Philippines: My Nation of Jesters

Across various countries around the world, we’ve seen political figures play the Joker. We’ve laughed and ridiculed politicians who turned out to be utter fools. Today, we are on the pedestal: the joke is on us.

For one, we have an incumbent who hasn’t really done much (at least anything the less fortunate peoples of society can actually feel) to alleviate the many ailments in our failing economy, education, and public morale.

Then there’s our vice president, at the mercy of the foolishly divided Senate, who’s on the verge of watching her father’s once-indomitable empire collapse. Her allies are either jailed, pretending to be sick in jail, or are preparing to be placed behind bars soon.

The Philippine political circle has become a joke, and to be honest, the hardest blow isn’t on them; it’s on the public.

No matter how many times we’ve seen ads and videos that encourage voters to be wiser, we remain fools.

No matter how many times we go through the same pattern of lies and corruption, we remain fools.

What led us here?

The collapse of the Philippine political system didn’t depend on a single issue. Many factors affected this downfall, and just one of them is sheer incompetence that the Filipino public refuses to acknowledge.

Corruption has a pattern, and while many Filipinos are now starting to be more educated than in past times, our continuing refusal to acknowledge the patterns of our wicked leaders single-handedly bored a massive hole into our already fractured political system.

A striking example is the unity rally by the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) religious sect that wanted scandal-ridden Sen. Rodante Marcoleta to be absolved of plunder allegations. It’s 2026 and so many people still refuse to acknowledge that a religion forcing all of its followers to support a single politician or political group is nothing more than a CULT.

The same is true when incumbent Pres. Bong-bong Marcos ran for president. His father’s followers immediately rallied behind him, even if he hadn’t proven himself as a political power just yet. People who believed in his father believed in whatever he had to say.

A copycat scenario took place when Marcos announced the UNITEAM with Sara “Inday” Duterte-Carpio. The former president Rodrigo Duterte’s supporters immediately came together to hand the Marcos-Duterte tandem a pathetic landslide win.

By 2026, the UNITEAM had become a joke. It became a testament to the foolishness of the Filipino voting public: believing that Marcos and Duterte had genuine goals of moving the country forward.

Inday’s Senate trial is still underway, and hearings into the ghost flood control projects linking back to Marcos and his allies are still fresh, but the joke remains on us.

The country is hanging by a thread at a dangerous time: the rainy season. Only the universe knows when we will stop this foolishness and make history as a united people who, for once, installed the right leaders.