The severity of the pandemic has pushed governments across the globe – regardless of its kind – to come together and devise a plan to combat a once-in-a-lifetime health crisis. Leaders of all political spectrums have agreed to impose national lockdowns and ramp up mass testing for suspected COVID-19 cases. Political oppositions agreed to set aside their vitriol against their nemeses to promote cooperation and unity. Countries held their hands together to end this enormous challenge that has stopped the world from moving.
Or at least that’s what a perfect world would have resembled.
Instead, politics continued to thrive in the age of COVID-19, sidelining science and health at a time when they’re needed the most. It was the politicians’ political viability that mattered the most. That’s why the response would often be muddled, if not, preposterous.
The Philippines alone has not been shielded from the political acrimony that degraded much of the public’s trust. The scandals that our politicians have faced kept mounting for the past months. It became very clear that a pandemic won’t unify our leaders, despite a public clamor to do so.
One would think that the firing of former PACC Commissioner Manuelito Luna in April softened the heart of President Duterte towards Vice President Robredo. That by defending her from the malicious attacks that Mr. Luna uttered, the two highest officials of this country wouldn’t be oil and water anymore, at least during this pandemic. That a populist strongman and a soft-spoken liberal would come into terms and prevent the nation from being overshadowed by the disease. But as expected, the harmoniousness didn’t last long.
The two returned to their cat-and-dog-fight. And in the appalling climax, the president accused the vice president of grandstanding amid a calamity and making him look like a worthless leader. “Do not compete with me and do not start a quarrel with me kasi ikaw wala ka talagang nagawa except ‘yang mga tawag-tawag,” he said. The vice president didn’t mince words and fought back relentlessly. “When a President is a misogynist, the conversation goes down to this level,” she said.
The political rollercoaster has truly endured this pandemic, and no amount of anxieties and hardships can overturn it. Many, including the energized youth, have begun setting their eyes for 2022 to exact the incapacities of our leaders that have been exposed this year.
Mr. Duterte and Mrs. Robredo, standard bearers from opposing political parties, have found new things to fight about this pandemic. For the president, he needed to underscore his administration’s achievements in combatting the virus as the vice president stepped up her own efforts; for the vice president, she desperately needed to combat fake news and disinformation that have been propagated, in her view, by the president’s diehard supporters.
Mr. Duterte’s own administration has been mired by blunders and controversies, from Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
Mr. Roque’s “Panalo na tayo” remark in July sparked outrage from quarantine-protocols-abiding citizens. And then there were the presidential briefings and tourist spots visitations that rankled even the hardcore group of supporters of the president. From his human rights activism, he confidently dismissed criticisms from just about anyone and made ridiculous remarks from behind the podium that once projected dignity and integrity.
And then there was Mr. Duque, whom the senators wanted to be out of the president’s cabinet for failing to control this crisis and being involved in a multibillion-peso corruption case in PhilHealth. Trying to muster sympathy from the public and Mr. Duterte himself, Mr. Duque said in a cabinet meeting that there were times when he was sleepless due to the allegations thrown against him. As of today, the health secretary fully enjoys the trust of the chief executive.
DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones and PNP Chief Debold Sinas – the president’s alter egos – boiled the blood of the public with their statements and actions that resulted in no consequences. The number of online memes involving them – or, at least, just the two of them (Briones and Sinas) – skyrocketed. Students, remember when Sec. Briones vigorously pushed for the resumption of classes? And partygoers, do you know Chief Sinas?
Of course, the House of Representatives and the Senate were not insulated by the political rollercoaster. The lower chamber’s speakership fight alone would have filled a 500-page book. Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, the incumbent, relentlessly clung on to his seat until the very end. While Rep. Lord Allan Velasco repeatedly insinuated the deal that he forged with Mr. Cayetano in 2019 when a speakership fight was already brewing. Allies from both camps hurled harsh and despicable allegations against one another like preschoolers.
“The tussle between Rep. Velasco and Rep. Cayetano has stooped the Philippine House of Representatives to a new low, stripping the honor and prestige that it once demonstrated,” I wrote in October.
Sen. Pia Cayetano’s monologue in defense of her brother’s SEA Games leadership, Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa’s “sarap ng buhay” remark, and, the father of all impunities, Sen. Koko Pimentel’s breaching of quarantine protocols, made me want to resurrect Sen. Miriam Defensor – Santiago from the grave so that she could punch the stupid faces of all her enemies.
“This is a lesson for all politicians: FOLLOW THE RULES. If the government forces millions of us to stay at home to avoid being exposed to the virus, then politicians – the PUIs and persons under monitoring (PUMs) – should do the same,” I wrote in March with deep annoyance for Mr. Pimentel.
Skewering politics is quite an exhausting job, as an already-messy world continues to be messy. Governing has become more of a sideshow than an objective. So-called leaders have been too petty and ridiculous that a nation is wary of any substantial change. Not that it is a generalization, but just too many elected leaders behaved that way.
“These are not isolated cases. These are absurdities that rhyme those of their predecessors. Their absurdness does not merely result in accountability but rather to unwanted forgiveness,” I wrote in my anniversary article about this blog covering politics.
The political rollercoaster has truly endured this pandemic, and no amount of anxieties and hardships can overturn it. Many, including the energized youth, have begun setting their eyes for 2022 to exact the incapacities of our leaders that have been exposed this year. This blog has already posted a countdown before the 2022 polls, which is about more than 500 days from now as of this writing. And with voter registration running until September 2021, people thirsty for change (not the change the president promised) are beginning to encourage non-voters to participate in the elections.
With all that has happened in 2020, is there still hope for politics? Yes, I believe. But it would take a great transformation to renew what has been destructed and salvage what has been left.
To imitate a world that I’ve described in the first paragraph, at least for this country, a collective undertaking is purely necessitated. Or else, only a miracle from God would catapult a new dawn for politics.
The Edj View 
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