"Freedom amidst the barbed wires"
Despite the changing times, it is inconveniently true that both politics and crime, especially with its most scandalous and controversial type, has been described as the Filipinos' favourite pastime.
Perhaps it is as most people been glued to social media and failing to understand which news is true or fake. That ever since Rodrigo Duterte has won the presidency, the average Filipino can't get over from the past controversies that most of which failed to put an end or worse, continues to aggravate with new personages and incidents.
Ideally, one would say that after May or June "everything will be over", that "change will usher in its first full swings", but that supposed relief under the present administration seemed to be pallative as old problems continue to aggravate be it criminality or poverty, corruption to those of landlordism and various forms of socioeconomic immorality; such realities has rather created an inconvenient truth that the government has trying to hide be it in a form of building infrastructure to those of imposition of justice, abeit in its frustrated form.
Sounds negative especially for a Filipino that the inconvenient truth trumps down the system's version of development. But that negativity has been a source of amusement knowing that people commonly see or hear about crime and corruption in every Senate proceeding featured in Television or in the papers. News articles concerning numerous drug-related deaths sowed a setting of fear that also meant renewed killings towards critics and the concerned, worse, all these are mainly from the lowest strata of a dilapidated society.
And although Inconvenient to hear that truth, it seems that regardless of the system's statements and those of its apologists, change has unbecoming a farce especially with all its actually existing tragedies, that be it corruption, narcopolitics, and a series of killings, is this the change the system has afforded to say about to its subjects? "Enough!" Says the long suffering populace.
Also to think that amidst the showcase of improved roads and bridges, of building new airports and currying outside investments, the truth that the country has been still in its blood soiled path has more to do with its distorted form of justice if not pointing it altogether against the poor simply because of being untidy and immoral.
Sadly, there are also people from all walks of life sees it nothing as they move on as if nothing happened, besides getting amused at the issues of seeing numerous deaths if not swayed by the system with its justification such as a need for a catharsis and disregarding human rights. Looking back last elections the issue on crime and drugs has been much emphasised than those of addressing poverty and unemployment.
And Duterte's victory as president is as seen as a renewed hope for change if not stressing the need for a leader that is more than a presider of sorts but a chieftain anointed by god and elected by the people, truly a Filipino style "governance" if not "populism". But reality rather stresses much what people find it as usual to hear with.
Also in it, words like "drugs" and actions like "Operation Tokhang" has been heard throughout everyone's lives than those of what the administration proud of like improving infrastructures to those of its "soup kitchen"; that police reports concerning killings if not red-coloured or bold-lettered headlines regarding senate hearings against narcopoliticians and policemen been tackled throughout while disregarding issues on housing and of agrarian reform; and at its worst, like any other administration, the poor and the needy has becoming a likely target for ages-old repression than a preferential option for national development, or worse, being tagged as drug pushers, users, murderers, anything synonymous to crime all due to structural neglect.
Again, "enough!" Says the long suffering populace. For they had all enough of repression, injustice, disenfranchisent and impunity! Is this the change the system has afforded to say in this propaganda war? They have buried a dictator and retained repressive policies, they have not distributed land and justice to the poor and the landless while political prisoners remained imprisoned enduring despair if not their illnesses.
Admittingly speaking, this person sees that the propaganda war, which was carried last election until today, needs no further elaboration. People may find it amusing to see numerous deaths and be justified as the need for an iron fist redescribed as a rule of law, while others find it too much and urging the administration to put an end to unjustly acts and focus on addressing root causes behind such lumpenproletarian nonsense the system has tolerated. This propaganda war is still very much in progress despite beyond last elections as it gathers venom coming from both sides, enough to remember how the country runs like hell and thus making the people themselves willing to assert further the "change" that is, more than what the system insist.