“We are being offered a nebulous concept of unity.”
If we are to believe the latest survey results, with two months to go before the May 9 general elections, it’s all over but the shouting for the Marcos-Duterte tandem.
But how reliable are these surveys?
Polling firms themselves concede that popularity surveys are snapshots of public sentiment at given periods. They do not necessarily mean a favorable result for the so-called UniTeam on Election Day.
But we probably cannot blame their camp for gloating over the survey statistics and hoping for a bandwagon effect on the part of the electorate, particularly the undecided.
Marcos Jr. claims he has the Solid North behind him and Sara Duterte believes she can count on the majority of votes from Mindanao. Both expect the total votes from the two main islands to be enough to bring them to victory over their four other main rivals, namely Vice President Leni Robredo, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, and Senators Manny Pacquiao and Ping Lacson.
Even as the Marcos-Duterte tandem has adopted “Unity” as their rallying cry during the campaign, we have yet to hear them give a clear explanation of what their concept of unity is all about.
Marcos Jr. wants to unite Filipinos behind the narrative that the martial law regime imposed by his father for 14 long years led to the country’s “golden age”, and that human rights violations nor massive corruption did not take place during those years.
If unity is what he wants, what is his comprehensive economic development plan that will unite Filipinos in the next six years?
Sara Duterte has been uttering motherhood statements such as “In unity there is strength.” But what we’d like to know is her stand on the issue of extrajudicial killings that human rights groups have raised against her father’s bloody war on drugs. As a lawyer, what is her position on the planned probe by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of alleged crimes against humanity by her father?
The tandem’s campaign focusing on a nebulous concept of “unity” appears to be a reaction to critics who insist that the authoritarian regimes of their respective fathers are totally incompatible with the principles of justice, freedom and democracy that Filipinos are willing to uphold and defend at all costs.
Those who survived the martial law regime under Marcos Sr. and want no more of Rodrigo Duterte’s brand of authoritarian rule have ample reason to fear the emergence of an unholy unity that could well end up ruling the country with an iron fist for the next six years.
Putin reaps the whirlwind
Russian President Vladimir Putin obviously isn’t one who tolerates criticism of his order to launch a full-scale war against Ukraine.
Russian police have already detained more than 3,500 people protesting against his invasion of Ukraine: 1,700 people in Moscow, 750 in St Petersburg, and 1,061 in other cities. A protest monitoring group said it had documented the detention of at least 2,578 people in 49 different cities. The latest arrests have brought the total number of demonstrators held to more than 10,000 since the invasion began.
It is clear that “the screws are being fully tightened” by Putin, according to a protest participant, but they have remained undeterred, shouting slogans such as “No to war!” and hurling obscenities at Putin while waving Ukrainian flags.
The last Russian protests with a similar number of arrests were held in January 2021, when thousands demanded the release of opposition leader Alexei Navalny after he was arrested on returning from Germany where he had been recovering from a nerve agent poisoning.
Across Europe, thousands of demonstrators have also taken to the streets to protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In Brussels, police said around 5,000 people took part in a rally marked by a sea of Ukrainian flags and chants of “Russians, go home!”, “No to war” and “Europe, be brave, act now!”
Protesters in the French city of Toulouse assembled behind a large yellow and blue banner, holding portraits showing a bloodstained Putin and labelling him an assassin.
Cries of “close the airspace” and “Let’s protect Ukraine’s sky” resounded through the city, a reference to Kyiv’s demand that NATO establish a no-fly zone to prevent Russian aircraft contributing to Moscow’s onslaught.
Around 5,000 people also gathered in the northern city of Caen, hoisting the Ukrainian flag and participants sporting the yellow and blue colors of the Ukrainian flag. “People of Ukraine, we won’t desert you! Democracy, freedom, peace,” read one placard.
In Spain, protests unfolded in the capital Madrid, Barcelona and other cities across the country. Authorities said about 800 people congregated in Barcelona’s central square with banners saying “Close the sky, not your eyes”, “NATO, protect Ukraine’s sky” and “Stop Putin, stop the war”.
Thousands of protesters have also descended on the streets of cities across the world, including Paris, New York, Rome and Zurich, to demand an end to the conflict.
But wait, is Putin listening? There’s scant evidence that he’s willing to do just that, and determined to let his tanks, missiles and fighter jets do much of the talking.
(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)