(Second of three parts)
Ironically, nobody took the blame for our nation’s failure. Not former President Cory Aquino, not all other presidents who succeeded her, and of course not Vice President Leni Robredo.
She, in fact, is portrayed as our savior. She is the angel while Bongbong Marcos Jr. is the devil. She is the moral choice while Marcos Jr. is the immoral choice. She has turned this election into a spiritual battle where good must triumph over evil. Should Marcos win, watch out. The country will revert to the Martial Law days where abuses will be abrasive and rampant. Accordingly, another Marcos will be another failure.
Liberal Party officials parlayed this into fear and had a convenient scapegoat. “Sana all, sana all,” cried Kiko Pangilinan. They parried the failure and blamed it on a familiar figure. They blamed Ferdinand Marcos, his family, and their so-called cronies for everything that is dull and funny in this country. That 70 percent of all Filipinos are living below the poverty line is the fault of Marcos. That we have no sense of dignity as a nation is the fault of Marcos. That we are buried under tons of foreign debts is the fault of Marcos. That we are poor is the fault of Marcos. That we have compromised our sovereignty to the Chinese is the fault of Marcos. For apparent reasons, the death of Jose Rizal cannot be attributed to him.
My God, 40 years after Marcos Sr. was deposed, all fingers are still pointed to him for all the ills that afflict this country. Marcos Sr. was never granted a peaceful rest. The unfairness of it all is that he is no longer present to defend himself.
But his son is. The people who believe in the legacy of Marcos Sr. are asserting a different emotional dimension that is validating the goodness of what he had done. They are seething with confidence. The surveys don’t lie and the reasons are obvious.
If Marcos Sr. is to be blamed for the problems that we are facing, wouldn’t it be fair and logical that it should also take another Marcos to solve it? Would it not be proper that those who messed up our country, if truly they did, be the ones who should fix it? I remember my grandmother admonishing me to sweep my own dirt and clean my mess. It is something like that. Marcos, through his son, should be brought back to rectify what he did wrong, if there be any. It is the best way for him to atone and finally obtain a peaceful rest.
Still, the Liberals and the progressive thinkers do not want to give Marcos a chance. In fact, in this presidential election, Robredo, the official candidate, made it plain that she is seeking to win the presidency so that Marcos Jr. will not. She is anointing herself so that any traces of the dictatorship will not be brought back to Malacañang. She wants us to hate Marcos Jr. and she is traumatizing the years when Marcos Sr. ruled the country. Why not?
As I said earlier, hate sells. Hate creates intrigue. There is this innate feeling among us that intrigue is as good a news as the killings or robberies or rapes of individuals especially if it involves the rich and the famous. This tack of propaganda all the more makes us curious on how it would it be to be under the rule of a Marcos once more. (To be concluded next week)
April 26, 2024
