When even the NYT starts considering BBM

"The Philippines Toppled One Marcos. Now His Son May Become President." That is the title of an article posted by nytimes.com on April 13, 2022. When even the New York Times, which does not exactly take kindly to the Marcoses, starts acknowledging a win by Bongbong Marcos as a very real and imminent possibility, then maybe it is time for rival campaigns to stop deluding.

Delusion, among other things, lies at the very core of the self-righteous arrogance and condescending attitude maintained by rival campaigns toward the presidential bid of BBM. It is this delusion that has divided the country right down the middle despite the consistent commanding lead enjoyed by Bongbong in virtually all surveys since the fourth quarter of last year.

Perhaps the fact that all of these surveys have been conducted and generated mainly by Filipino-run and operated outfits has made it easier for rival campaigns to demean and pooh-pooh the results, and keep the fires of delusion burning. But there is no way to keep the lid on reality. Sooner or later it will bite, and one will have to adjust glasses to see where it came from, what is going on.

I generally do not trust the American press because of its often in-your-face biases. But when the New York Times, often as anti-Marcos as it is anti-Duterte as time, space and opportunity allow it, begins to seriously consider the futility of further pretense about a Philippine electoral outcome other than a BBM win, then even I will have to see and take note of what the NYT has to say.

"Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has spent his political career trying to rehabilitate the family name. As the frontrunner in the upcoming election, he may finally succeed," the NYT said. The rival campaigns may brush aside the surveys of Pulse Asia, Social Weather Stations, Laylo, Octa Research, ADR Stratbase, Manila Times and other pollsters all showing a big BBM win. But when the NYT thinks the same, it's time to sit and listen.

Of course it is not over until it is over. And because the ballots have actually yet to be cast except for the overseas voting which has already begun, it is fair to say anything can still happen. Nevertheless, unless God takes a particular interest in the outcome of the 2022 Philippine presidential election, and with just about three weeks to go, I do not think a new narrative will emerge that the surveys and NYT had not already spun.

So again, the sooner the diehards of the other campaigns start getting over their delusions and begin acting like real adult human beings able to differentiate their lives from their politics, the better prepared we will all be to start the post-election healing. There must be a continuance of the stalled nation-building, recovery of balance from the wallop of pandemic, picking up of life from where everyone left off.

Why the focus on the diehards of other campaigns? Because naturally the winners will be friendlier, more accommodating, more forgiving. It will be the frustrated ones who will need greater effort and impetus to move forward and take up the cadence once again. There will be little problem with those who view politics as just a sideshow of life, who can take both joy and pain for what they are worth.

More worrisome will be those who sacrificed relations, friendships, social decorum, good manners, even piety and faith, on the altar of partisan politics. Unconditionally straight-jacketing their emotions to their politics, acceptance of facts will prove difficult and challenging for them, like those who went as far as to vow to leave the country if BBM wins. I will not add to the torment with further comment.