PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) was essentially a repetition if not an amplification of many things he has said in the past. The core of his conviction has remained the same: this country needs a lot of discipline and more forms of punishment. This actually is a simpler way of saying that this country needs to shift from liberal democracy to totalitarianism.
In this postmodern condition however, politicians have learned how to be dictators with style and grace. Unlike the fascists of the past, our leaders have learned a craft, one that makes people easily believe in deceptions without necessarily spotting them. Facilitating and aiding a totalitarian system are frustrated citizens some of whom are even intellectuals. Feeding on the failures of the past, they are strongly pushing us to believe that only an iron hand can save this country.
A simple run through of the things that were emphasized by the president all point to “control” as the big idea of his governance. From the war on drugs to ROTC, everything is premised by the belief that without discipline and punishment politics is not complete. Floating on air and already widely discussed is the proposed revival of death penalty.
Unfortunately, many people jump into the belief that Duterte is right in all these. Just because the Liberal Party has failed to fulfill what it promised – does not mean that the exact anti-thesis is a better option. It is true that this is no longer a time to be beholden to a single family (the Aquinos) more so venerate the yellow propaganda without understanding. But neither is there truth that this country deserves this kind of dirty politics (dirties in fact) under the current administration.
With a Senate that is practically Duterte’s extension arm, there is so much to worry that all forms of “policing” will be used and thus easily carry out the government’s agenda to discipline, i.e. put an end to all forms of opposition. This is seriously a threat to all of us because without dissent abuse becomes a norm. In the words of one theologian, “without dualism there is totalitarianism.”
Sadly, many people are really sold out to the president’s rhetoric. Case in point is the increasing support for death penalty. On top of the list of senators supportive of death penalty is no less than the greatest Bible preacher this country ever has: Manny Pacquiao. With this world-boxing champ’s victory in his most recent match, I’m sure that the diehard fans of the president would take Pacquiao’s preaching as a Gospel truth that exceeds that of Jesus Christ.
People still have to literally suffer a lot under the very hands of this government before they’d realize that “real politics” is not just the regulation of systems or the control of warm bodies. Politics has a goal despite the fact that it is a practically imperfect human activity. Its fullness is in the very attempt to humanize society. This is not to romanticize things knowing that politics is in some ways a messy human activity. But just because it has imperfections does not mean that we simply concede to the many barbaric activities of our politicians.
And what of these politicians who argue that their proposed measures are for the good of the country? A serious question is this: why haven’t they spent more time thinking, planning and debating how to correct some of our inequitable social structures? Why not invest in programs and strategies that would help people without necessarily exterminating them?
This being said, we need to ask whether EJK, death penalty, and the militarization of the state are the best ingredients for us to come up with the solution to our society’s ills. Have we really made the right choice when we choose to follow a leader whose only known solution to the problem is wiping out a portion of the population who he sees as a liability and not an opportunity? Is this leader worth our continual admiration? Or is our admiration also a manifestation of a totalitarian tendency that has been hiding in each and every one of us?