It is still 2 years away from the 2016 Philippine Presidential election and yet Filipinos are already in full force endorsing candidates left and right. The inclusion and combination of some of these candidates, no doubt, will surprise, irritate and excite you. There is the Miriam-Duterte, Poe-Robredo, Binay-Roxas, Marcos-Gordon and Escudero-Gibo tandems. You can make your own tandem to suit your liking. Being a free speech loving secularist myself, if I would be given the chance to vote again, I would choose Miriam-Robredo tandem mostly because I am attracted to Miriam’s intellectual prowess and her liberal position on many social issues. I like Robredo’s integrity and her family’s dedication to honest governance in Naga. But that’s me.
Many Filipinos however, I noticed, are also drawn to Miriam, but in a different way. They claim they would vote for Miriam because of her no-nonsense approach to governance, her iron-will, her combative stance against corruption and incompetence, and because they say she can get the job done. Surprisingly they say the same thing about the firebrand Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who likes to utter shooting threats to anyone who he disagrees with. The latest one was when he said he would shoot the guy behind the Duterte-for-President Movement. He is shaping up as this election’s dark horse, a title previously enjoyed by Binay, who fell on the side because of numerous allegations of corruption.
So why are many Filipinos drawn to strong, authority figures?
Many are convinced that authoritarian rule is the solution to the rampant and uncontrollable crimes, corruption and lawlessness in the country. Irrespective of data and statistics, I would have to agree that this is true. Just listening to news and relatives at home, crimes are so worse in the Philippines even the police cannot help and protect you. Some, if not, most of the police are involved themselves. Remember the photo of the EDSA gun-poking incident last Sept 1? These and other criminals like the “riding in tandem” gangs that roam the streets of Metro Manila are enough to scare anyone to not visit the country.
Many point to the heavy influence of religion in human behaviour lulling our minds into non-thinking and non-questioning.
Many also point to the influence of a few oligarchic class who is the main cause of the poverty of so many Filipinos and who have kept this nation under their rule.
When situations get worse, as they already are in the Philippines, many Filipinos are forced to accept any candidate that comes along, no matter how corrupt and incompetent. Instead of looking for candidates that respect human rights and the democratic process, we are at times left with no choice but to endorse the worst kind of people in our society. An election, after all, is not just for display, it must be taken seriously. Elections must be the gauge of our maturing democracy. When a candidate accused of corruption promises he will do to the rest of the Philippines what he did for Makati, that alone should ring a lot of bells!
Democratizing countries like the Philippines, according to Gary J. Bass in the New York Times, often “lack the rule of law, organized political parties and professional news media.” Although those three items don’t necessarily guarantee a successful democracy, neither a sure-fire formula towards building a true democracy, I seem to agree with this assessment. Looking at the Philippines, there is hardly a semblance of rule of law as rich, powerful, corrupt people often get away with a crime; candidates who wantonly jump from one political party to another or even creating one for themselves; and a media that gleefully prioritizes TV personalities, ratings and showbiz instead of engaging viewers with critical thinking and frequent discussion on current issues.
It’s enough to make you lose hope and weep.
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