The pabebe is a national curse of perpetual infantilism, constantly looking for short-term kilig rather than putting in the hard work of the long view on what needs to be done.
Aldub Nation is back in the media spotlight after the Discayas made claims about Maine Mendoza’s husband, Arjo Atayde, and alleged kickbacks in some projects. Some people think this is just old news, but those who remember 2015 know Aldub was more than a typical noontime show.
The split-screen romance between Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza drew in millions and brought people together nationwide. Nearly ten years later, the excitement Aldub created still lingers. The difference is that in 2025, Aldub emerges at a time of political fractures in a land long flooded with impunity and bubbling anger.
The news of the Discayas’ allegations is more than just gossip; it is proof of the formation of an electorate fed by cheap and unhealthy celebrity culture. In the Philippines, celebrity and politics often go hand in hand. Perhaps this Discaya revelation should galvanize voters to be more wary of celebrities or those celebrity-adjacent who run for office. Has anybody been checking on Willie Revillame lately? Anyway…
For all its campy appeal, Aldub offered an example of collective hope in a gritty landscape filled with chase sequences and product placements. Years later, fans even created imagined families—digital children of a couple portrayed on TV but never together in real life—turning their fantasies into a shared practice.
Of course, many of us have seen this and laughed. Yet this phantom progeny is an intriguing look at how many Filipinos willfully and willingly engage in fantasy production as a coping mechanism in a land that has given them nothing but abject misery.
I argue that this protracted sickness of kilig—a cheap thrill or sense of being twitterpated (look that up)—is keeping us from truly progressing. Karl Marx is wrong. Kilig is the opiate of the Filipino masses.
Aldub also changed how people saw pabebe, which used to mean being shy or childish. It stems from flirting—when one tries to be cute with doe eyes and a childlike smirk, all informed by our definition of innocence amidst blossoming romance in our need for kilig.
The pabebe is a national curse of perpetual infantilism, constantly looking for short-term kilig rather than putting in the hard work of the long view on what needs to be done. Maybe, as a culture, we need to wean ourselves from pabebe and focus on magalit (to be angry) and mag-isip (to think) to seek rectification of the many cycles of idiocy that allow impunity and corruption to flourish.
In the wake of social media becoming the focal point of investigations and revelations, government officials should be careful with what they post. I think this is a boon. They must restrict their online presence. But what if they are celebrities or married to celebrities who rely on social media presence to generate income?
Maybe this is one way to heal the nation: muzzle overtly visible and loud celebrities, nepo babies, and narcissistic, unsubstantial politicians. We don’t need kilig. We need rage.
You may reach Chong Ardivilla at kartunistatonto@gmail.com or chonggo.bsky.social
