Will we ever be the same again?

Two days to E-day.  On Monday, it’s our country’s moment of truth. The electoral contest has never been this heated, and the choices have never been this clear: good vs. evil, progress vs. retrogression; good governance vs. corruption, civility vs. rudeness; kindness vs. harshness; and just recently, democracy vs. communism.

It has been a bruising, ugly campaign season. Lines were drawn; friendships were broken and lost. Cousins on opposite sides of the political divide learned that politics can be thicker than blood. We cringed as we saw each other’s dark side emerge and were horrified at how nasty we could be in the face of extreme polarization.

As tensions rose, and the language among candidates and their followers became more belligerent, we received reminders to keep the rhetoric down, our discussions polite and above board, our language clean. Early on, the Comelec issued a reminder that there is life after elections and it would do everyone well to be civil and not allow politics to get in the way of relationships. And as the big day approaches, the Catholic Bishops Conference has weighed in, issuing appeals for prayer and discernment to choose candidates who stand for values we hold dear as Filipinos and as God’s own people. Nuns and priests are fasting and praying that Monday’s exercise is clean, honest and peaceful. And please make the best person win.

Social media brought the electoral exercise very close to home. The right to free speech was stretched thin as partisans spewed insults and threats of rape and murder at anyone whose chosen candidate they didn’t approve of.  Never has a campaign elicited such vileness. Even Sr. Mary John Mananzan, a Benedictine nun, was threatened with rape!

Actually, the tone was set by the candidates themselves. While my candidate’s gentlemanly ways seemed to rub off on his followers who have been generally respectful and politically correct, another candidate’s coarse, threatening, expletive-riddled speeches seemed to arouse his followers to be, like him,  menacing and offensive.  All this unfolded on social media which became the main battleground in a nasty war of memes, jokes, insults, lies, fake news and black propaganda.

One candidate has said that the only way he can lose the election is if he is cheated. This was recently echoed by his ally, Jose Maria Sison, who controls the armed might of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army. It is not exactly the best frame of mind for one who enters any kind of contest to have, but there it is, the threat of mayhem if he loses. The question in many minds is, will the verbal violence of the candidate and the virtual violence on Facebook translate into actual blood on the streets?  

As the campaign period winds down, I wonder, will we ever be the same again, as a people, as a nation, as families, friends, neighbors? Can we be humble, generous and magnanimous in victory? Can we be gracious in defeat? Will we respect the outcome of this mighty battle? Will the insults we have piled on one another finally end?  Or will we sink even lower after the results of the elections come out, refusing to accept the outcome, and bringing the contest to bloody confrontation?

I pray that we all rise to the occasion, accept the people’s will and let by-gones be by-gones.  It won’t be easy, but we really are better than the intemperate, unrestrained partisans we have become. I also pray that at the polling places, supporters who have taken the wild ride with their crass, foul-mouthed, unpredictable candidate will experience a moment of clarity and vote for the “unexciting” but steady, safe, sober and sane candidate.

Mulling all possible outcomes in this election, I am heartened as I look back to 1998 when the grossly unqualified but hugely popular Joseph Estrada won the presidency by a mile. It was depressing, especially when he began unravelling shortly after he took office. But he didn’t last long. When he left Malacañang in shame and defeat, we were still standing. He didn’t survive us. We survived him.

We Filipinos and our boisterous democracy are resilient that way.

On Monday, May 9, vote early, wisely, and prayerfully. For peace, harmony and decency. For honest and transparent governance. For freedom, justice, democracy and the rule of law. For the future of our children and grandchildren. For God, mother, country.

For everything that matters, my vote goes to Mar Roxas for President and Leni Robredo for Vice President. Go, RORO!