.:Years In The Making:.
I haven't blogged in years. Years.
There was a time that blogging used to be a part of my identity. It was so integral to who I am, I probably wrote a lot of stupid crap over the years. No, scratch that - I know I wrote a lot of stupid crap over the years. Things that would make me cringe. Maybe even things that could get me canceled today. However which way those things may be, I can only hope that I've managed to grow enough as a person to at least be able to say that my blog only represents a part of me now. A small part, perhaps.
But what if I wanted to turn that around and let my blog at least represent something bigger than me? When was the last time I ever bothered doing that?
I guess you might say like the Watcher suddenly interfering, something dire must be happening in the world for me to return to blogging after all this time. And while a lot of people have the luxury of pretending otherwise, this year's elections are as dire as they get.
I remember when I was in college, and I was just getting into the Ateneo Debate Society. They had a debate between Ninoy Aquino vs. Ferdinand Marcos, and lo and behold, Marcos won. You know why? Because people like me were arguing from emotion. That the atrocities of Martial Law were horrid, that these things were irrefutable, all the while not realizing that we needed to prove our point - not just assert it.
Meanwhile, the pro-Marcos side threw their "facts" unchecked - that it was a golden age. That so much got done. While all we had were a bunch of emotions. No wonder they won then.
Because see, here's the thing - all those "facts" were easily debunked if anyone cared to really investigate the truth behind those claims. Nowadays, we have tons of online resources who can confirm it. The facts don't care about our feelings, but the facts do spell out how horrible that era really was.
And really: if you think a bunch of buildings and infrastructures makes up for thousands of human rights violations, then yeah, there's a lot more to worry about than just the facts.
So yeah. This May. Whereas six years ago, I believed nobody was good enough to vote for president, this year is radically different.
Anyone who would look at what Leni Robredo has done without the anti-LP blinders on would realize that this was someone who was going above and beyond the call of duty to render service to the Filipino people. And it didn't matter whether or not you voted for her - she just helped. It didn't matter if she lost in your province in 2016 - if you needed help, she will help.
Ignoring what she has done is a feat of mental gymnastics that I can never fathom. Because in contrast to her accomplishments which are openly available for public scrutiny, Bongbong Marcos has nothing but electoral protests to show for the last 6 years. If he truly wanted to make a difference, then where is the record of his actions? You can't go around assuming he did stuff in secret while ignoring the well-documented stuff Leni did. You're just lying to yourself at that point.
And we've heard all the arguments against the obvious guilt of the Marcos family: why aren't they in prison (Because despite having arrest warrants for people like Imelda, their allies in power refuse to enforce it)? Why don't we sue them (They've already been sued, and suing them again is literally unconstitutional)? What about the Aquino's (Who cares? Also, which Aquino is running for office again?)? And so on and so forth.
Ultimately, none of these arguments make any sense. It's all attempts to convince one's self that the Marcoses are in any way acceptable as leaders in this day and age.
I suppose that goes to show how forgiving a people we are. Imagine that: minsan na lang tayo makahuli ng magnanakaw at matay-tao convincingly, pagbibigyan pa natin makaulit? It's ridiculous. And it's disheartening to see how many people have been brainwashed through years and billions of pesos spent trying to change the narrative in an attempt to pretend that the Marcoses are in any way good for this country.
So here's where I throw the gauntlet. I believe in Leni Robredo not because she's some kind of messiah, but because she has the track record of competence and integrity that we need to start undoing the last 6 years of crassness, mediocrity, and machismo that pretty much undid all the gains our country maanged to accomplish before Duterte's term started.
I believe in Leni Robredo because I believe she will hold those who should be held accountable for this quagmire we are now stuck in. The last thing I want is a leader who will come to power and ignore the ills of the past 6 years because it's convenient.
I believe in Leni Robredo because she unifies people of all walks of life, and inspires us to do better. Bongbong's supporters are not the enemy. If anything, they are the ones who will benefit from a Leni Robredo presidency, more than I personally will.
I believe in Leni Robredo because she recognizes that she is also accountable and thus listens to opposing views and is open to change.
I believe in Leni Robredo because in the last 6 years, if she did something for this country, she has the receipts. I just need to take an honest look, and there it is.
Maybe you believe in Ping Lacson, or Manny Pacquiao, or Isko Moreno, or especially Ka Leody. I'd ask you to at least give Leni a fair shot as well, but more importantly, I'd simply ask you to consider whoever you like, except Bongbong Marcos. History has already established what kind of a person he is. It's not just his dad's crimes. Bongbong did not pay his taxes. Bongbong has a warrant of arrest for him in the United States.
While it's easy to pretend that Leni Robredo is the "elite" choice, or someone only the rich people will elect, the reality is, she has always been helping the marginalized. I'm not the one who got anything from her during her tireless campaigns to help stamp out COVID at the height of the pandemic. I'm not the beneficiary. The masses are.
Meanwhile, Bongbong is as elite as they come. He's filthy rich. He is so out of touch with the average Filipino. He has no idea how any of us live, because he lives in an ivory tower where people are at his beck and call and nobody dares contradict him over anything. That is a man who has lived with privilege all his life, and did nothing to help those less privileged than he is.
Don't believe me? Ask yourself: why does he need to ride first-class in a plane? Why does his family owe billions in taxes? Why does he not respect us enough to show up and debate people on neutral territory?
And when I say ask yourself, I mean ask yourself in all honesty: is this the kind of person you will be proud to introduce to your kids? Someone who has so many question marks and asterisks to his name that you have to always qualify every single good thing you can say about him? The red flags are there, but it's easy to give in to just thinking Noynoy and company were the reason we're in this mess today - except Noynoy's already dead, and the guy who took his place actually did worse than he did by every objective metric you can put out there.
Marcos has no concrete plans, no platform, and no solutions he could even offer to any of us. All he has are one-liners, denials, evasions, and handwaves. We deserve better than that.
So please May 9, these elections isn't a question of me, the Kakampink vs You, the BBM loyalist.
It's a question of: if you let BBM win, will all of us win? Because I can assure you: if Leni does, we all will. Because again, you, BBM supporter, are not the enemy.
But BBM and the rest of his family, who has sucked on the teat of this nation for decades and bled her dry, most certainly is.
This is not some schoolyard fight. This is the future of our entire nation. All we're asking at this point is for you to start looking at the big picture, because that middle finger you think you're throwing at us by voting for BBM? You're going to realize in the end that you fucked all of us over, not just the people you don't agree with.
But hey, if you're the kind of person who thinks the last 6 years was actually awesome and we need more of this shit, then I guess there's no reasoning with you. Some people just really want to see the world burn.
But if you actually give a damn where this country is headed, then please: vote for anyone but BBM. We deserve better than him. We all do.
