On May 9, the Philippines went to the polls in what has been called “by far the most divisive and consequential electoral contest” in the Philippines.

The electoral race had boiled down to two frontrunners: one was the current Vice-President Leni Robredo, running on a “people-led” campaign, and driven by a call to transparency and good governance. Pink became her signature colour.

Her supporters took to wearing the colour and calling themselves “kakampinks” (pink allies). The second frontrunner candidate was Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, the son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Marcos is part of a political dynasty and represents the status quo of Philippines governance which has been criticised as corrupt and unequal.

Last week, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr was confirmed as the incoming president of the Philippines.

Nina Santos, an award-winning Filipina law student, advocate and campaigner — as well as a self-proclaimed kakampink — writes on watching the election unfold from overseas and her devastation — but also hope — for what comes next.

I’m writing this a week after the 2022 Philippine elections after I cried for my country for the first time.

In the last week, I’ve grappled with intense anxiety, rage, grief — and for a moment, a feeling of hopelessness. I know I’m not alone.

Several friends and family have attested to the collective grief among many Filipinos, particularly those who were part of the “pink revolution”. The people-led campaign for Vice President Leni Robredo was built on hopes for good governance, and transparency, and ultimately stopping the return of the brutal Marcos dynasty.

The campaign slogan “Angat Buhay Lahat”, directly translates to “Better lives for everyone” — and I think this encapsulates the movement well.

Before others comment on how biased this article is, I’ll say it straight up: I’m proud to say that I am one of many “kakampinks” (pink allies) who took a stand against million-dollar misinformation campaigns, fake news and downright historical distortion which now plague the Philippines.

I’ve lived in New Zealand for nearly nine years, but this hasn’t dampened my connection with the motherland. Like many Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), I followed the election closely. I lived vicariously through my friends and family who campaigned tirelessly, knocked on doors, volunteered.

In solidarity, I watched live streams of rallies, attended events in Auckland, and tried debunking misinformation on social media where possible.

Immense health, climate and socio-economic crises
I understand that I played a very small role in the campaign, but the point is I was hopeful. You have to be, especially given the immense health, climate and socio-economic crises in the Philippines.

This election was particularly important and deeply personal as there was a risk of another Marcos getting back into power. For context, former dictator Ferdinand Marcos was ousted by the Filipino people in 1986. The Marcos dictatorship was marked by extensive extrajudicial killings, documented tortures, countless disappearances and incarcerations. Not to mention the billions owed in unpaid taxes.

The elections also happened amid a global pandemic and crippling effects of the last six years under the Duterte administration, one riddled with extrajudicial killings and human rights violations. There was and still is a lot at stake for the Philippines.

There is a saying that goes, “Even if you know what’s coming, you’re never prepared for how it feels.”

Many people say that the results of the elections were expected given that the Marcoses set out a well-orchestrated campaign built on misinformation, backed by machinery, resources, and enabled by rampant corruption in the Philippines.

There were numerous reports of vote-buying and irregularities which are yet to be addressed by the Commission on Elections. This makes moving on hard to do.

To never forgetting
I’m writing this because I want to remember. I borrow Nuelle Duterte’s words: In this case, widespread corruption and misinformation won over a people-led campaign.

This is devastating and I will never forget how hopeless I felt coming to terms with this reality.

However, I want to note that we cannot blame this on the masses. I disagree with international media coverage that put the blame on Filipinos for what happened in the elections.

Let us not forget the colonial history of the Philippines and the role this played in destabilising the Philippine economy and political systems.

Let us not forget that the Marcoses and Dutertes prey on the marginalised, those who do not have the privilege and headspace to think about politics, and those who have limited access to education and resources, thereby making them more susceptible to fake news and misinformation.

Let us not forget that this cycle is hard to break.

While many are victims, I am most disappointed in people who have the power and privilege to seek resources and educate themselves on issues of the day, yet actively chose to be peddlers of disinformation.

Too many people have played a part in enabling the return of the Marcos family and distorting our country’s history. To other Filipinos, I plead that we never get tired of helping them remember.

Never forget the martial law atrocities
I hope we never forget the atrocities of the martial law era. I hope we never forget the families that are still longing for justice.

