By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

POLITICIANS often underestimate the common sense of ordinary citizens. To them, the public is there to give them votes, in exchange for their “little mercies” during elections and disasters, where their names appear on every donation they make, taken from the public’s collective taxes used to pay their huge salaries and the “help” they allegedly distribute as their own. Politicians think they can get away with their crime, especially as they rise in the political ladder, where their positions guarantee their “untouchability”, like members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. They have huge funds to hire public relations firms to clean up their mess, using various platforms in social media, providing alternative “truths”.

It is for this reason that every citizen must exercise critical thinking, not only by voicing their anger without providing clarity on issues and contributing to the direction the country should be pursuing. If we want systemic change, we should all do our part to make this happen. Tama na po yung murahan at pagbabaluktot ng katotohanan. Tama na ang personality cult. Stop feeding the dynasties with loyalties they don’t deserve. Ask questions. Gather evidence. Use the logic taught in schools. Educate yourself. Use every available platform to influence others to think. Don’t share information that can’t be substantiated and counterchecked with other sources. Conduct complete staff work and exercise due diligence. The call is for us to love this country. It is ours.

The Philippines is not poor; there are just too many thieves. These thieves appear “clean” and were successful in covering their complicity in making the grand theft happen. It is not enough to curb systemic corruption with just policy reforms and organizational shake-ups; we must install government servants and elect officials possessing integrity, leadership and competence. Above all, patriotism, pagmamahal sa bayan.

Share your thoughts with others if you encounter something that defies logic. Be open to criticisms about your thoughts, but never allow the criticism to be reduced to “what-about-ism” and name-calling (i.e. bobo! tanga! tuta!, etc). Name-calling is the last resort of people who refuse to think.

I was called names, but I still react to pronouncements that insult my intelligence. For example, on the innocence of former Speaker of the House Martin Romualdez: “Any thinking person would know that he knew everything. He was Speaker of the House. It is incomprehensible to think otherwise because he is not stupid. In the meantime, his fall guy, is globe-trotting with a golden visa. His innocence is as difficult to believe as the innocence of Escudero, former Senate President. Also not stupid.” (14 October 2025)

On Senator Bong Go’s lament, on why the investigation is going back to 2016:  “. . . Because po, Sarah Discaya told the Senate that their wealth started to grow exponentially in 2016. In arriving at the root causes, one needs to go back in history, much like what a doctor does to diagnose a disease. More importantly po, your father was awarded five contracts in the Davao region during the Duterte administration (2016-2022), in partnership with the Discayas, who are currently under investigation for ghost projects, even as you said, you can’t choose your relatives and that you don’t know the Discayas. Ganun po.” (17 October 2025)

 

The coming

A red day, a premonition
of a life, changing in a wink
unwieldy, overpowering
like love, and anger
burning itself, end to end
bloody, like all births