A unity among non-players

A press conference was held at The Peninsula Manila hotel on Easter Sunday, April 17, by Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Francisco “Isko” Domagoso, and Norberto Gonzales, all candidates for president in the May 9, 2022 national elections. They said they just wanted to tell the public that they were not withdrawing from the presidential race because they had been “talked to” by “the other camp,” Leni Robredo’s, to withdraw their candidacies. A fourth candidate, Manny Pacquiao, was expected to join the press con and publicly sign the joint four-way manifesto. Pacquiao was a no-show. Julio Teehankee, a political scientist, called the press con “A unity among non-players” (CNN Philippines, April 19, 2022).

“According to its ‘Ulat ng Bayan’ national survey conducted from March 17 to 21, Pulse Asia Research, Inc. said 56% of the qualified Filipino voters would elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. as president if the elections took place during the survey period… while closest rival Vice-President Leni Robredo got 24% or an improvement of 9% from the February survey. Francisco Domagoso ranked third at 8%, followed by Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, 6%; Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson at 2%; Faisal Mangondato at 1%; former Palace spokesperson Ernesto “Ernie” Abella at 0.1%; Jose Montemayor Jr. at 0.05%; Leodegario “Leody” De Guzman at 0.02%; and former Defense chief Norberto Gonzales at 0%” (pna.gov.ph April 6, 2022).

That Pulse Asia survey must have been the basis of Prof. Teehankee’s labeling of the press con participants as “non-players.”

“The other presidential contenders (after Marcos and Robredo) register voter preferences of at most 8%. Additionally, 1% of likely voters are still undecided about whom to vote for as president, another 1% are not supporting any candidate for the post, and 0.5% refused to identify their preferred presidential bet,” according to Pulse Asia.

Pulse Asia further said, “If their original choice for president does not pursue his/her candidacy for whatever reason, 23% of likely voters would instead vote for Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso.” And that is perhaps what so excited Isko that he chanted “Leni, withdraw” throughout that press con which was not originally meant to go so far as to ask second-ranking Robredo to withdraw her candidacy. Imagine what the 23% second-choice of him would be, added to his own 8%, plus a good percentage of those voters who would have chosen Marcos Jr., but would then have an alternative who is not Leni Robredo? Third-ranking Isko can dethrone Marcos Jr!

And so the press con, moderated mainly by Isko, diverted and perceptively digressed into a character assassination of Leni Robredo — cleverly starting from the individually experienced but collectively angering so-called efforts of the Robredo camp to outrightly ask the “non-players” to withdraw, and ending with the undisguised cry to crucify Leni for her “sins” against the Filipino people.

The three “non-players” recited their personal gripes against Leni, all united in decrying her for saying (before the deadline of filing candidacy) that she was not going to run for the presidency. Norberto Gonzales (lowest ranked in the Pulse Asia survey of winnables) declared that “People seem not to want #2 to fight #1; we need a new #2.” Isko strongly suggested that the phenomenon of Marcos Jr. being #1 was “not because they like Marcos Jr., but because they hate Dilawan (the ‘Yellows’ or original Cory Aquino followers, which include Leni).” (Please refer to YouTube video of press con for exact quotes). “Are you delivering ourselves to a Marcos presidency?,” a reporter asked from the floor.

“I don’t believe 60% of our people are loyalists to Marcos,” Isko said, evidently correlating Marcos Jr.’s consistently near-60% popularity in the Pulse Asia surveys. And Ping Lacson agreed with Isko. “Withdraw, Leni, if you love your country!” Isko chanted. “Sobra lang ang galit sa inyo! (The hatred for you is just too much).”

“Galit po kayo kay Leni Robredo? (Are you angry at Leni Robredo),” a reporter in the audience at the press con asked from the floor. “This is not an anti-Leni press con,” Ping Lacson replied. “It is not about them. It is about the people,” Isko added. Even at the start of the press con, Isko’s intro was: “This is not about us (the #3 Isko, #5 Lacson, and last# Gonzales). Once and for all, tao muna (the people first). Buhay mo, buhay ng mga anak mo (Your life, your children’s lives).”

Another reporter asked from the floor: “Why then, is this press con in a five-star hotel? (the brunch buffet at the hotel on Easter Sunday was at P4,300++ per head.) There is a calamity in Leyte caused by the typhoon, she added, complaining also about the “macho politics” that overhung the discussions. Ping Lacson dismissed it with “I don’t think that deserves a comment or an answer; Sorry.” And then Isko mischievously shouted out, “Good luck!”

We, the Filipino people certainly need a lot of good luck.

Political scientist Richard Heydarian has called the coming May 9 elections the most critical in the history of the last half century of Philippine history (CNN Philippines, April 19, 2022). Truly, we are facing a most critical national election at this time, when we are still in the throes of a persistent COVID-19 pandemic, and suffering physical, social, and economic trials, even spiritual/moral and psychological anxieties from it, aggravated even by natural calamities. Fake news and disinformation in social media compromise the truth of the situation. Institutions and traditions are challenged in a governance sometimes doubted and feared. Just a few days ago, on April 20, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruled that a case calling for Marcos to be barred from the contest based on his failure to file income tax returns lacked merit.

“Regardless of the fact that the non-filing of income tax return was done repeatedly by the respondent, there is still no tax evasion to speak of as no tax was actually intentionally evaded. The government was not defrauded,” the Comelec’s first division said in the ruling. Five other cases seeking to keep Marcos from running were also earlier dismissed by the poll body. These are now under appeal and could be escalated to the Supreme Court (reuters.com, April 20, 2022).

Mr. Teehankee at the CNN-Ph postmortem called the three candidates’ Easter Sunday press con, “gaslighting.” It is a tactic of emotional bullying whereby “a person or entity manipulates another person in the hopes of acquiring power over them. Often this manipulation leads to the victim questioning their own reality, and in doing so, not questioning the motives and actions of the person gaslighting them” (healthline.com).

Ping Lacson, the military-intelligence strategist, immediately sensed when the press con crossed the line beyond decent and forthright communication of a message, and on to vicious ad hominem attacks betraying personal motivations and objectives of the individuals in his group. He knew that attacking the “Yellows,” “Pinks,” and Leni Robredo would be counter-productive, and so he made it clear that his message was simply that he will not withdraw his candidacy at the elections — period. Norberto Gonzales wavered between attacking and declaring respect for Leni while admitting fear of a repeat Marcos rule.

But the former movie star Isko Moreno did not stick to the original script of the press con and improvised on a script figuratively made in the deceptive haze of a gaslight. He jeered at those who raise the chimera of Marcos’ 14-year Martial Law and the 1986 EDSA Revolution that ousted the dictator, those who urge remembrance of the past to guide choices in the coming elections. Isko outrightly bullied minds and hearts into admitting complacency and even complicity in not standing up for the ideals of EDSA I. “Never again” never worked, Isko said at the press con. “Why then did ‘Ocho-Derecho’ (the all-Yellow or EDSA believers) candidates in the (May 13, 2019) senatorial elections get ‘zero’?” he chided.

If we Filipinos are indeed guilty of forgetting the ideals of freedom, truth, and justice fought for at the EDSA People Power Revolution, we must now be truly sorry for our neglect and redeem ourselves by voting for honest, fair, and truly patriotic, God-fearing leaders with no past sins in the coming May 9 elections.

“Never again!”

Amelia H. C. Ylagan is a doctor of Business Administration from the University of the Philippines.

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