Inquirer columnist Richard Heydarian gets it wrong again in his piece “Why the Marcos brand remains popular”. True to his drumroll style of writing where he first goes at length into some historical context for the point he would later make way way towards the end of his blurb, Heydarian starts by showing off his “knowledge” of German history writing about how “the well-meaning yet feeble Weimar Republic collapsed under the pressure of polarized and increasingly authoritarian politics, leading to the rise of Nazism.” Well, not really. The Weimar Republic collapsed because of weak leadership under the onerous terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The Allies wanted to bleed Germany dry for war reparations so they could repay their debt to the United States. Hitler’s rise began shortly after and the rest, as they say, is history.
Then Heydarian goes into template mode drawing a parallel from that to apply to his take on what is happening to the Philippines today claiming that “the gathering storm of authoritarian nostalgia, and the growing appeal of the heirs of our former dictator, can be explained along a similar axis.” Thus; “[our] political leaders as well as our educators also fell far short in accomplishing their basic duties following the collapse of Ferdinand Marcos’ regime more than three decades earlier.” What followed the so-called EDSA “revolution” that supposedly toppled the Marcos regime “was the swift restoration of the old liberal elite, many of whom ended up reasserting their grip not only on the pillars of the economy but also on the vital organs of the state,” writes Heydarian.
The fact is, history was written by the victors. There was really no “revolution” at EDSA and no victory by the opposition against Marcos. It was then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile who tried to grab power plain and simple but failed. Marcos was consumed by his own hubris that he didn’t appoint a successor nor laid out a succession plan after he became seriously ill. His camp was already divided into three factions then; his wife Imelda and General Fabian Ver, Fidel Ramos and Enrile and Danding Cojuangco. Ramos and Enrile also parted ways before 1986. Danding thought that neither had it in them to mount a coup despite the rise of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM). Cojuangco relied on the loyalty of the officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to Marcos. Little did he know that he would need to go into exile ignominiously when the time came.
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The matter could’ve been settled as early as 1992 but the Yellows wouldn’t give up power easily. Danding lost because the Marcos vote was split by Imelda. Joseph “Erap” Estrada was ousted after three years and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) completed her term but only because she gave the police and military what they wanted. She suffered the same fate as Erap. By the end of the Noynoy Aquino administration, Ramos had seen enough and activated his old network to get Rodrigo Duterte to run. Ramos thought he could control Duterte but the promdi had other plans. And so here we are again today in an election cycle where the Marcos scion is now the principal player in what is to be the final battle between the Yellows and the Marcoses. Is it a battle or is it just a validation of the people’s choice in 2016?
Duterte’s audacity in spending political capital is unprecedented. Going into his final eight months in office, he remains highly-popular. Few realize the situation he is in now where he has been abandoned by the power blocs supporting him because they don’t want him to build up a power bloc independent from them. Not a word has been heard from Manny Villar and GMA. The PDP-Laban is splintered and the father is caught in a feud with his daughter, who was supposed to succeed him. The loyal aide looks to be a party to the isolation of his principal as he himself has learned how to play the game. They would like to control the anointed successor who isn’t keen on being a sock puppet which is why she took herself out of the game. But she is playing her cards well by engaging in a dialogue with the Marcos’ who’s also in the same boat as her father.
The power blocs are afraid that what they stole from the Marcoses in their time of weakness will be taken back and they will be left at the mercies of what will be the Marcos-Duterte combine. Ironic since the president’s late father and former Davao Governor Vicente Duterte was a victim of a power play in the first Marcos Cabinet. Now the two sons of the patriarchs are in a position to vindicate their respective fathers. Duterte is keeping his cards close to his chest. He knows his work isn’t done yet but he understands that if the country is to have a future, it falls upon him to finish what he started, one way or the other. The Filipino is waiting for November 15 anxiously. The 2022 election could be a protracted battle or it could end before May 2022.
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His blurb comes from graduate school readings on organization theory. C’mon. We’ve seen that!
Oh boy, Heydarian just farted sh*t again.
BBM is Edmond Dantes in the making. The 2022 elections is his redemption arc. That is why many Filipinos root for him.
BBM is like Lelouch from Code Geass… Or better yet he is the Trump Jr.
How the heck did Heydarian invent the idea that Filipinos are asking for a dictatorship? Is it that hard for them to say that people desire and support leaders who assert what’s good for the nation? That’s just the ideal in any political situation.
It was written in history that Marcos was removed from office through what was called EDSA People Power revolution. If that is not a victory for the opposition I don’t know what is. Enrile and cohorts did not replace Marcos & company after Marcos fell. Even if Enrile wants to, which is not true, there is no basis nor reason to grab power for himself. He and Ramos did not decide to barricade themselves in Camp Aguinaldo because they want to replace Marcos. That simply is not true.
Marcos was not consumed by any hubris during illness. He was consumed by his grandiose idea that he will be the ruler for life of this country. We all know that.
Yes, Duterte have been abandoned but not because he’s building or about to built an independent power blocs, he was abandoned because, in a street lingo’, he’s a dead fish. There is no use for him in an election where he is major handicap. With allegations of incompetency and corruption in the last leg of his administration, and his serious pestering problem on summary killings on war on drugs, he is about to sleep with the fishes.
