Make Your Voice Count: GAJ Podcast

Here is a transcript of the rich conversation that I had with @jannuslim:

Gail: I think for this election and for the past election, I’ve been really vocal about speaking about politics because I learned overtime that some people say “Don’t talk about politics, it creates a divide. It invites conflict, arguments.” I still post about it because speaking about politics is important and it can really change how the course of our lives will go, the next 6 years. So, if it’s that important, then it’s reason enough to talk about it.

Jannus: That’s true.

Gail: And that’s given that the discourse about it is like what you said, “Not really hitting on other people, what’s that argument called… the one where you throw shade to the person?

Jannus: Ahh, uhmmm…

Gail: Ad hominem!

Jannus: Yes, that! Hahaha

Gail: Whether or not you have a political stand, not being involved in politics will not spare you from the effects of politics. You get what I’m saying?

Jannus: That’s true

Gail: Might as well make your voice count. Might as well do the necessary due diligence to make a difference in politics in a positive note.

Jannus: That’s true

Gail: Going back to the dramatic experience that I had, I was already alarmed that there are a lot of people who are choosing this candidate on the basis of Tiktok videos, on the basis of argumentation like “If they (the politician and his family) stole that much money, then why was the Philippines at its golden years during their time? That argumentation, I was really alarmed by that. I also realized that most of our fellowmen go into the personality politics. So if they feel that that person is part of us, if they feel that the person is “pro-people,” if they feel that this person is strong the never mind what that candidate’s credentials are. Never mind whatever wrongdoings he has done, never mind if he didn’t do anything for the country. Like, they’re basing it on - the candidate’s charm. I was alarmed and I decided to add to the conversation. I shared this video of a reporter that I saw on my timeline. He was narrating about the facts proving why this politician’s family, or father, really did this. Proof of stealing from the country’s money, how much the stolen amount was, etc. And then, a family friend commented on that video and he presented points that, props to him it was also my first time to hear that. So, he presented the point that even before Ferdinand Marcos became the president, he was rich on his own because he got this money from this clan and all. So I dug deeper, and I made sure that if I were to reply to this family friend, I would do away with ad hominem attacks. I also made sure that I answered his claims with equally-backed claims so that he wouldn’t feel that he was attacked, or that I was picking a fight with him. I answered his points, I replied to those and my replies were lengthy. I then noticed that there were quite a few likers of my comment and his comment, so you would see that there are pro-Marcoses and there are anti-Marcoses as well. So, when I hovered over his name on his comment, I noticed that I’m not able to click on it anymore.

Jannus: So he blocked you?

Gail: To confirm, because I didn’t want to assume, I borrowed a relative’s FB profile and searched for our family friend’s name – it was still searchable! But using my profile, I wasn’t able to search for him. So I realized, even if I tried so hard to not make it as an ad hominem attack. I was even clear with my point that it’s not about this political family over this political family, it’s something greater than us, he still found offence in that. That was the greatest outcome of that exchange. I lost a family friend on Facebook because of my political view. This political issue is something that I’m really passionate about because it sheds light on how many of our fellowmen go for the personality over those that have basis and there was clear basis of the theft and it was proven by international intervention and some people chose to believe otherwise and I find it hard to understand that, to wrap my head around that. I mean “Why? They stole from us, from you and your family, why would you still side with them?”

Jannus: I remember that there was a video circulating, it was a snippet of a news something. The one where they ask random people on the streets about… I’m not sure if the question was for a senatorial candidate. “Si Bong Revilla, bakit ba si Bong Revilla? Why would you vote for him?” this person answered, “Dahil gwapo siya at mabait,” (Because he is handsome and kind). And you know that that wasn’t an isolated case. That person isn’t the only one who thought of it that way. And it’s such a challenge to invite people to think critically of who to vote. To be honest Gail, I grew up not really minding about politics. I think I lived a life, because of the privileges that I enjoyed before, it wasn’t really much of a concern to me. Honestly, I wasn’t really exposed to the news. It wasn’t a topic that we talked about in the family. So growing up, politics really wasn’t much of a topic I really wanted to talk to about or even learn. I think during the first election, I’m glad that I opened my eyes. Maybe I got so lucky that my friends were good influences, they showed me a whole new different perspective of this whole thing. I think it’s not only me out there who has no interest, who prefer to avoid talking about politics and I get that because I get where you’re coming from because of how I was brought up, the ignorance to that was really high and the need to learn about it was so low. Have you seen Enola Holmes? Somebody said, “Politics doesn’t interest you? Why? Because you have no interest in changing a world that suits you so well.” Admittedly, at some point, to a certain degree, I lived that kind of life. Regardless of who’s sitting there, it did little to no effect in how I lived my life. Alas, I wasn’t exposed to the effects of that of who was sitting in power, I wasn’t exposed to its effects in how I would live in the future or in the present. So maybe I got lucky, I was exposed to my friends. They highlighted my responsibilities as a citizen. Being more aware of the situations around, makes you more passionate about who to choose to be in power.

Gail: Actually, I have the same sentiments. I didn’t care about it that much; I didn’t really understand how choosing the country’s leaders could impact my life because my life before was “I just want to improve myself; I just want to work on the things that I’m not really good at. I won’t be affected by things like politics.” I was also so lucky that I also had friends like yours who were really patient to answer my questions about why should I vote? Why is this important and one thing led to another. I also came into this talk about Politics 101, I really wanted to understand, “Is there a right way to perceive politics here in the Philippines?” One of the greatest learning that I got was “Whether you have a political stance or not, you will still be affected by your country’s politics. Good governance brings us foreign direct investments. It is a huge factor in bringing in investments here in the Philippines. It’s something that I learned in my MBA Class, so shoutout to my classmates if you’re listening to this. If you think about it, Singapore and the Philippines. Singapore is a small country, the Philippines is relatively larger than Singapore and in terms of natural resources, the Philippines can give more natural resources over Singapore but it begs the question – Why is Singapore bringing in large amounts of foreign direct investments compared to the Philippines who is blessed in terms of natural resources? The answer to that is the investors trust the government of Singapore, they believe in the good governance of Singapore’s leaders. Imagine how different things are in Singapore and in the Philippines and the one factor that is hindering the country to become as rich as Singapore is governance, right? So, it has a great impact. Without knowledge of that, you’ll find it hard to appreciate that. But once you get the bird’s eye view and you compare the Philippines to other countries, it hits home why voting for the right leaders is important. It’s not only “I voted for this person because he is a strong man, or because we need this candidate because Filipinos are hard-headed.” Think bigger, take a look at how we are faring against other countries. Investments coming in to the Philippines will dictate how advanced our technologies are. Investments will dictate our competence against our neighbors.

Jannus: Job opportunities as well.

Gail: Correct, correct. So if there are a lot of job opportunities, you will be richer. So, you’d be able to reach your dreams, help your family. I wish that more people saw that, compared to their gut feel. Just because this candidate is not charismatic, her PR is not good, it doesn’t mean that she is also a bad leader. On the flip side, it doesn’t mean that you’re so charismatic, the people love you, it doesn’t mean that you have the skills to become a good leader already. It doesn’t follow.

Jannus: There are a lot of factors that you need to consider.

Gail: Yes, yes.

What do you look for in a candidate? We are honestly curious to know! Please share your two cents in the comments section below 😄