I hope we never forget the rage we feel now and that we can eventually transform this rage into something useful.

I hope we never forget the hope that was sparked by the pink movement, how it brought out the best in each of us. I hope we never forget what it’s like to be hopeful. We have to be.

Walang sayang. Nagsisimula pa lang. Nothing was wasted. We’re just getting started.

Nina Santos is a Filipina and a passionate advocate for ethnic communities, migrant rights and gender equality.This article was first published by the Asia Media Centre and is republished with the permission of the author.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Philippine Vice-President Leni Robredo will not allow the massive, volunteer-led movement she inspired in the 2022 presidential elections to just fade away following her loss to the late dictator’s son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Facing tens of thousands of her supporters during her thanksgiving event at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City on Friday, Robredo announced the creation of the Angat Buhay nongovernmental organisation, harnessing the so-called “pink revolution” her campaign inspired for the bigger battle ahead.

This NGO, set to be launched on July 1 or a day after Robredo steps down as vice president, will be named after the highly praised anti-poverty and pandemic response programme she has been running for the past six years.

“Hinding-hindi dapat pumanaw ang diwa ng ating kampanya. Ang pinakalayunin ng gobyernong tapat ay ang pag-angat ng buhay ng lahat. Kaya inaanunsyo ko ngayon ang target natin: Sa unang araw ng Hulyo, ilulunsad natin ang Angat Buhay NGO,” said Robredo, sending her “kakampink” supporters into a frenzy.

(The spirit of our campaign should never die out. The primary aim of an honest government is to uplift the lives of all. That’s why we are announcing our target: On the first day of July, we will launch the Angat Buhay NGO.)

The Vice-President plans to tap into the Robredo People’s Councils that her campaign team had strategically put up across provinces to help organise the hundreds of volunteer groups that were created for her presidential bid.

‘All is not lost’ pledge
Robredo may have lost the 2022 presidential race to her bitter rival Marcos, but she assured her supporters that all hope is not lost.

“Bubuin natin ang pinakamalawak na volunteer network sa kasaysayan ng ating bansa. Tuloy tayo sa pagtungo sa mga nasa laylayan at sa pag-ambagan para umangat sila,” said Robredo.

(We are going to build the biggest volunteer network in the history of our country. We will continue going to those on the fringes of society and working together to alleviate their lives.)

And once the Angat Buhay NGO had been been set up, it would serve all Filipinos in need, she said.

“Pero hindi tayo mamimili ng tutulungan…. Ipapakita natin ang buong puwersa ng radikal na pagmamahal,” said Robredo.

(But we will not choose who to help…. We will show them the full force of radical love.)

One of Robredo’s first campaign messages was a call for “radical love” — for her supporters to exercise sobriety and openness as they aim to convert those who were voting for another presidential contender.

It was only around mid-January of 2022 — about two weeks before the official campaign period started – that Robredo’s campaign slogan “Gobyernong Tapat, Angat Buhay Lahat (Honest Government, a Better Life for All)” was coined.

Heartbreaking loss for only woman
It was a heartbreaking loss for the lone female presidential contender, who was riding on a volunteer-spurred momentum in the crucial homestretch of the 90-day campaign. It made her critics step up their attacks, with three of her male rivals even ganging up on her in a now-infamous joint press conference on Easter Sunday.

Robredo’s presidential bid has sparked what has since been called a “pink revolution” never before seen in Philippine elections, where even Filipinos who do not usually engage in political activities saw themselves spending their own money and dedicating time just to campaign for her.

She hit the ground running when the official campaign period started. Robredo was indefatigable on the campaign trail, visiting multiple provinces in a span of a week.

She would start her day early in the morning and her grand rallies could last until midnight.

This was complemented by the massive volunteer base that Robredo attracted in the 2022 campaign. Her “kakampink” supporters organised soup kitchens, marches, motorcades, concerts, house-to-house campaigns, and grand rallies that were attended by tens of thousands – sometimes even in hundreds of thousands – across provinces.

Observers and Robredo herself likened the pink movement to the “People Power” collective effort of Filipinos in February 1986 to oust Marcos Jr’s father and namesake, the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, through a bloodless revolution.

But all of these were not enough to make Robredo the 17th president of the Philippines. This upset her supporters, many of whom continued to grieve and grapple with the election results.

