Why We Must Use Our Voices to Defy Our Government

Malayapinas mourns the outcome of her country's recent election and urges Filipinos to be brave and defiant.

“Only when we learn our history can we defy exploitative systems, making us politically conscious and wise to choose leaders who fight for social justice and economic prosperity for every Filipino.”

Malayapinas

The night was over, but darkness loomed over the Philippines after the May 9 election. I couldn’t fathom how Ferdinand E. Marcos Jr., the son of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, won in a landslide against sitting Vice President Leni Robredo. Unofficial counts showed that Marcos Jr. received close to 30.8 million votes, while Robredo received only 14.7 million votes. This was the first time in the country’s history that the winning presidential candidate garnered these high numbers.

Marcos Jr. gathered with the country’s business tycoons, drinking wine in an expensive hotel in the capital city of Manila. I asked myself, “Where are the 31 million Filipinos who should be celebrating Marcos Jr.'s victory?” It was obvious that only the Marcoses and their clique celebrated their victory. The streets were quiet, and everyone seemed to be in mourning. 

Protests against Marcos Jr. broke out in different parts of the country for several days. Chants of “No to martial law again!” and “No to dictatorship!” reverberated among the crowds. 

Marcos Jr. had peddled propaganda about Vice President Robredo during the campaign and had troll farms flood social media accounts with disinformation. His campaign distributed financial resources to their political allies and supporters and leveraged government resources that support disadvantaged people.

Protesters cried about the massive digital cheating, the pre-programmed votes for Marcos Jr.'s camp, the partiality of the Commission on Election (COMELEC), the disinformation campaign on social media, and the massive vote-buying. 

Three days after the election, Robredo and her supporters held a concession rally inside the Ateneo De Manila University campus. Flags in different shades of pink covered the areas. Supporters raised placards with slogans of hope and determination. They sang and danced, holding hands as they cried through the pain of defeat.

Robredo struggled to stay composed as the crowd shouted her name. They chanted, “Our President? Leni Robredo!; Vice President? Kiko Pangilinan!” They were voices of defiance and courage amid hopelessness and fear.

Before I voted on that fateful election day, I bought groceries and asked one crew member to help me load my bags. While in the parking lot, I asked him who he voted for. “I don’t have any choice, but I need to vote since the company required it,” he said. “So, I voted BBM (Bongbong Marcos, a nickname).”

My heart sank. I had campaigned for Robredo and Pangilinan. While driving, I reflected on the guy’s response. He didn’t sound joyful or excited. Is that because someone told him to vote for BBM, or was he swayed by Marcos’ social media propaganda?

By this point, it was already evident that Marcos Jr. and his running mate Sara Duterte led the race. I kept monitoring the news and browsing social media. Were these actual vote numbers, or were they a preprogrammed number of votes manipulated to ensure Marcos Jr. and Duterte’s victory? Why was there no jubilation across the country if these were real numbers?

I spoke with my hair stylist about the election. She was so disappointed in the result after voting for Robredo and Pangilinan. “I don’t want to experience martial law,” she said. “I had read about the military atrocities and how the government ran the country during the Marcos Dictatorship. It’s scary!”

At last, I’d heard a passionate story of disappointment yet defiance. The woman was firm in her belief.

I was a child when Filipino authorities declared martial law, the substitution of military authority for civilian rule. I was born in the southern part of the country and raised by a working-class family in a Christian community. Many of my teachers in grade school were Muslim, and I can still remember their kindness.

I didn’t realize until college that my sweet teachers hid the brutalities martial law inflicted on them. All I heard from my parents and in school was that martial law was needed because crime was rampant and Muslims were fighting the government. The military enforced curfew hours and deployed thousands of personnel, making us believe they would protect us from Muslim insurgents and deter crime.             

Every day, we heard songs idealizing martial law. In my first year of college, a military officer friend asked me to write his speech about martial law. I wrote a glowing speech about how it helped discipline civilians and develop infrastructure like roads, bridges, and ports (I only realized later that this infrastructure was intended for multinational corporations like Dole to transport goods). He received the highest grade in the class.

Now I wonder why I praised martial law when I heard about the deaths the government caused in their war against Muslim people. I witnessed the military abuse civilians and watched our economic situation deteriorate under private companies’ exploitative policies.

I often heard that it was dangerous to speak against the government. People refused to talk about it even during the height of the so-called “Muslim-Christian War.” Collective anxiety hung over the Philippines when the government declared martial law. 

As I grew up, we struggled to survive the changing economic tides. My parents couldn’t earn enough money to pay for our daily needs. They tried hard to sustain us, but food became scarce, and we often didn’t have breakfast. As a result, after I graduated high school, I left college and became a banana worker.

“Why were we born poor?” and “Why did we need to strive hard for survival?” I kept asking myself and my parents. Education was the key to rising above poverty. Having a bright future and escaping our miserable condition inspired me to pursue a college degree.

One day in college, I learned that the Marcos dictatorship was closely intertwined with our daily suffering and struggle for survival. I realized that politics are not separate from our lives. They shape our society and how people behave. It was an enlightening moment that led me to become an activist.

Only when we learn our history can we defy exploitative systems, making us politically conscious and wise to choose leaders who fight for social justice and economic prosperity for every Filipino.

I'm afraid the new government will worsen human rights violations and the economic situation. This government is an alliance of Dictator Marcos’ family, previous presidents Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Joseph Estrada, and outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte. They have notorious records of human rights violations and corruption. 

When the Marcos dictatorship was ousted, there was a breath of democratic space. The opposition and the progressive movement had voices in government. Political prisoners were freed, and constitutional reforms limited the president's term. But during Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s presidency, human rights violations worsened, and extra-judicial killings among activists and journalists proliferated. These abuses continued during the Duterte administration. The economic crisis worsened during Duterte’s administration, with corruption issues regarding the COVID-19 budget.

I hope my children and grandchildren will not experience a country where their freedom of speech and right to assemble is curtailed. I don’t want them to experience the fear of standing up for what is right. I don’t want them to be deceived by a system that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer.

The political landscape is becoming more apparent, with Marcos Jr. winning the presidential election and his party mates winning their senatorial seats. I would like to believe that the 31 million Filipinos who voted for Marcos Jr. did so because they were promised a better tomorrow. If this is true, I hope these 31 million Filipinos will not be cowed by political intimidation or deceived by the dominant social and political institutions. I hope they will be brave and defiant when their hopes and dreams for Marcos and Duterte go astray.  

The fight for a better and democratic Philippines is not yet over. We must have the courage to stand up, inspired by our dreams and aspirations for a government change during these challenging times. Let our voices be heard and echo to every Filipino that we deserve a government that protects and takes care of us. We must be vigilant and defy every move that kills democracy and our basic rights as a people.

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