A birthday wish (Sabong News)
Author
Raymundo W. Lo, MD, FPSP
Date
APRIL 26 2022
At the massive grand rally held in Pasay City for Vice President Leni Robredo’s birthday, which not incidentally is the biggest political gathering in Philippine history, the birthday celebrant was feted with all sorts of gifts: flowers, paintings, songs, endorsements and other expressions of support. But no, she wanted something else too.
In her address to the mammoth crowd estimated at 502,000 by the organizers, she wished for her supporters not to engage their detractors in anger. Instead, Leni asked them to turn the other cheek, biblically speaking, and embrace the others by seeking to understand their anger, frustrations and other issues in life. She did so by being an example. In spite of being called all sorts of names, insulted and denigrated, she continued on her mission of reaching out to the underserved, remotely located folks who cared not what she was called. Then she issued a call, once more, to go out and seek out these people in a house-to-house campaign, talk with them heart-to-heart for them to see the light.
She did admit to one mistake, which was to ignore the constant trolling and fake news which targeted her most. She asked her supporters to fight fake news which was fueling the campaign of the dictator’s son. The campaign to burnish the tarnished image of the Marcoses dates back many years in social media where the Marcos years were portrayed as “golden years.” This head start has ingrained the false notion in people’s minds, especially the young and impressionable who get their information online through Facebook, and now, Twitter and WhatsApp.
This is really the crucial issue in this election, not who wins it but whether democracy will get a renewed lease on life after six years of battering from a repressive administration devoid of decency and morality. Or will it wither and die with the ascent to power of a person who personifies what is wrong in our country, propelled by the lies peddled through a disinformation campaign to renew their grasp on power.
Is truth dead? Judging by the massive crowds and the outpouring of all kinds of support by Robredo backers, I daresay the truth is alive and well. But it has to be communicated to the rest of our countrymen who may still believe the lies. That is what is at stake here.
We are electing the next president of the Philippines but ultimately, as speaker after speaker in the rally said, we are here to win it for ourselves. Leni Robredo is but a symbol of what we hope our government will be: kind, just and responsive to our fellow men, especially the poor, downtrodden and grossly underserved in the slums of our cities and in the farthest reaches of our far-flung archipelago.
For that, we need to reach the majority of our voting population in an intensive campaign. Despite the lack of resources, the Robredo campaign has gone from strength to strength on the wings of a people-driven movement where we see not only endorsements from politicians, artists, movie stars, sports figures, celebrities, doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects and other professionals and media influencers but the more organic pronouncements of ordinary folk who were helped by Robredo and Pangilinan long before she launched her campaign, the farmers, fishermen, Marawi folk, indigenous peoples, transport drivers, disaster victims and those who her pandemic response had helped. It even has an ecumenical feel to it, being endorsed by the Catholic clergy, evangelicals and Muslims.
Is it enough? A million Robredo supporters will be heeding her call, in the last two weeks of the campaign to seek to convince the undecided and the opposed to switch to her.
On May 9th, we will know. Will we see a new beginning of hope for a better Philippines, proud, independent and truly inclusive? Or will we continue on the downward slide into authoritarianism, massive corruption, unaccountability and even more poverty and suffering for most of the people?
Leni’s birthday wish is not just to win this election. It is to win the hearts and minds of our people. Tall order, you say. Yes, but if you build it, they will come. Let us build a country with love, understanding and the truth. Let’s make her wish come true for you, me and all of us.
I will be celebrating my birthday two days after the election. It is my birthday wish too.
