The Unpopular Opinion

"Violence is a symptom of the loss of power." - Hannah Arendt

Starting from March 19  to 24, President Rodrigo Duterte as well as certain government entities held a series of late-night sessions to decide on major countermeasures to cope with the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19 )  outbreak. However, the proceedings of these conferences were repetitive and ultimately trivial, leaving the public with questions still left unanswered.  March 19 ,  1: 0 0  am . The president held a press conference to remind the Local Government Authorities to abide by the orders of the Interagency Task Force for Infectious Diseases. This was coincidentally done immediately after Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto requested the National Government for consideration as regards the temporary operations of Tricycle units for the sake of practicality in transportation to and from hospitals.  Unfortunately this suggestion was treated with animosity and government obtusely insists on following the orders of the IATF to the letter. Moreover, wha...

"Strangely empty streets. From one empty shelf to another in supermarkets. Closed shops. Factory Closures. Curfews being implemented. Military and medical personnel are manning checkpoints. Class suspensions. People are staying at home. People are working from home. Socializing is restricted. Uncertainty and fear among people dominate.  These are the "new normal" as the Novel Coronavirus (COVID - 19 ) has been declared a public health emergency of international concern." The above quote is an excerpt from Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto and Senator Pia Cayetano's proposed and poorly-written Senate Bill No. 1418 otherwise known as the "We Heal as One Act" that primarily seeks to provide President Rodrigo Duterte special powers bound by the Senate's imposed limitations on the private sector, transportation, security measures, and others. A similar bill, HB 6616 has also been discussed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to the ...

"A state born in violence, and the society that is its product, (will remain )  marked by that experience even when the violence is justified and celebrated as a historic victory..." (Weiss et al., 2 01 0 ).  In times where advocacy is grossly platformed in social media, it cannot be denied that a lot of self-righteous personages emerged from the flickers and clacks of their computer screens and keyboards. And the primary victims that are subjected to their pride are the supporters and emergent loyalists of President Rodrigo Duterte, also known as the Digong Duterte Supporters (DDS ).  Political divides have always been a part of Filipino history. As Film Director Jerrold Tarog puts it, Filipinos are somehow destined to always be at conflict with each other, thus rendering the possibility of them agreeing with each other unattainable. Yes, there have been a lot of unifying rendezvous points that encouraged collective action. But at the end of it, the by-prod...

It is cognizant to recognize moral breakthroughs of most political figures especially in times of crisis. However, being a plain fanatic defeats the purpose of true, genuine public service and ironically regresses the discourse back to traditional politics. The mass hysteria forced the populace into such a depraved and desperate corner. It is as if the dire situation puts everyone in a dark abyss, longing for the glimmer of a savior. This scenario gives birth to idolatry, similar as to how the Filipino public suffered under numerous corrupt presidencies only to find relief in the arms of President Rodrigo Duterte who initially poised himself as "for the people." This idolatry then transforms into adornment to the genuine imagery of a political leader that curses, is admittedly with angst toward foreign powers, and speaks whatever hits his mind. Populism therefore became a mighty barrier that goes beyond logical reason. The scenario is rather cyclic. Gutierrez an...