But Robredo had already told them to accept the results. She then said that they should channel all their emotions into doing the necessary work needed to bring about a more meaningful change in the Philippines in the next six years.

Sociologist Jayeel Cornelio said Robredo’s post-elections call for her movement aims to counter what some political pundits believe to be a creeping authoritarianism under Marcos.

“Leni gets it. A disengaged citizenry will only embolden authoritarianism. Transforming the movement into the biggest volunteer network this country has ever seen is not only a social intervention. It is a political statement,” Cornelio tweeted.

Crusade vs disinformation
Robredo also made it clear on Friday that she would lead efforts to break the massive disinformation network on social media, rallying her “kakampinks” to join her in this crusade.

“Alam kong marami pa tayong lakas na ibubuhos. Nakikita natin ‘yan ngayong gabi. Itutuon ko ang enerhiya ko sa paglaban ng kasinungalingan at hinihiling kong samahan ninyo ako dito. Kailangan nating maging isang kilusang magtatanggol ng katotohanan,” said Robredo, sending her supporters into a frenzy.

(I know you still have a lot of strength left. We can see that tonight. I will channel my energy to fighting lies and I am asking you to join me in this fight. We need to become a movement that would defend the truth.)

Without directly mentioning any name, the Vice-President acknowledged that the Marcoses had spent years fortifying their disinformation network that sought to sanitise the Marcos regime and rid Filipinos’ memories of the atrocities committed during the Marcos dictatorship.

Studies have also showed that Robredo was the top target of these lies, which in turn benefitted Marcos’ presidential run.

Robredo believes she would need the help of the more than 14 million “kakampinks” who voted for her in the May polls to counter the well-entrenched disinformation network.

“Ang pinakamalaki nating…kalaban, namamayagpag na bago pa ng panahon ng kampanya, dahil dekadang prinoyekto. Matindi at malawak ang makinaryang kayang magpalaganap ng galit at kasinungalingan. Ninakaw nito ang katotohanan, kaya ninakaw din ang kasaysayan, pati na ang kinabukasan,” said Robredo.

(Our biggest…enemy was already dominant even before the campaign period because decades had been spent working on this. The machinery capable of spreading hate and lies is formidable. It stole the truth, so it also stole our history and our future.)

“Disimpormasyon ang isa sa pinakamalaki nating kalaban. Pero sa ngayon, maaring naghari ang makinarya ng kasinungalingan. Pero tayo lang ang makakasagot kung hanggang kailan ito maghahari. Nasa atin kung tapos na ang laban o kung nagsisimula pa lamang ito,” she said.

(Disinformation is one of our biggest enemies. For now, perhaps the machinery of lies rules. But it is up to us how long it would prevail. It is up to us to say the fight is over or if it is only just beginning.)

Mara Cepeda is a Rappler reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Philippine presidential candidate and Vice-President Leni Robredo issued her marching orders for the crucial homestretch of the election campaign before hundreds of thousands of supporters, in a behemoth show of force meant to boost her numbers in the Philippines’ most vote-rich region Metro Manila.

Local organisers said some 412,000 “Kakampink” supporters of Robredo occupied the entire stretch of Macapagal Boulevard on Saturday — the same day the lone female presidential candidate celebrated her 57th birthday.

She also secured the endorsement of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and its United Bangsamoro Justice Party.

And 8000 km away in Auckland, New Zealand, more than 200 “Kakampink” supporters staged a march and rally at Long Beach on the Anzac Day holiday marking the 2015 Gallipoli landings in Turkey and the military sacrifice of Australians and New Zealanders in two world wars.

It is understood that about 2000 of the more than 73,000 Filipino community in New Zealand — 1.6 percent of the population — are registered to vote in the Philippine elections.

Asia Pacific Report quotes an Auckland organiser who said: “We’re voting for Leni Robredo because she is the one to give the Philippines hope. She performed well as Vice-President.

More than 50 of some of the biggest names in the Philippine entertainment industry appeared onstage and endorsed Robredo, but she was still the brightest star of the night.

Many of those in the crowd had waited for close to 12 hours under the scorching heat. They did not leave Macapagal Avenue until after Robredo finished speaking at 11 pm.

