Colorless

Our Tito Chino Roces used to say, in doing things, we must always remember the next generation. I agree as after all, I am first and foremost a mother. Long before Tito Chino became an activist in the streets, he was primarily known as a journalist, issue-driven and independent. Because of this, Chino Roces will always be remembered as a permanent cultural landmark in our history.

Most recently, our beloved Alex Eala didn’t just capture our hearts at Wimbledon – she didn’t just break records; instead, she established a brand-new baseline for Philippine tennis. I have never seen so much grit in her game and it was truly impressive, more so inspirational. Alex refused to back down and what she has done has set the standard for the next generation by representing what is possible for future Filipino tennis stars. Indeed, one can say Alex Eala will be a permanent cultural landmark for all tennis players in the future.

The same can be said for some of us – me included – who continue to advocate for colorless possibilities in our country today. The media landscape has been so polarized that we have been unable to move past the typical partisan divides and in the process miss out on the opportunity to create real substantial change by elevating public discourse on issues that truly impact our lives. It goes without saying that we are dealing more and more with the challenges brought about by disinformation.

This is why I truly believe that in order to achieve real national unity, we must all be able to adapt a colorless canvass where breakthroughs don’t happen because one is waiting for a national post but because he or she is an independent citizen of a country we love.

In the world of media and communication, where people look up to those who have the ability to communicate the issues truthfully and without any fear or prejudice, it is therefore our responsibility to inform, with the deliberate intention of educating the public well on the issues, instead of creating a spectacle of drama. We need to veer away from personalities and focus on the things that truly matter and affect our people.

This is why media literacy is so important. In this day and age, media literacy is no longer about skills but rather, it is a necessary protection against the digital noise that prevents our people, especially the youth, from learning about the real world and how they can be a part of the journey of creating real change. After all, we no longer live in an information ecosystem where errors are merely accidental. The modern digital space faces an industrialized scale of automated scams, deepfakes, coordinated influence operations and worse, even state-level data breaches.

Hence, it is important for us, especially in the journalism industry, to be issue-driven instead of identity-driven. By practicing a “colorless” non-partisan style of commentary, he or she elevates the subject matter to a level that forces the audience to focus on the substance of a government program rather than the political alignment of the person who signed it.

When pondering about what Tito Chino once said, I realize that choosing to be colorless is the only way we can build a runway for the next generation. While media literacy is a much-needed tool for public enlightenment, choosing to be colorless steps away from the us-versus-them mentality and a nation trapped in a cycle of factional warfare cannot think ahead because its energy is entirely spent on the immediate battle.

The likes of my mayor for example, Joy Belmonte, who runs the largest and most populous city in Metro Manila, can be considered not only iconic but also colorless as she has been true to her promise that no one in our city is left behind. Everyone is welcome, everyone is included. I say this not because I am her spokesperson but because the proof is in the pudding. Her leadership serves as a prime example of reaching a critical mass of institutional reform at the local government level.

At this point in our history, we Filipinos are looking for the next generation of leaders who will take our country to its most important position in our lifetime where truly, no one is ever left behind.

Ultimately, being colorless isn’t about being passive; it’s about being independent enough to stand on solid ground. It is a conscious decision to stop playing the short-term chess match of the elites and start building a resilient, unified foundation that our children can safely stand upon.

To build an enduring legacy that truly impacts the next generation, we have to treat colorless communication and public service not just as an idealistic philosophy, but as a deliberate, tactical choice.

When I look at young trailblazers like Alex Eala, I see a universal mirror that is an open inclusive canvas for the entire country, where the victory belongs to every single Filipino and her only color is the national flag.

When I look back into history and remember our Tito Chino, I remember a blueprint for what it means to be colorless in Philippine public life.

The most enduring landmarks in our history are never painted in the temporary colors of a political season. The factions that demand our blind allegiance today will inevitably fracture, rebrand and fade into the footnotes of tomorrow. If we continue to view our nation’s deep structural challenges through a hyper-partisan lens, we will remain trapped in an exhausting cycle of personality politics – spending our collective energy settling short-term scores while the runway for the next generation crumbles beneath our feet.

We owe it to our children to strip the color out of the conversation, absorb the current friction with unshakeable character and start building a transparent, resilient foundation that they can safely stand upon. The next generation is watching and the finest windows to the truth is always clear and it is only through this clear glass that the future can see its way forward.