The morons in the Philippine Opposition continue to discuss and debate about why they continue to lose elections without even taking time out to get feedback from the voter base which wins people elections to begin with. Their efforts to vilify former President Rodrigo Duterte didn’t succeed. Their efforts to vilify the Marcoses succeeded for a time but eventually public opinion shifted because there was no marked change in the state of the Philippines under the Yellowidiots.
It was Duterte who paved the way for the Marcos return to the Presidency because he was the only one who made good on his commitment to bury former President Ferdinand E. Marcos albeit without the pomp and pageantry that his widow former First Lady Imelda wanted. That was Duterte’s compromise. The association of Marcos with Duterte did more good than harm for Duterte as it gave him the support of the Ilokano voting base throughout the country. Whether the loyalists care to admit it or not, Duterte’s assessment of then former Senator Bongbong Marcos was correct. Duterte saw through the weaknesses of Marcos early on which was probably why he didn’t appoint him in his administration and left him to resolve his election protest against Leni. Marcos lost the electoral protest following his alleged defeat in the race for the vice presidency in 2016 but he went on to win the Presidency in 2022. The public made it clear that he did win the Vice-Presidency in 2016.
It would’ve been different if it were a Duterte-Marcos tandem from 2016-2022. Why? Marcos would’ve been able to start on his family’s redemption arc and would’ve been finished by the time he was to step down as Vice-President and run to become Duterte’s successor, with or without his endorsement. But what we’re seeing now is how class origins matter. Duterte wasn’t connected to any of the oligarchs when he ran. Sure, the Gokongweis supported him but the others did not. Duterte has always put the greater majority’s welfare first. He kept the oligarchs in line when he was President. Totally different from Marcos now who has the oligarchs surrounding him in every foreign sojourn.
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By far, the biggest policy shift under Marcos’s watch has been the pivot back to the US. China has become aggressive again in the South China Sea. Their ships are only 100 NM away from Pag-Asa. They control Scarborough Shoal as a result of Aquino’s blunder in 2012. The Chinese ignored the Americans then. What’s Marcos’s guarantee that the US will unconditionally support the Philippines should China begin imposing indirect economic sanctions as it did during the Aquino administration? Therein lies the proverbial rub.
At the same time, Marcos does not have the kamay na bakal approach when it comes to the cartels that are driving food prices up. This is why no amount of interest rate hikes will stop inflation from galloping along. Marcos has to come down hard on the cartels as his father Apo Lakay did during his time. Then he has to adjust the agriculture policy to be more in tune with what’s actually the practical strategy. There isn’t much land left to distribute for agrarian reform. The smaller-sized farms aren’t viable which is why production routinely fails to meet the demand of our more rapidly-growing population. Demand for housing is competing for the land to be used for food production. The agrarian reform beneficiaries can’t modernize fast enough and the government bureaucrats are doing nothing to fast-track the needed modernization.
It can’t be all propaganda as the public continues to suffer from the impact of high food prices. The public doesn’t have much of an alternative because there is no credible opposition that presents viable options for them. Marcos has the political capital and opportunity to leave a lasting legacy of his Presidency if only he had the same vision as Apo Lakay, with the required adjustments which take into account the changed environment. There’s no time to waste but even with the control of the legislature, the system is still gridlocked. This is why the political structure should be changed.
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So very true on why they did not win the votes of the majority. What I simply cannot understand is that they keep on stressing their hard-sell brand of politics, zeroing on the martyrdom of Ninoy, on Cory’s restoration of democracy and on PNoy carrying the Aquino brand–but less on workable, long-term policies that benefit the vast majority of Filipinos who need them most. Included here is their lack of vision for the country’s future, such as stressing the importance of infrastructure projects which will enhance PHL’s economic competitiveness as well as further spur countryside development much more efficiently; their support of protectionist economic policies that benefit the so-called oligarchs instead of luring more FDIs (foreign direct investments) that have made our ASEAN counterparts like Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam much more prosperous; and, of course their ‘trapo’ mentality. It was also ridiculous that, during the term of PNoy, he had cooperatives taxed, which was not the case–and was not supposed to be done (good thing the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte restored the tax-free privileges of cooperatives, which was indeed a welcome move by the movement). In addition, what is also disgusting is that they keep on playing the victim-card which reflects on their pa-martyr attitude: they want Filipinos to be weak, feeble-minded and appear oppressed and that is not productive and enlightening at all, instead of mapping out whatever pragmatic solutions there can be! It is high time Filipinos reverse these negative traits that have hindered genuine progress and development with those that radiate more action and shall I say, more confidence. In this day and age of rapid socio-economic shifts, we don’t need such kind of heroes; what we need are more doers.