Weekly Brief
Dean of the Ateneo School of Government Tony La Vina calls for "hard work and lot of prayer" to ensure Leni Robredo "thwarts" a BBM presidency. Is he suggesting that Satan wins if Robredo loses?
In review and in prospect
House-to-house campaigns conducted by the leading Opposition bloc of Yellowtard presidential candidate Leni Robredo have intensified along with the continued staging of big rallies in key population areas. Meanwhile, in his Rappler piece “Sustaining Robredo’s momentum in the final 30 days”, Dr. Tony La Viña, Dean of the Ateneo School of Government, reveals the evidently-unchanged point of the Robredo campaign…
Vice President Leni Robredo has the biggest chance and momentum to thwart a Marcos Jr. presidency. Of course, this is only possible if these next 30 days will be put to good use.
This far into the campaign and with so little time left, La Viña confirms that, after all the pretence that his camp offers some sort of big-picture “alternative” for Filipinos to consider, there really is not much else to the Robredo pitch beyond her monomanic goal — to “thwart a Marcos Jr. presidency”. La Viña then goes on to write, “the Catholic Church here is important.” To their agenda, presumably, which La Viña already clearly stated earlier. There's no surprise there coming from a member of a partisan camp that has long been criticised for exploiting the power dynamic between the Church and most ordinary Filipinos who are predominantly devout Catholics. The Church, after all, is seen to be in a position of authority and ordinary Filipinos subordinate to it. To then use the Church as a tool of political influence is, as such, unethical. Nonetheless, here is La Viña launching into a convoluted thread of reasoning to reconcile the irreconcilable…
While I am with those who would not want to see the pulpit – through Sunday sermons for example – used to endorse specific candidates, I strongly encourage bishops and parish priests, as well as religious and lay leaders, to participate in a house to house voter’s education program. While pastoral letters can be read during church services and priests can deliver homilies on principles that guide voting, a house to house voter’s education should include assessments of each candidate based on their records and platforms. If the bishop or the parish priest would like to write a letter endorsing a candidate, that would be fine as long as it is not read during church services.
Are Filipinos only as good as what their priests and bishops tell them? If we are to apply the reasoning of Yellowtard “thought leaders” like Dr. Tony La Viña, the answer to that question would be a disturbing yes. La Viña concludes his piece thus; “Robredo-Pangilinan has the momentum. With hard work and lot of prayer, we might just see a come-from-behind victory come May 9, 2022.”
A lot of prayer.
La Viña seems to be suggesting that God is on the Yellowtards’ side. What happens then if Leni Robredo loses the election? Oh, that means Satan won. This is the core of the Yellowtards’ insult to the intelligence of the Filipino people — that they presume to be an authority to crown themselves the “good” in an imagined battle between “good” and “evil”.
Last week's blog posts
Myths about Leadership and Personality in the Robredo-Marcos Rivalry
April 10, 2022 by ChinoF
"With Robredo, I see nothing spectacular to be crazy about, yet her supporters treat her like the Messiah. In other words, her supporters are using the same thinking that led to the problem they are trying to solve."
April 7, 2022 by benign0
"The clock is ticking and the Yellowtards would latch on every morsel that could nourish their rapidly flagging morale — even to the extent of suddenly embracing surveys from reputable polling firms that they had, just weeks ago, rabidly discredited..."