In the Philippines, there is seemingly no genuine Opposition – only a loosely associated group of people who are offended by, or are excluded from, the entities who now dominate as a result of winning the last election cycle. I say “loosely” because, being politicians, they are likely to turn on each other too to advance their own personal interests.
Some of my colleagues here in GRP have highlighted the use of the term “Genuine Opposition” by Senator Bam Aquino as an inadvertent admission that the Opposition against current president Rodrigo Duterte, well, has been fake. And yet one can’t help but wonder that, given how the rhetoric of the Liberal Party (LP) has a streak of being utterly divisive and exclusive, (use of “disente”, for example) the use of the term is another attempt at virtue signaling, i.e., only we who belong to this certain clique are the “genuine opposition”.
If you think about it, however, the Philippines doesn’t really need a “genuine Opposition”. It needs one that is more than just hollow noise. An “Opposition” worth having to presents an alternative path that is more than just “thou shall not…”, or “if you do this, we will return to the dark past…”. The sad state of the Opposition in the Philippines, as a colleague succinctly put it, is that it is merely opposed to whoever is in power. It is not an ideological position so much as a ploy to wrest power or gain more power.
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
And this is the backdrop against which the LP, arguably the noisiest among the current Opposition voices, is evaluated.
To give credit to the LP, its members have a point in saying it will stand for a “Genuine Opposition” – but not in the way they think it means. Simply put, the LP will be genuinely opposed to anything that doesn’t abide by LP-Yellowtard dogma. The only way the term “The Resistance” will ever apply to the LP and Yellowtard led Opposition, is if it refers to their attitude towards changing the old, obsolete ways of Filipino culture and politics.
And thus rings the hollowness of this apparent “rebranding exercise”:
Different label, same old shit, same old characters.
I wonder if anyone has noticed, but the LP and Yellowtards are fond of pop culture references to put forward their “Opposition”, whether it be the Hunger Games salute, and now The Resistance. I have yet to hear them call themselves “superheroes” or “the Avengers” however. Frankly I would prefer that Filipinos learn Defence Against the Dumb Asses to ward them Yellowtards off.
Ultimately, however, one cannot discount that Filipinos’ collective memories are horribly short. By the time the next election comes around, Filipinos are most likely to forget whatever outrage they had towards certain candidates periods ago. They will also easily fall prey to threats against the integrity of their election process – whether they be in the form of outright intimidation, “incentives”, a “glitch” in the machinery used, or other external factors.
Only Filipinos can change and save themselves. No one single personality, entity, or organized group can do it for them. But for them to do that, they need to move forward. They need to make mistakes, take responsibility for their actions, and learn to stay the course in the face of what benefits them the most. The alternative is to fall victim to fear, uncertainty, and doubt, and to never take an action, just because it will result in an “undesirable state”.
А вы, друзья, как ни садитесь, все в музыканты не годитесь. – But you, my friends, however you sit, not all as musicians fit.
Does it even make sense to form a group focused solely on being the “Opposition”? If it’s based on ideologies, then it would make sense, but can you really limit thinking and solutions based on certain “brands” of ideology? The noisy bunch says an opposition is necessary for a “healthy” democracy, but forcing their issues when the overall feedback is consistently NOT in their favor is an entirely different thing. There is an indispensable reason why we must be somehow unified on a fundamental level of understanding- it’s what literally gives coherence to our reality.
Indeed! Political parties should just simply remain consistent with what they are called. They may be in Opposition one moment and may be in power in another. To hard-code one’s identity as “opposition” is just indicative of dishonest intentions.
Remember that these people, who are peddling themselves, as “Genuine Opposition”, will work for their own personal interests and political agendas, once they are voted in office.
Promises will not be kept. Same old corruption and graft. New people may be elected, but, they don’t have any plans for the country, to solve our problems. So, the same old problem will fester and continue, once they are voted in office.
“Genuine Opposition”, sounds enticing. However, it is the same dog with another name.
Opposition in politics should be considered illegal. these oppositions are the one’s destroying the government’s program of a country. what is an articles of the constitution if it’s going to be modified by a simple word ‘UNLESS’ ? that should be taken out.
That is possibly one of the dumbest things I’ve read on this site, and you’re up against some stiff competition. It’s comparable to everyone’s favorite low-IQ senator suggestion that bloggers should be licensed.
Have you even considered the logical implications of your position? Or the historical (and contemporary) precedents for it?
