Dear GRP Insiders,
It’s that time of the year when Filipinos are enjoined to “remember” the 1986 “people power revolution”. What better way to remember than by wearing yellow and reminding certain chameleon camps of their roots, right?
Regards,
benign0
In review and in prospect
The Opposition campaign, specially that of the leading Yellowtard bloc headed by “vice president” Leni Robredo, seems to be losing steam. The facts and the data surrounding the insurmountable lead administration tandem Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte enjoys over all the rest is starting to weigh heavily on the morale of Opposition candidates’ campaign teams.
Essentially one-trick ponies who failed to evolve, Opposition “campaign strategists” are hard-pressed to come up with new material beyond the Martial Law Crybabyism and the liberal “human rights” and “helping the poor” shticks that did nothing to improve their clients’ winnability over these “evil” dictators’ son and daughter. The Yellowtards were particularly pathetic this week — latching on to a tweet issued by American pop star Cher and raising a stink about precious posters and tarpaulins being dismantled by police for breaking Commission on Elections (COMELEC) rules on campaign as dimensions.
More importantly, Marcos remains by far the most talked about personality in these elections. Indeed, while the names of any of the Opposition nuisance candidates hardly ever comes up in any official messaging issued by the Marcos camp, the same cannot be said of that coming from the Opposition. Marcos and incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte are cornerstones of the vacuous rhetoric spewed by the Opposition and, specially, its leading Yellowtard bloc. It is almost as if they owe their very existence to Marcos and Duterte and collapse in a fit of convulsions if deprived of this precious opiate that charges their thin rhetoric.
The trouble with the Opposition is they continue to apply binary thinking to their regard for these elections. Inquirer columnist Joel Ruiz Butuyan starts the week today by asserting that this is “[an] election battle to fight dictatorship” and, therefore, is “a battle between those infatuated with dictatorial rule and those who advocate democratic leadership.” The Opposition continue to run with the assumption that Bongbong Marcos and his running mate Sara Duterte (or, for that matter, any candidate seen to be part of the incumbent administration camp) will herald a return to “tyranny” for the Philippines. This exhibits a bizarre lack of faith in the democracy that is enshrined in the 1987 Constitution that Opposition demigod Cory Aquino oversaw the enactment of following the “revolution” that catapulted her to power. Furthermore, they continue to assert this ad nauseum yet balk at providing any detail on how they think this will happen over a given time frame.
With just a few more weeks to go before election day, there may still be time for the Opposition to move on from their failed act and come up with something a bit fresher and a bit more original. Even better, if they choose to continue with the “return to authoritarianism” spiel, perhaps provide some specifics on how exactly they see Marcos setting the country down that path, say, over the first 100 Days.
Last week's blog posts
Politics
The future is not female. The future is PEOPLE
February 20, 2022 benign0
"Why is the future 'female'? Why it’s because Robredo is a woman and, therefore, female just like her daughters. This is presumably why they are branding their campaign 'pink'..."
February 16, 2022 by benign0
"To be fair, Ka Leody acted like a gentleman that night — perhaps because he was in the company of the same. He did so even when the hairy topic of communist terrorism was raised. Nonetheless, he was clearly out of his depth in the company of his fellow participants."
Opposition presidential candidates declining SMNI debate proves they are hypocrites
February 14, 2022 by benign0
"Indeed, for a bunch of bozos competing with one another for Second Prize, declining a media event that would put them in the same room as Number One is a bad case of bitterness clouding sound strategic thinking."
Yellowtards tell Filipino voters: If you are not with us, you are against God
February 14, 2022 by benign0
"Recall that the pink theme of the Yellowtards this year aims to appeal to feminists and the gay community. So does Mama Mary represent what these communities stand for?"
Business
Is the Philippine national debt even an issue?
February 17, 2022 The Unpopular Opinion
"To create inclusive economic institutions in the Philippines, promoting foreign direct investments is a no-brainer. Lowering barriers to trade, liberalizing the markets, and embracing competition would create many winners for the country."