THE 2022 NATIONAL ELECTIONS: WHAT WENT WRONG?

BY JAMES GABRIEL DE CASTRO

The subject of politics was frequently discussed among Filipinos, particularly during election years Politics was our national pastime in the Philippines, just as baseball was in the United States. Why then would we not?

The 2022 Philippine National Elections went down against a backdrop of polarized animosity The recent contest proved to be more divisive than we have ever seen before, and fake news had been the titular concern during the campaign period as candidates gun for the highest elected office in the country Former Vice President Robredo was the most hit with misinformation Its peddlers spread such for one or two reasons: It had for the most part a lot to do with her gender and her gutsy to stand up against the steel-fisted reign of the incumbent during her time

Smokescreens that were edifice complex in the form of government spending at a time of a flailing economy, brutalist-style infrastructure despite people struggling to keep a roof over their heads, and distorted folklore about Nutribun that now had been served as a recycled campaign material could not hide the fact that the most recent presidential race was all about qualifications, achievements, and the ability to get things done.

Exit polls have also become a lightning rod for public scrutiny. Between the third and last quarter up to voting day, the two leading candidates were separated by an "insurmountable margin", one that showed a different story when it came to crowd count and enthusiasm during rallies

Nevertheless, furor for presidential hopefuls had set the spirit of volunteering apart from elections past attendance one had never seen since the 1986 People Power Revolution

Philippine politics has pitted the competent against the asinine, with calls for unity urging the public to obey without question

The peril of divisiveness cannot be exaggerated, and banking on a blanket statement of unity alone would not suffice perhaps polar opposites do not always attract.