The thinking goes that Filipinos begin all over again with each new administration. Wrong.
An easy example would be the current Duterte administration. The President, the former mayor of Davao City, was swept into power because he appeared different from the politicians we have known—suffered—for long.
Contrary to the well-bred, politically-correct, platitude-spewing leaders we have had for years, this tough-talking local executive who makes no secret of his disdain for drug addicts, drug dealers and criminals and who does not seem to care what others say about him is a refreshing change.
The fight against corruption is another example. Mr. Duterte’s predecessor, former President Benigno Aquino III, launched a six-year journey on what he called the straight and narrow path as a reaction to his own immediate predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose nine-year term was marred with allegations of corruption.
In fact, Mr. Aquino went further and placed Mrs. Arroyo in hospital detention for more than four years, making her the poster child for his so-called crusade.
And now the nation awaits the decision of the Supreme Court on whether or not former president Ferdinand Marcos may be buried at the Libingan ng mg Bayani amid numerous petitions against it.
This issue has festered for many years and has only been brought to the high court’s attention after President Duterte himself expressed resolve to put it at rest, once and for all.
Poverty continues to be a problem, not only because the number of poor Filipinos has actually increased but because the gap between the rich and the poor now appears wider than ever.
The list goes on.
Filipinos are never truly free from the monsters of our past. They shape how we are run and governed today. In the same manner, the follies and excesses of the present will determine the ills we will face, or continue to face, well into the next generations.