A Genuine shit turd opposition
Democrats of the USA is considered “The Resistance” and the Rebels, the blue color of politcal party in the USA.
there is only one political party in the USA, the ELITES/CORPORATE PARTY…..the rest of it, like the Failippines is a CHARADE/HOAX/BAD JOKE. The people in the USA have no say what-so-ever in the policies the government enacts, the Wars they wage etc etc….. and have not had a say in anything in over 30 years.
Pinoys need something or someone to continually remind them that virtually everything they do, say, and think is wrong. That’s the legitimate function of an “opposition”.
That is right, the legitimate function of the opposition is to oppose everything the government say and do. But to make themselves sensible and useful, they should have alternative suggestions and not just plain “NO”.
The only countries I know NOT having any opposition are Russia, China and North Korea (and maybe I forget a few others). And by god, I am glad I dont live in any of those countries. The opposition just must do what their voters ordered them to do. To represent those voters.
Multi-party system in a democratic countries really sucks. It is better if there’ll be a non-partisan system for a country, i.e. all of politicians are INDEPENDENT! No more opposition, no more supermajority or coalition party, etc., etc. Just a genuine & an independent politics just like the barangay gov’t in the Philippines.
Mrericx,
What we are dealing with is individuals (each member of the population in a country). And because we all come from a different nest; because we are all brought up and raised differently AND because we all develop ourselves (as individual) differently, we – evidently – have different outlooks on life, different needs, different demands (politically wise). We are NOT all the same (thank god, we are not all the same. That will really become a boring country). Not in my country, not in your country. That is why political parties will use that as their Magna Carta. And that is why, we (and so many other countries do have opposition parties and parties that are in the goverment/parliament.
The opposition is also there to check and control parliament (those parties that are in power because of elections they won).
In my country it is impossible that a single political party gets in power solely by getting 39% of all the votes. So they have to create/form a coalition is needed in such a way that that coaltion has 50% PLUS 1 vote of all total votes. That is what we call democracy.
Example:
I am heterosexual and all human beings (including homosexuals) must be able to have the same life as me. Now since I can get married, so they should and must be able to. And that is what my government recognizes. And hence we have same-sex marriages. If and when we rule out some group of people, we are actually putting them OFFSIDE and we are discriminating.
Does this make me a liberal (politically wise)? No, this makes me a human being. And giving homosexuals the same opportunities – legally – doesnt offend me, does not insult me and does not change my life one bit.
Mr. Robert Haighton, I know your country are an industrialized nation & a parliamentary type of government with no so-called “Patron Politics” or also known as “Padrino” as what my country called it, but here its really a different story. Philippines is a 3rd World country & politics here are becoming more corrupt & dirty for more than 30 years or so, no matter what political party of a Filipino politician here, he/she’s still corrupt, arrogant, lazy & liars to his/her Filipino people. That’s why President Duterte wants to eliminate this problem by pursuing his constitutional change in my country right now from a corrupt & unsystematic unitary form of government into a hybrid type of federal form of government. Those Liberal Party or “Genuine Opposition Party” will sh*t their pants off already & their days are numbered if Duterte-style constitutional or Charter Change will become a reality.
Mrericx,
I am all in favour of change if that change leads to less or no corruption anymore. i have said before as comment with other GRP articles that I am also in favour of changing the PH constitution. So you have my vote (so to speak). But opposition is inevitable (the way I see it).
In China, where simple people are interviewed dont even dare to speak up because they are afriad to talk. Is that what you want? The China government has everybody (all individuals) by the balls. No, not my country my friend.
The PHILIPPINES NEEDS A FRIKKIN REVOLT, LED BY THE MASSA TO OVERTHROW THE ELITE. PERIOD. Send 200,000 people to the Palais & 200,000 to the SENATE, while both house’s are full of the SCUMBAGS. Then, DEMAND THE SCUMBAGS RESIGN AND TURN OVER ALL OF THEIR ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH or FACE THE CONSEQUENCES of the wrath of the MOB !! Once they have been deported the country can be sorted out without anyone from a former Dynasty allowed to hold office.
After this is done, make an example out of the 1ST SCUMBAG that is caught stealing, BY HANGING HIM/HER by their SLIMY NECKS UNTIL THEY ARE DEAD.
Ballot papers do not define leaders. Leadership is defined by conviction, vision, passion and inspiration.