Weekly Brief
One week of desperate campaign for the Opposition draws supporters -- not converts -- to "massive" rallies. Partisans soldier on fuelled by beliefs rather than facts.
In review and in prospect
There’s not much else to say at this point but, to again state a simple fact: Only one week of campaigning left to go. The “massive” rallies staged by the camp of Opposition “leader” Leni Robredo had failed to move the needle as far as can be gleaned from reports issued by reputable polling firms. BizNews Asia founder and chairman Tony Lopez in his Manila Standard piece “Surveys say BBM will win” published last week points out, “This will be the most lopsided presidential elections in Philippine history.” He further writes…
Yet, the claim of many Leni Robredo supporters is that surveys are wrong. That the pre-election polls reflect only the sentiment of people surveyed by the pollsters, and not the voters on election day. Leni herself makes this claim.
Leni studied economics at UP, where statistics is routinely taught. She finished law, where she learned the rule of evidence. So when she claims surveys are simply the sentiment of respondents in the survey and not those of the voting population, she is being dishonest. Yet, she runs on the platform of clean government. A clean government is a mindset. It starts with the mind. If the mind is dishonest, how can you have a clean government?
To be fair, deluding themselves is the only way members of the Robredo bloc of the Opposition (a.k.a. the Yellowtards) can keep morale up as they soldier on with their failed campaign. After months — no, years — of foolishly demonising the very people they should have been converting to their “cause”, they are now even enrolling in a crash course on good manners to learn the people skills required to do just that.
In her Inquirer column “A rally experience” today, Kay Rivera inadvertently offers some insight into what it is exactly that pads the crowd numbers attracted by these Yellowtard rallies. The rallies attract existing supporters. As in Rivera's case, a number of them are likely compelled to be active for the first time, perhaps on account of the desperation of the hour. Rivera points out that her family had, until now, “never before gone out of their way for a politician” and that they “did not stay to hear the candidates’ platforms; even though I support and agree with them, they would not be discussed in detail at this activity. I am also not a fanatic.”
I came for the people who would see my photos on social media. I came for the silent onlookers on my feed, for those who are yet undecided or for those seeking understanding but who are afraid to step into volatile conversations. I came to show that I, who had always looked at politicians with extreme degrees of skepticism, know what is at stake enough to publicly give my support to my candidate—honest, accountable, qualified—potentially sacrificing friendships and professional opportunities.
Reading between the lines, one can readily feel the desperation in Rivera's words. One could only hope that as the Yellowtards reflect further on what is happening today, they would come to realise that they did not lose because “evil” triumphed. They lost because they exhibited an inferior pitch to the Filipino voters. They lost because the better camp won.
Last week's blog posts
How should Philippine food security be addressed?
May 2, 2022 by The Unpopular Opinion
"Politicians advocating government involvement in these community pantries are only promoting band-aid solutions that produce limited output and are unsustainable."
With just a week to go, Yellowtards get a crash course in GOOD MANNERS from starlet Bianca Gonzalez
May 1, 2022 by benign0
"What Bianca Gonzalez attempts to impart on her flock is stuff most normal people would have likely learned in kindergarten. Engaging with people effectively requires empathy and self-awareness."
April 27, 2022 by benign0
"What does Leni Robredo have to do to fix what is clearly a liability to her campaign efforts? Perhaps they could start with reevaluating the role the three daughters, Tricia, Aika, and Jillian play in this ill-fated endeavour."