tried explaining to myself this delay in decision-making: Well, if I were to be asked to run for any kind of public office (and I have never been, so this will be purely conjecture), I’d probably want to take as much time for my decision as possible in reflection and consultation, too.

The fact that VP has gone ahead to consultation probably means she already knows the answer to the first and most important question: Am I competent enough to do this? (In the VP’s case, the correct answer is YES). The next questions however are much harder: Do I have enough resources to run? Do I have enough support to run and win? Or is there another effort I could support instead?

Am I worried? Of course. I hope the VP is just being true to her word that she will exert all effort to seek this unification (unlike some boxers who have promised, time and again, to hang up their gloves upon election and re-election).

Anyway, I leave you with this snippet from the VP’s latest speech, because it’s such a mic-drop moment:

Naririnig ko rin yung sinasabi ng iba–kesyo pagod na raw ako, natatakot daw ako matalo, kinakabahan daw ako na dehado tayo sa resources at makinarya, na baka hindi natin kayanin ang kampanya. Tanungin ko kayo ngayon: Mukha ba akong pagod? Mukha ba akong natatakot? Mukha ba akong kinakabahan? Magtiwala kayo.

This was actually a fairly comforting speech, tbh. Perhaps all hope is not lost just yet. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

*

From the Internet

• Are you watching Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha on Netflix? Because you should.

• Also, amid the chaos, BTS was actually at the United Nations to support Sustainable Development Goals and their performance at the UN brought tears to my eyes no joke

My favorite meme this week was actually posted by the Vice President lmao

And also, this video snippet prior to being appointed drug czar:

Anyway, that’s it for this week, and I hope your weekend is going well so far. Stay safe and healthy :)

XO,

K