Nobody wants to touch him because he is a dead duck. No wonder there isn’t even a peep from Villar and GMA.
There was ‘feud’ between father and daughter because the daughter refused to carry a bloody baton being forced to her by her father to succeed. She’d rather kowtow with a Marcos than inherit an office that has been devastatingly damaged beyond recognition. It is also a double sword strategy for her. If Marcos wins, her dad would be afforded better protection against the avalanche of cases expected to hound him. And she would be free from the negative effects of her dad’s terrible political missteps and personal depravity.
Also history was written by the victors, so I’ll take a grain of salt of that. The rest is..questionable, where did you get all these information about Duterte having family feud and the case that will hound him? By who? The opposition? If that’s the case then shouldn’t Ex-president Noynoy Aquino III gets a file case against him for his negligence as well? You shouldn’t be fully believing on local news as they’re sensationalize.
The ‘history is written by victors’ thing is right up there in paragraph 3. For me, it’s irrelevant whether the victors or the losers wrote the history. As long as revisionism is absent that’s just plain history. Trouble is, sometimes those who insinuate about the victors doing ‘something’ in writing about the history are the losers themselves.
The so-called ‘feud’ between father and daughter can be found in paragraph 5. Regarding the expected cases, I’m sure you are well aware of the ICC (Int’l Crim. Court) issue of crimes against humanity against Pres. Duterte. In fact, just recently Duterte admitted that he accepts responsibility for the killings on drug war. That’s just some of the cases that he could face in the future. History is not done yet with Duterte.
I agree with you, all ex-presidents, not only Duterte, should have their day in court if there is evidence to support it.
Yay!!! So if BBM loses, then it’s JAIL time for Mr Duterte!!!
*cue cheap villain laugh track*
Mwahahahahaaaaaah!!!
Political history is the autobiography of liars.
“History was written by the victors” the quote Oliver Cromwell once said…
Is next year’s elections really set for vindication of former president Marcos? If the insinuation is true, how can Bongbong Marcos do that? If elected, can he erase the past misdeeds of his father which caused his downfall in the first place. Can he really change the verdict of history against the former president and his family? Can he reverse and turn back the hands of time to bring back the glory days of the Marcos brand? I don’t think that is possible.
To be candid, I see no vindication happening if BBM is elected. In fact, vindication is just an imagination. Elections are no instrument of vindication. Only the court of law can deliver the power to acquit, exculpate or absolve. Maybe the kind of indication BBM is looking forward to is the sense of acceptance or feeling of being embrace again by people. That is what the family expects since they came back from exile. Of course, to be back in power again is the ultimate objective.
“Only the court of law can deliver the power to acquit, exculpate or absolve.”
@Juan: You are very much correct. BBM need not “change the verdict of history against the former president and his family” as the court of law has acquited the Marcoses of all allegations by the camp of the Yellowtards.
“…the court of law has acquited the Marcoses of all allegations by the camp of the Yellowtards.”
Let’s not forget, former Pres. Marcos was NEVER tried in court. So the notion that ‘the Marcoses were acquitted’ is simply incorrect. Further, I think court cases against the Marcoses are still ongoing.
But here’s the good news for the pro-Marcos people. If BBM becomes president he will abolish the PCCG and terminate all pending cases against his family. ‘Di ba ang saya?
So, let me wish them good luck! : )
@Juan: Then why didn’t they? The Yellowtards have all the opportunity to do so but were never interested. They’d rather try him in the bar of public opinion where they have more power and control. The hypocrites!
The PCGG is a useless government agency! They’ve wasted the people’s money for what? The officials are crooks, wanted fugitives of the law and some convicted. Can you cite a legal case where they won against the Marcoses in their years of existence?
‘Eto mas masaya!
@Antonio
Definitely there is interest in prosecuting the Marcoses. In fact, cases were and have filed against them in the US. It still continuing. Some succeeded, some not. But the overall estimate is, the Marcoses are still able to hide billions of dollars of their loot and continue to prevent recovery of them through various legal ways.
I agree, the PCGG failed the Filipinos. They could have done more but that’s the way it is in our country. You cannot just throw the powerful in jail. You go through a rigorous process that, more or less, they control. With regard to cases won, there are few cases that have been litigated and won. Of course, Imelda, through a defense that she’s a mere housewife that doesn’t know what her husband was doing, was a acquitted in a case in the US.
But one thing for sure, with Ferdie gone, the innocence of the Marcoses will never be vindicated.
At ‘yan ang nakakalungkot. : (
In short, BBM will lose, and Mr Duterte will be marched to the Hague, IN CHAINS, by the jack-booted legions of the ICC, to be thrown in prison, where that S.O.B. shall ROT like Bill Cosby for the rest of his Goddamned life!!!
May the best candidate win…the political show must go on…we wait and see …
Actually, the U.S. was the one who put the Aquinos in power…not us .
So, we wait and see what will happen again…History may repeat itself…or it can be the other way around now, that Biden is the U.S. President…Biden is a weak President…he spent his whole life in politics, and he is too old to handle the complicated U.S. Presidency …
We just hope for the best …The best may yet to come
in this coming election !!!
Heydarian’s depth of analysis is amazing. It’s supposed to be funny, right? Now it looks stupid.