Rallies are not enough
THE massive rallies all over the archipelago not only reminded all of us of the horrific experiences during the long years of martial law – the elimination of the opposition, the arrest, torture, and salvaging of young activists, including some of my friends, the collapse of the economy in the later years, the rampant corruption and the loss of sacred values of honesty and love of country – but also warns us of the creeping march towards martial law.
Rallies are not enough to send a message to the Duterte adminstration; a smashing defeat in the 2019 elections will do. When the Duterte allied candidates at the national and local levels lose, then the realization that the Filipino people do not want the kind of society President Duterte is pushing for – disrespectful to women, no reverencefor God, presumption of guilt, intolerant of criticism to the point of jailing critics and behavior unworthy of a national leader and a bad example to the youth – will be clear to President Duterte and his “bright” people.
All that are opposed to the values being propagated by the Duterte administration should start organizing and planning at the grassroots level. Starting with cells, they should multiply by having each member create new cells where they discuss the statements of President Duterte and then compare if these are consistent with their own beliefs. They will then discuss further how these views of President Duterte will lead to the deterioration of the Filipino society. Moving forward they can invite business or economics teachers to share their views on the economic programs of the Duterte adminstration that have lead to staggering levels of inflation and the implications of the high levels of debts. Among themselves they will share their experiences- how their purchasing power has gone down, how difficult it is to go to and from work daily and how government officials are making money because of their position like the alleged millions in contracts bagged by Solicitor General Calida, the mastermind of the ouster of the first female Chief Justice Sereno and the attempt to voice the amnesty granted by both the President and Congress.
Knowledgeable and committed, they now will show their community where they stand. They will post outside their homes placards like – President Duterte does not believe in God; We pray to Our God for a Better Philippines; or blown up pictures of President Duterte perceived sexual harassment in South Korea with the message – We respect women, etc. It can be in the local dialect to be more effective. They should be more active by calling national and local radio shown expressing their disapproval of any statements of President Duterte. They will ask candidates whether they agree with all these statements of the President and emphasize that core values of a nation are more important than Infrastructure projects.
Together with their children they should flood social media with all these Duterte quotes with the corresponding question – do you agree, are you proud of this President? They should also post all the past allegations against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s “Hello Garci” with her “I am sorry” video with the statement, now speaker of the House in the Duterte Adminstration. Instructive will be videos of the martial law years accompanied by the message Bongbong Marcos could be made vice president by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal headed by a chief justice who did not inhibit and installed by a quo warranto rather than impeachment mode. And as Mocha Uson posts just share and comment to show the kind of Duterte appointees being paid by our taxes.
Working not even as a united opposition, the combined efforts will still crush the Duterte forces and bring us back to a decent and God loving society.