“The people have an inherent right to decide for themselves.”
The scenery is reminiscent of the day Israel declared its independence. Just minutes after the British Mandate for Palestine expired on midnight of May 14, 1948, paving the way for the proclamation of independence of the Jewish State, all hell broke loose as her neighboring countries, forming the Military Coalition of Araba states, declared war on the just established country, intruding into its newfound territory.
The other day – the Yellows and the faction of the oligarchs backing them, and the Left – once again, as if on cue, forged another tactical alliance to attack the Marcoses, the very moment former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. declared his intention to seek the country’s presidency in the 2022 elections.
Issues concerning the Marcoses were revived and a call to stop Bongbong from being elected was issued by the alliance-for-convenience groups.
Unfortunately, reactions in the social media did not seem favorable to them. One of the leading dailies in the country, a media entity known to be critical to the Marcoses, was in for a shock when the news it posted in its social media platform gained more favorable reactions for Bongbong than adverse ones. In more neutral venues, the results showed an overwhelming favorable reaction for BBM. This despite the effort of some media entities to portray a negative image for the former senator, employing heavily politically-colored captions in describing him such as “son of the dictator,” “losing vice presidential bet,” etc.
So, why all the frenzy, the extra effort to again vilify the former First Family and derail Bongbong’s presidential run? A demon is always a demon. Meaning, if they have succeeded in demonizing the Marcoses then when they seized power in 1986, then, they don’t have to worry for the Marcoses to transform into angels over time. Apparently, they did not. But the Yellow-led Oligarchs failed miserably, their acts over the years betraying their ulterior motive – that is, to seize political power to propel their own economic interests.
The Left, although relegated to the sidelines, have to content themselves with whatever space they could use to strengthen its base. After all, they have benefitted from the Yellow narrative on Martial Law, painting them as victims and both as casualties of the government campaign against insurgency. And truth be told, they have increased their numbers by several folds during the Cory Regime as attested by no less than the late Fr. Conrado Balweg. Hence, to date, they still allow themselves to be used by the Yellows whenever there is a need to revive the Marcos hate sentiment.
But now, the people are starting to realize they have been duped. The uprising which toppled the Marcoses only benefited the oligarchs and a handful of their Yellow allies, and in fact, worsened their lives. Gone was their peace of mind they could walk home in the dead of night without worry as the use of illegal drugs started proliferating. Projects supposedly aimed at providing ease of lives for the people were suspended, which enabled the Oligarchs to pounce on such an opportunity to make a business killing (One Yellow Cabinet member got extra rich selling generators when then President Cory Aquino failed to resolve the country’s worsening energy problem then).
Their Marcos narrative is no longer selling. If before, people seemed uncomfortable in being identified with the Marcoses, especially in the early years preceding the EDSA uprising, now they are more than eager to defend them and push them back to power.
And yesterday, when Bongbong filed his certificate of candidacy for presidency under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, the Marcos hate campaign was drowned by the jubilation of BBM’s supporters.
In announcing his intention to run, Bongbong averred he “will bring that form of unifying leadership back to our country.”
BBM enjoined the people to face the challenge as one, as one country, as one people and work towards a shared vision of our country through COVID and beyond COVID to find a way through this crisis with a common goal of vision to guide and lead the country.
“I know that it is this manner of unifying leadership that can lead us through this crisis. Join me in this noblest of causes and we will succeed. Sama-sama tayong babangon muli,” Marcos said.
Nowhere in his speech did he try to defend himself against the negative attack of his critics, be they coming for the Yellow or the Left. Why? Because deep inside him, Bongbong knows the numbers of those who still believe in the anti-Marcos narrative concocted by Yellow-led Oligarchs, are already dwindling. There are almost no more takers left.
So the questions: If Bongbong wins in the May 9 elections next year, will the Yellows, and even the Left, finally admit their Marcos hate campaign is already passè and that it is time to move on to another strategy? Will they submit to the will of the people and accept Bongbong as the duly-elected president, anointed by the majority of the people who have now rejected the Yellows’ interpretation of history?
It is, after all, the people’s inherent right to decide for themselves.
By the way, Israel, since 1948 has never been defeated and surprisingly, has even made substantial advances in territory, with some of its opponents even abandoning the war and making peace with her. Just saying.