"Let us just recall our departed loved ones and leave politics for another day."
"Let us just recall our departed loved ones and leave politics for another day."
Over the past 10 years or so we’ve seen the increasing fervor with which the country has embraced the Western holiday of Halloween, foisted on our culture by the large shops and malls with heavy marketing to further commercial interests.
This season used to be dedicated to the solemn observance of Undas or Araw ng Patay, when families visit the gravesites of loved ones to commemorate them. It’s something that is still quite significant, hence the holidays declared by workplaces to give employees time off to travel to their hometowns (or take vacations).
Now Halloween with its horrific costumes and intent to frighten is gaining prominence each year.
However, has anyone stopped to think that what’s happening in our politics is scarier than anything Stephen King or Shirley Jackson can dream up?
First, the “laway” pronouncement by President Rodrigo Duterte. We knew he was a misogynist to begin with, and he has made other disgusting statements about women but this crushes the boundaries of decent public speech.
Come to think of it, there is hardly any decent public speech anymore, and none of it seems to come from Duterte supporters.
The “laway” declaration is nothing less than obscene, particularly coming from the mouth of a head of state. His excuses of “meaning no offense” won’t fly anymore because he is consistent in his attitude and penchant for spewing trash talk.
Nor is another convenient excuse that’s made for him by his previous spokesperson, the corpulent one, that it’s a “Bisaya” thing. I come from Visayan roots—my mom is from Bacolod City and my father was from Cotabato City, and obscenity is not part of the region’s values, as far as I know.
I was raised by a Visayan and a Mindanaoeño to be respectful and courteous. I am sure Duterte was, too, by his formidable and principled mother, only toxic masculinity and the Philippine brand of patriarchy got in the way when he was grown.
The second scary thing is Duterte’s desire for military men to take over Customs. While it seems that Customs as it is now is irredeemably corrupt and decayed, and strong-arming looks indicated to perform an Augean stables-type cleanse of the agency, flouting the laws that prohibit military personnel from taking over civilian positions is not the way to do it.
Third, the race for local political dynasties to entrench themselves. No matter how these people spin their candidacies as public service being a sort of family legacy, the reality is that they are using the privilege and power attendant with high public positions for their personal advantage. Politics may be your family business, but it shouldn’t be.
The 1987 Constitution bans political dynasties but the political dynasts in Congress have yet to pass an enabling law that defines what dynasties are. Moreover, “fat” dynasties—those with two or family members in public positions—have been shown to “have a detrimental effect on governance” and be linked to worsening poverty, according to Ateneo School of Government dean Dr. Ronald Mendoza, speaking at a Senate hearing in February.
There are many other instances in which this administration and its people has failed us—the declining economy, the negative effects of the TRAIN tax law, incompetence of officials, recycling of canned officials, and others too numerous to mention. This is why Halloween, with all its gore and horror, is less terrifying than reality.
“Halloppines”, or Halloween + Philippines, is a reminder of how much has gone wrong in the two years since the 2016 election. There is much to fix. But today, All Saints’ Day, let us just recall our departed loved ones and leave politics for another day.
Dr. Ortuoste, a writer and researcher, has a PhD in Communication. FB and Twitter: @DrJennyO