Robredo slightly veered away from her stump campaign speech to lay down the game plan to help her catch up to the frontrunner, the late dictator’s son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

He was holding his own rally a few kilometers away in Sampaloc, Manila.

Vice-President Leni Robredo’s full birthday speech. Video: Rappler

Robredo wished for three things from her supporters on her birthday: Actively fight the lies being spread about her online, continue knocking on people’s doors in their house-to-house campaign, and humbly open their hearts so they could convert more the unconvinced to join the so-called “pink revolution.”

“Pag ito pong eleksyon na ito ang magpapanalo sa mga kandidato kasinungalingan, kawawa ‘yung bayan natin. Kaya po ‘yung hinihiling ko sa inyo, sabay-sabay po tayo sa laban na ito. Sa ‘pag bukas po natin ng ating mga puso, sa pagpahaba natin ng ating mga pasensya, siguraduhin din nating pinapalitan natin ang mga kasinungalingan ng katotohanan,” said Robredo.

(If this elections would be won by candidates based on lies, then it would be sad for our country. That’s why I am asking all of you to join me in this fight. In opening your hearts, in becoming more patient, we are making sure that we would be able to replace the lies with the truth.)

She acknowledged the intensified black propaganda that her enemies have been hatching against her since her rallies started attracting thousands upon thousands of Filipinos.

Robredo is the primary target of disinformation networks, whose lies range from Robredo’s alleged affairs with several men to the false accusation that her campaign has been infiltrated by communists.

In turn, Robredo’s fierce rival Marcos benefits from this disinformation infrastructure, built by his clan over the years in an attempt to revise Filipinos’ memories of the atrocities committed during the 21-year martial law rule of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

But Robredo once again made a call for “radical love.” She told her most ardent supporters to turn the other cheek if their critics resort to foul, below-the belt-language.

Rise above the dirt, said the Vice-President, because they had a bigger fight to win on May 9.

“’Yung ayaw po nating ginagawa nila sa akin, huwag na po natin sa kanilang gawin, ‘di ba?… Ang mga kabataan ngayon, mas tumitino tayo, mas sumusunod tayo sa mga magulang natin, pag pinaparamdam sa atin ang kanilang pagmamahal. Ganoon din po sana ‘yung gawin ng bawat isa sa inyo,” said Robredo.

(The things we don’t like that they are doing to us, let’s not do the same thing to them, okay?… The youth these days, they become more upright, they follow their parents when they are shown love. May each of you do the same thing.)

It is crucial for Robredo to be issuing these marching orders in the National Capital Region (NCR), home to more than 7.3 million voters.

This is already her fourth show of force in an NCR city: At the start of the campaign period in February, more than 20,000 “Kakampinks” joined her “Pink Sunday” rally in Quezon City.

That number rose to 37,000 during her Camanava rally, which further ballooned to over 137,000 during her rally in Pasig City in March.

She is facing a tough battle against Marcos in NCR, which had delivered a landslide victory to him over Robredo in the 2016 vice-presidential race. The dictator’s son continues to enjoy majority support in NCR, based on the latest Pulse Asia Research Incorporated survey done in end-March.

That Robredo was able to pull off a 412,000-strong crowd in Pasay City on Saturday is also significant because two presidential contenders were also holding their own rallies in NCR that night: Marcos in Manila and Senator Manny Pacquiao in San Juan.

Robredo’s birthday crowd significantly dwarfed these rallies, however.

Local police estimated that 14,000 showed up for Marcos, while only 12,000 attended Pacquiao’s rally.

‘The people would bring Leni Robredo to Malacañang’

As Robredo spoke, the crowd along Macapagal Boulevard was at rapt attention. Many were straining their necks to get a better glimpse of their candidate while they used their fans bearing Robredo’s face.

The heat even at night was almost unbearable given the thickness of the crowd. Medics were working overtime, as people from different points of the boulevard fainted.

But even under these conditions, the “Kakampinks” were looking out for each other. They helped the organisers hand out boxes of bottled water and passed around snacks for those who needed to eat.

They did their best to give breathing space whenever someone in the crowd started feeling light-headed.

Mara Cepeda is a reporter for Rappler. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz