Two paths for Marcos
Just when you think they couldn’t be more stupid, they actually can.
Why would President-elect Marcos choose to dwell on the past? Butuyan has it in his head that Marcos would either start off with his father’s unfinished business in 1965 or his own quest for vengeance for what he and his family went through since 1986.
What is Butuyan smoking?
Marcos actually faces the biggest challeng of his life now that he’s won the Presidency. He has to be better than his father and it could not come at a more inopportune time in the midst of a pandemic and an unstable geopolitical and economic environment due to disruption caused by the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
All eyes will be on Marcos because it is only he who has managed to mount a political comeback and become what his father was before he was ousted by the US and the opposition then. This is huge because no former leader ousted through a US-sponsored regime-change has managed to regain the leadership of their country. It is only Marcos who has managed to do so in a democratic setting at that.
So many unprecedented events arose from this presidential election. First, it’s unprecedented in our history that our people are so divided under two extremely opposite views of our country’s future under a new president. Second, the lightning speed by which we learned of the election results is unmatched even by United States standards. Third, the massive people’s campaign that sprang in support of Vice President Leni Robredo is unparalleled in our past elections. Historians and other analysts can write book volumes explaining these extraordinary events. There are issues being raised, questioning the reported win of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., ranging from the failure of many vote-counting machines, inability of citizens to vote, alleged tinkered source codes, to massive vote-buying.
What electoral fraud is Butuyan speaking of? All of the other Presidential candidates have conceded to Marcos. None of them have claimed the election was fraudulent. Most international media outlets have called the election in favor of Marcos based on the unofficial returns. If there is any fraud then the Robredo camp should show proof otherwise they are just inciting their supporters to anger and protests.
Apart from the lure of carving out his own niche in history and a chance to cleanse the Marcos name of stain and stench, what can impel Marcos Jr. to take off from 1965 will be the constant push of newly revived anti-Marcos forces. This group is sporting for a protracted fight. The youth, in particular, have found a big cause for activism in their generation.
What may drive Marcos Jr. to choose 1986 as the starting point of his presidency will be vengeance. One can imagine the strong disposition for revenge because of the hurt that must have been bottled up for 36 years since the Marcoses were ousted from power. Marcos Jr. may also take the posture that he has been given blanket authority to do whatever he wants because of the huge votes he garnered. He may entertain thoughts that all his family’s sins were erased by the massive mandate he received.
Supporters of Marcos Jr. are far bigger compared to the number of his detractors, based on the results of the election. However, Marcos supporters are not the kind who will go out of their way to rally behind him. They will sit back and expect Marcos Jr. to rely on police and military forces.
In contrast, anti-Marcos groups are the kind who will spend their own funds and devote considerable time to sustain massive rallies, based on their show of force during the campaign period. This group can carry on with civil disobedience, business boycotts, and regular student demonstrations. While this group may be smaller compared to pro-Marcos supporters, they have a far bigger capacity to throw a monkey wrench on the economy.
Butuyan appears to be spoiling for a fight. He wants to have a showdown with the Filipinos who voted for Marcos as President. Is this really how the opposition wants to comport themselves post-2022?
The Filipino people have made their choice through the ballot. The time has come to respect that choice and move forward. The opposition in 2010 did nothing to contest the win of Noynoy Aquino. They did not attempt to destabilize or oust his government despite his ineptitude and incompetence which the public then had had enough of.
Leni Robredo is also showing intransigence by refusing to concede to Marcos. She ist still holed up in Naga and will have another rally on Friday at the Quezon Memorial Circle.
In the meantime, the rest of the country is moving on. The Duterte administration has setup a transition committee to coordinate the turnover with the Marcos camp. Marcos is now screeening Cabinet appointments.
The opposition is busy licking its wounds and being stupid morons instead of being proactive and picking up the pieces. They are making the same mistakes they did in 2016 and 2019. Proof that they never learn.
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