I woke up at 3AM this morning and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I have this bad habit of picking up my phone and getting lost in the black hole that is Facebook, and I really shouldn’t have. Not this morning.
I stared in confusion, disbelief and alarm when I saw the news that the former dictator’s son was leading by a very wide margin, in the Philippines’ presidential election.
How could this be happening, I thought. I’m sure people have not forgotten what the former President, his family and his cronies did to the Philippines. It is not fiction, it is a documented, historical fact known in our country and the whole world. That was the point of the EDSA Revolution in 1986—to throw Marcos out and have our democracy back.
But I guess the Filipinos want them back. The margin between Marcos and Robredo was so wide, I couldn’t believe it. I am pretty sure there’s some cheating that went on, because surely not that many people would want another Marcos regime. I am still dumbfounded by the numbers, seriously.
I honestly feel a bit embarrassed to be from the Philippines right now. Mind you, most Kiwis are not too familiar with our history. The elections were only a 30-second feature in the local news. But those who do know about our country, seem to also be confused “So his family stole billions, killed a lot of people and now he’s the President? Why would you guys want them back? Crazy as!”. That was the gist of my convos with colleagues.
I am honestly not sure how the world works anymore. It seemed crazy for the Marcos family and their team to have any support from the common folk at all. But to also win the election by a (dubious) landslide, is even crazier.
The view from outside
On one hand, I am glad that I do not live in the Philippines. I cannot imagine living in the country right now, and how the political situation will affect my mental well-being. I am also afraid and anxious, concerned for the future of my family that lives there.
Having lived and worked abroad for a good chunk of my adult years, it is inevitable that I compare life in the Philippines versus Singapore, versus New Zealand. “If only the Philippines were like this”, “If only the PH had this”, “If only Filipinos were like this”—-is always on my mind. I honestly want my country to be better. For me to be proud of the country for more than winning beauty pageants, or top the charts with the most number of Internet users in the world.
I want to be proud of it for things that really matter—good education, uplifting people from poverty, accessible health care for all, (and is it too much to ask) a government run by well-meaning, HONEST individuals.
The Philippines is like that one friend you have, the one who seems to be always “almost there”. It has everything going for it: beauty, resources, brains. But then she makes bad choices—maybe hooking up with guys who just leave her worse off than she was. So she’s sad and bitter, constantly looking for that thing that will fix her. There’s a period where she seems she’s on the road to recovery, and you are so hopeful for her, but then she makes another bad choice, and the cycle starts over again. You wish her well, but you also want to hold her by the shoulders and tell her: “Please wake up and do better!”
Ah, how do we solve a problem like the Filipino people? No one knows. You can throw facts and figures, show them photos of life in Martial Law, let them watch movies about it, or get people who lived through it describe the horrors, but many, millions, in fact, have been sadly brainwashed by that family and their trolls.
I have no answer. I’ve given up on the Philippines, I think. I’ve decided to just let it be and watch from afar. I’m not even sure that I should comment on anything political, because no one wins there. Everybody’s right. No one is wrong.
What I do know is that in my own small way, I will make sure that history will not be revised. I am crazy passionate about this one. My children, even though they will grow up as Kiwis, will know Philippine history and those dark years.
So, that’s it. The end of this rant. Just putting this out there. To remember how the Philippines was given a choice for better governance, but threw it away.
If you care to read, here are good sources for books about Martial Law
