Do you actually believe Inquirer columnist and former Undersecretary Manuel L. Quezon III (MLQ3) when he posits that the collective political psyche of the Filipino revolves around what he refers to as the Marcos-Aquino blood feud? In his Inquirer piece today “Marcos Jr. biding his time”, MLQ3 goes even further to assert that “it was always the Filipino People vs. the Marcoses after 1972” suggesting that in this imagined “battle” between “good” and “evil”, the “Filipino people” are on the side of the Aquinos.
First off, was it Ferdinand Marcos who started this feud or was it Ninoy Aquino? To the best of my knowledge, Marcos was never an enemy of the Aquinos, or the Cojuangcos for that matter. When Ninoy began his political career in the 50s, Marcos was already making a name for himself as Congressman. The feud only began when Ninoy was elected Senator. Perhaps it was the Lopezes who prodded him on after they sensed that Marcos wasn’t going fully honor the quid pro quo they had with Nanding Lopez as his Vice-President.
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The administration coalition is in shambles because the power blocs may be wary of a Marcos presidency. President Rodrigo Duterte may have had other plans which is why he first floated the idea of a President Bong Go. When that didn’t fly, it became Vice-President Duterte. Inday Sara “Daughterte” was in the mix but no way would she be under the control of the Davao Origs under Salvador Medialdea and Go, which is why she categorically stated there will only be one Duterte who will run for national office and she didn’t want to have anything to do with PDP-Laban either. We are not privy to the actual goings-on in the corridors of power but we can only speculate. Based on the facts at hand now, the administration and opposition camps are in the same boat; with the administration having the advantage of the whole of government at its disposal, just like what the Aquino administration enjoyed in 2016. There was a modus vivendi between Daughterte and Marcos Jr; they won’t butt heads in the Presidential race. Marcos has declared his candidacy based on this.
From what we can see, the administration had run out of time before the October 8 deadline but there is still the November 15 one for substitution. The Opposition has shown their cards. It’s Robredo for them and has been all along despite her consternation, discernment, and all the accompanying drama that Robredo brings into what’s really a simple decision to make. The rumblings within the Opposition now is leverage being deployed by leftist-militants which is part and parcel of their process. In the meantime, there is the NPC-Reporma-NUP-UNA coalition which has emerged as better organized, funded, and with a definitive strategy. Neither pro-Opposition nor pro-Administration but pro-Philippines.
MLQ3 is too preoccupied with the narrative that he and other Opposition stalwarts insist is the end all and be all of the 2022 election; stop Marcos and no Duterte as Vice-President. MLQ3 does not even bother to address the elephant in the room which is Mar Roxas casting his lot with Isko instead of Leni. This is why Lito Banayo and Serge Osmeña are running Isko’s campaign with funding being provided by known anti-Duterte oligarchs. Neither the administration nor the third party, which is NPC-Reporma-NUP-UNA, are harping on “the Marcos issue”. Sen. Ping Lacson has categorically stated that the rule of law will prevail. His stand is the country is facing more serious problems than focusing again on the Marcos cases pending before the courts in relation to Marcos’ candidacy. Robredo’s supporters branded Lacson-Sotto as “Duterte enablers” but got the surprise of their lives when some of their Senatorial candidates were adopted by Robredo. Isn’t this an explicit admission that they can’t win on their own merits?
Frankly, the Marcos-Aquino narrative is getting old. Too old in fact. Yet MLQ3 and his ilk, Robredo included, refuse to stop beating on a dead horse. They don’t seem to realize that they’re driving voters away instead of gaining them for their cause. The bandwagon of support on social media isn’t exactly the same on the ground. Then what of the probability that Duterte is simply not interested anymore about who wins in 2022? The only other option he has is substitute for Go and run in tandem with Marcos which would be a game-changer.
In the meantime, the Liberal Party, Aksyon Demokratiko and the supposedly independent Robredo camps are busy sniping at each other. The Marcos and Lacson campaign organizations are focusing on their preparations and minding their own business. It would appear that they are practicing Napoleon’s dictum of keeping quiet while the enemies are making mistakes.
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Nakakaumay nga e. Karamihan pa naman ng Pinoy kapag nabuwisit sa kakadakdak mo they would do exactly the opposite of what you are convincing them to do. So the more you keep reviving about ML to convince people not to vote Marcos, they might actually vote for Marcos because you’re annoyingly redundant as fuck.
“Frankly, the Marcos-Aquino narrative is getting old. Too old in fact.”
Maybe for the centennials or Igen but not for the millennials and earlier generations. And ‘getting old’ is relative. Is it old because it doesn’t play on one’s biases? Is it old because the past is self excoriating? Nakakaumay kasi puro kalansay?
Of course, the pro-Marcos people will treat the issue as old because they prefer a clean slate. But treating something old does not erase or make it disappear. For the Marcos family, it’s old because there’s no more Ninoy/Cory/Noynoy and Macoy. What’s left is Bongbong and he’s on the ticket. That’s the new deal. Let go of the old and welcome the new: BBM. Really?
History is never old especially if it’s going to help you understand the present. History is never old if it’s going to help young minds understand the experience of their elders.
As one famous quote that never gets old goes: Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes.
TBH, maybe I suggest you also answer this question:
What’s The Use Of Celebrating The Downfall Of Marcos Since The Nation DIDN’T PROGRESS After His Downfall?
The Marcos years weren’t the golden years but what about the post-Marcos years? Did we truly learn something?
Bong bong marcos is not his old man…but i would vote for him if only for the fact that in this election BONG BONG HAS THE MOST TO PROVE AND THE MOST TO LOSE More than anybody else for the last 2000 years since jesus fricking christ , the way the yellow people have been ruining his name and his familys name.
If he wins, this will be the most uncorrupt and righteous government in all philippine history, i can assure of that..LET THE CLEANSING BEGIN !
You can’t talk about history/memory without connecting and relating it to the present. The Marcos opponents want their version to be frozen in time because it serves them. Does the anti-revisionism approach benefit the public? Or does actually reviewing history-as new information is revealed-straighten out history?
“You can’t talk about history/memory without connecting and relating it to the present.
Correct! That is why history never gets old. The Marcos-Aquino issue will never get old because advocates and defenders on each sides are still at it; one playing the issue to the hilt, the other trying to erase it from the memory.
Actually, the way certain media practitioners frame the story is what’s getting old…
Yes, it’s media’s fault because they keep on bringing up the past. They framed the story by telling what factually happened in the past. The story gets old every time they don’t put a twist on it. It gets old because the story always have the same villain and the same plot.
Damn the media!
Pro-Marcos loyalist, we think that pink and yellow stink! They are passé and putrid! The new color is black and everyone loves it because it represents BBM’s truth and justice in which we would glorify Ferdinand E. Marcos to satisfy his god complex! Black color is not evil!
Of course, of course, my friend, you prefer it to be passe and putrid because it sets you free from constricting boundaries of history; it unleashes you from the grip of the Yellow group on an issue you cannot uphold nor give justification to. But the sad fact is, you can only ignore or freeze it out but you can never escape it.