Can Marcos Jr. ‘unify’ the Philippines?
If this is all what a PhD is good for then I am glad that I did not have the opportunity to pursue post-graduate studies. I had this sense of inferiority when I came in as the Chief of Staff to the University President. Seeing as how I was a greenhorn, I did not even have the title put down on the business card because I always believe in putting the work in to be deserving of anything. But in the case of Heydarian, for so long as he is “validated” by his colleagues and interviewed as the premier “political analyst” on Philippine affairs by foreign media outlets, he does not give a hoot if he comes off as an amateur.
In the meantime, however, there are three relatively low-hanging fruits, which could go a long way in broadening the base of and (partially) redeeming the president’s familial reputation among the international community: (i) restore the franchise of ABS-CBN (via allies in the legislature); (ii) free Sen. Leila De Lima; and (iii) recalibrate Mr. Duterte’s scorched-earth drug war by emphasizing rehabilitation and targeted operations.
Imagine how what he describes as low-hanging fruit can be beneficial for the Marcos’ image when Filipinos have generally given their stamp of approval to the the decision of President Duterte on the three key issues.
This is typical narcissistic behavior again. You want to win their approval then you go out of your way to give them what they want but in the end, you still do not get anything because they will move the goal posts again.
There was a low intensity Tweet debate yesterday among two prominent personalities about which was better, the Western way or the Asian way. This is another of serious issues plaguing us Filipinos. We are the most Westernized country in Asia, bereft of a national identity as Filipinos. We identify more as Westerners than Asians, which is why we are not as progressive as our Asian neighbors. It does not help also that we are the only Catholic country in the region, which again is a Western concept.
To my mind, if we are to become as progressive as our Asiang neighbors, we need to identify more as Asian and less as Westerners. The problem is we are stuck in a vicious cycle as the lack of a long-term development plan has caught up with use in a bad way. We have a population which we cannot feed and employ in our own country.
At the same time, these Filipinos who cannot find employment are our biggest export. They keep the economy afloat with their remittances to their families. It is the only export product that continues to provide benefits long after it has reached its final destination. It is what drives consumption which drives sales of the rent-seeking businesses oligarchs are in.
It does not help that the millennial “journalist-activists” and analysts are rabidly pro-Western in their ideology. It is not really about ideology but more of a status symbol. Being employed by a foreign media outlet offers excellent compensation and travel opportunities abound. It is more of a status symbol than exercising one’s profession in the best possible way.
We are Filipinos and we are Asians. We are not American or European, even if America and Spain were our colonizers. It should not be about status symbols but more of real achievements and genuine patriotism, not lip service and faking it until making it. This is why we continue to be mired in mediocrity.
We are at a crucial juncture in our history and cannot afford to waste any more time. Marcos Sr. stumbled with the reboot in 1972 with martial law and the 1973 Constitution. It is time to do away with the vestiges of American and religious influence in our political and social constructs and adopt those which are truly Filipino.
This should be the primary goal of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
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