Tinig ng MASA: An open letter and challenge to Marcos Jr. // EURUS

36 years ago, the nation vowed to “Never Forget, Never Again” an administration operating against democracy. It was a promise that the entire Philippines made so that the future of the nation would not be placed in jeopardy. However, the vow has already been broken as the 2022 Elections reinstated a Marcos to the presidency through a majority win. Although it is true early to dictate the nation’s future, it is evident that the nation is exposed to the brink of sinking into a wormhole that leads to endless possibilities.

Let us get a quick glimpse of the nation’s history. In 1986, the EDSA People Power Revolution happened and unified the people in the streets of EDSA as they called for then-President Ferdinand Marcos to step down after thousands had died and were tortured under Martial Law. It took some time and a lot of effort to finally take down the Marcoses. After the snap elections and continuous plea of the Filipinos - February 25, 1986 - the Marcos Family fled the country, and Corazon Aquino stepped in as the Philippines' new president. Democracy was revived and dictatorship was sworn to be buried down in the deepest of memories for eternity… or so did we thought.

Promises were meant to be broken as some would say. The 2022 Philippine National Elections caught the WORLD by storm as “Junior is about to take the position of Senior”. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. succeeded in reclaiming the presidency as he swept the competition with about 32 million votes (even without a legitimate college degree and with a re-

Tinig ng MASA: An open letter and challenge to Marcos Jr.

EURUS // Lance Crisostomo cord of tardiness in debates and interviews), a notable “majority” win in the Philippine Elections history. After 36 years, the Marcos family is back in the driver's seat of the Philippines as they push for “Unity” and “generalized platforms” that the Filipino voters bit into. “Never forget, Never again” or should we say “Never forget but let’s have them once again”.

With Marcos Jr.’s victory, it can be said that the future of the nation and its people is uncertain. The concrete plan of Marcos Jr. and his administration for the next six years is still a mystery for all since there has been no elaborate explanation and discussion of such. Media outlets that ask questions about it are being deflection by his camp. A shred of more concrete evidence - ask the voters who voted for Marcos Jr the question, “Why Marcos Jr.? and what is his platform?”. The answer could only revolve around two - “Because why not?” and a deflection of the question through assertions based on construed information from the long-term negative revisionism that Marcos Jr. and his camp executed. Rappler’s study on disinformation in the 2022 PH elections revealed that Marcos Jr.’s impenetrable media web uplifted the false-positive narratives on Facebook and TikTok - the top two sources of information for people today.

With that being said, journalism and the people’s access to truth and information are also threatened. Just last May 26, Rappler reported an incident in the Marcos Headquarters wherein it was announced to them that the HQ would be closed for that day. To their surprise, a closed-door press conference was conducted in the same HQ with only three media outlets being allowed for coverage. Marcos Jr. is still not in power yet this practice has already flourished. What more when he fully comes into power? There is a possibility that a widespread media blackout, in the worst-case scenario, would happen once again, just like what happened in his father’s era.

Signs of “the return of the horrors of the past” are already showing but the nation and the people who shaped this nation to what it is right now hope that the trauma and terrors of the Marcos era before would not happen today. The results can no longer change and we have to live by them whether we like it or not. Marcos Jr. would be in power starting July 1, a day after he takes his oath of office on June 30. The majority has spoken but the rights of the minority must never be compromised. 32 million Filipinos stood by Marcos Jr. and it is the hope of the minority that they are right. The nation is eyeing change and progress, not the destruction and death of the so-called “Pearl of the Orient”.

Future President Marcos Jr., prove the people wrong with your actions and the results of such, or else, the backfire would be too much for you to handle. A brutal and more enraged version of EDSA may be coming your way. The people may trust you now but when the discourse is about mistakes, they do not forgive mistakes at the expense of their future. All eyes are on you now… [R]