[OPINION] Divide and conquer: Duterte’s candidates used anger to win the polls

In the 2019 senatorial election, many netizens, not happy with its outcome, have shown their bitterness by spreading hate posts on social media. (READ:#HalalanDayaan2019: Netizens raise concerns over perceived irregularities)

Being one of the teachers who worked on election day, I bear witness to the cleanliness of the process – whether I uphold its outcome or not. If foul play occurred beyond our watch, on this we cannot comment. What I want to discuss, however, is how the President’s supported candidates exceeded our expectations. (READ: 12 new senators proclaimed, boosting Duterte’s power)

Certainly, there is more than one factor that led to this, such as the Iglesia ni Cristo’s bloc voting as well as rampant vote-buying in the country. But I attribute the candidates’ victory to the votes of enraged Filipinos who were were not vocal in their political views and sentiments.

Elites as enemies

In the presidential election last 2016, we witnessed how President Rodrigo Duterte blamed the elites for the persistent inequality in the country, thus becoming the target of his theme, “Change is coming.” (READ: [OPINION] The lies they pushed on Election Day)

These elites, according to the President’s narrative, include not only the previous administration’s leaders but also the most powerful people and enterprises of the country.

This may explain why people keep on shutting their eyes amid the criticism being thrown at the President concerning a range of issues. For them, these are just the elites at work. Perhaps the best proof of this is the President’s satisfaction rating, which continues to be in the “very good” category.

This year’s senatorial election would be the pinnacle of this narrative – where the President is able to further consolidate his power by paving the way for his favored candidates to sit in the legislature and overpower the elites.

Tragedies of poverty

This can be likened to television soap operas which the Filipinos never get tired of watching. It’s about a protagonist, who often begins as one of the oppressed. As the protagonist begins to amass some power needed to crush the oppressor, it is noticeable how the show’s rating begins to improve.

This is reasonable considering the reality of the common Filipino who is poor and blames this state on oppressors.

When parties and candidates share the same cause as the President’s, they easily get into the spotlight. This is exactly how the Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS), a party-list group apparently controlled by the Tulfos, depicted themselves in their political ads. They ended up topping the race.

Associating with the masses

Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa got social media attention when he indicated he didn’t know much about legislative work. (READ: Incoming senator Dela Rosa seeks lawmaking seminars).

It is remarkable how this one incident sparked disputes between Dela Rosa’s supporters and the opposition.

He didn’t even have to respond to his critics since his supporters did it for him, saying that his statement was an act of humility given that he already has post-graduate degrees that are directly relevant to politics. Besides, responding directly might achieve the opposite. By appearing modest, Dela Rosa was able to embody a figure like those of the masses, contrary to that of the elites who are more likely to flaunt their achievements.

People want to be led by leaders who identify with them, leaders who can dance to the same music. One literal example is the “budots” dance, which Bong Revilla admitted to be an effective marketing strategy that resonates with the masses. “Du’n sa budots kinagat dahil syempre pagka magma-market ka, tulad ng pelikula, kailangan magugustuhan ng viewers kung ano ’yung gagamitin mo.” (The “budots” dance was marketed the way we’d market a movie; it needs to be appealing to your viewers.)

 

Battle runs on emotions

In the actual election, and generally in current politics, the battle runs on people’s emotions.

This might best explain the President’s jokes on serious matters, up to the point of enraging some groups. Apparently, this does not upset his supporters and in fact even adds to their affirmation of him.

Supporters falling victim to what the psychologists call emotional bias might struggle to accept criticism against their leader. They would instead seek reasons to defend their leader, even internally, to further the President’s influence and dominance.

All of these feelings against the elites were hardly translated to words by the masses. Most people lack the capacity to articulate these sentiments, especially those who come from the lower tier of society. This left the thinking class boisterous and unapologetic in voicing out their thoughts and opinions as if the other side does not exist. In reality, the underprivileged comprises the majority of the country. (READ: [OPINION] Hope for the Filipinos amidst election blues)

With this, we can see why candidates kept on leaning on the President to gain the empathy of the people. Meanwhile, the President himself is leaning on the existence of a common enemy – the elites.

We have to take a good look at the President’s ulterior motives. If Duterte benefited from the existence of these elites to rise from Davao City mayor to the nation’s chief executive, shouldn’t the President be thanking the elites instead? – Rappler.com

 

Jordan Mitchell Cruz is a teacher, academic researcher, and freelance resource speaker and writer. He finished his Bachelor of Elementary Education at the University of Santo Tomas and then took his master’s degree at the Philippine Normal University specializing in social science education.