Filipinos have always had a penchant for being zealously loyal to certain politicians – like the Marcoses, Dutertes, and many other political families who have taken advantage of the Filipinos’ credulity. These politicians feed the people with what they want to hear, to confirm their biases, and try their best to appeal to their emotions just so that they will be victorious in the elections.
President Bongbong Marcos, for example, ran in 2022 with the slogan “Sama-sama tayong babangon muli” (Together, we shall rise again) One can only surmise that he was ostensibly referring to the good old days of the Martial Law regime which — for majority of the Marcos supporters who proudly called themselves the 31M – they considered as the “golden years of Philippine history.”
I wonder if those people still think the same at present.
Going back further in 2016, former President Duterte also tried to appeal to the emotions of the Filipino people by promising to extirpate illegal drugs and criminality within six months of his presidency. “Change is coming!” was his slogan that all of his supporters wholeheartedly believed in – but what kind of change did we experience during his term?
His supporters claim that he made the Philippines a safer country to live in, but at what cost?
Many innocent civilians – even children – became collateral damage to his war on drugs, and it was apparent that most of the victims belonged to the lower echelons of society.
I guess it was just apt for Sen. Bato De La Rosa to say – apropos of the collateral damage during the war on drugs – “Shit happens!”
Suffice to say, the middle class and the rich continue to use drugs without compunction, and any form of comeuppance. But then again, Duterte still gained – and still does until now – the support of the Filipino people who were hoodwinked by his populist appeal.
What makes Filipinos support these politicians to death? A rational individual will only be flummoxed to see these fanatics’ posts on social media justifying unlawful killings as necessary to save more lives; just like how a historically-aware individual will also be aghast with posts on social media arguing that the Martial Law years were the golden years of Philippine history.
At the end of the day, however, it all boils down to the fact that these Filipinos show some signs of cult mentality, which is characterized by extreme loyalty to a “charismatic individual whom the members worship without question.”
Their loyalty is not necessarily to the country per se, but to the charismatic individual whom they idolize, or they are beholden to.
Once you criticize their leader, you will almost immediately feel the wrath of their personal, ad hominem attacks.
Quite interestingly, though, there are some supporters who calmly try to converse with you about their views – trying to understand why you oppose their leader and so on, but most of them will almost invariably remain loyal to their leader. Oft-times, it’s just a façade of trying to look rational and educated.
Only a miracle, or an interesting plot twist – like what is happening now with Marcos versus Duterte – can make them change their minds. But from what I see, it’s just like transferring from one cult to another.
How did we, as Filipinos, reach this point? Is social media to blame? Perhaps, as it makes it easier for politicians to build cult-like support around them.
Fr. Rolando De La Rosa averred that Philippine politics is undoubtedly “plagued by a cult mentality.” He said that “political dynasties multiply rapidly, exploiting the personality cult prevalent among Filipinos who vote based on media mileage or publicity.”
This cult-like mentality has worsened with the advent of social media, as Filipinos continue to support personalities or individuals, rather than platforms or ideologies.
Name recall has always been utilized by these politicians, and we just take the bait. How can we progress as a nation if we keep on supporting these political dynasties? How can chanting “Duterte! Duterte!” or “Marcos pa rin!” help the Filipino people in general? Aren’t we aware that we are just being used as pawns in their game of politics?
Sadly, the cultist fanatics would not think this way, as they remain firm in their convictions, and are willing to die for their beliefs. This is what happened in Nazi Germany, wherein many loyal Nazis died for their belief in Hitler.
I’m afraid this will also be the case here in the Philippines, if we continue to support, without question, political families and personalities. I really do hope we will not reach that point.
British philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, “I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.”
This quote is relevant to what is happening now in the Philippine politics as many people – from polar opposites of the political spectrum – continue to make a mess out of the whole Duterte-ICC issue. Their strong convictions or beliefs have led to violent outbursts and personal attacks, not to mention threats.
In the end, we all must try to rationalize everything and remember to be careful with the information that is being supplied to us. We must also be able to distinguish what is real from fake – because imagine if you fight, let alone die, for someone you know about simply from the dubious information you receive social media.
In the end, like Russell, we have to see things with a degree of skepticism – for the world is a complex place, and as what I’ve written in my previous column, we need not see things as black and white.
The lesson to be learned here is that we should shy away from becoming part of a personality cult. We must think critically and rationally, and not make emotionally driven decisions. We always have to be aware that there is always a possibility we could be wrong.
___________________________________
Author’s email: JJAbulado@norsu.edu.ph
