No righteous indignation?

The ongoing Philippine Senate imbroglio that seemed like a good plot for a political thriller movie, had such a bad script and many bad actors, that it cannot make the grade for even a short TV episode. The emerging of Bato dela Rosa from hiding and his escape from the Senate premises were excitable scenes, but the subsequent revelations of the true incidents was confusing, as to the heroes and the villains, especially if the motivation was to derail the impeachment proceedings for VP Duterte.

Aside from the small group of clearly pro-Duterte supporters rallying in the Senate grounds, and the partisan Cayetano crowd in the Committee hearing of the flood-control contracts scandal on the following day, there was no significant public outrage or rightful indignation rallies against the BBM government, or to support the Cayetano allegations in the past few days.

Misjudgments of results or outcomes are part of the human condition. So, persons and companies that want to gauge public reaction and human behavior hire polling/survey companies to gauge public sentiment in the present and in the future. Politicians who are most engrossed on their capabilities and importance, have tendencies to believe only in their own perceptions and surveys that favor them. This mindset and that opinions do not necessarily lead to actions are the politicians problems.

The factors that move public perceptions and opinions are many, interrelated, and influence each other. In this 21st century, these are socio-demographic, infotech, economics and politics. It had changed in importance and influence over time as national economies progressed, social institutions arise, media landscape broadened/accelerated, and political structures/ideologies altered.

In the recent political upheaval in the Philippine Senate and the wider political landscape, the availability of real-time information to the social media-savvy Filipinos, exposed the ill motives and actions of the Cayetano-Duterte group. The not-so-sterling characters and personalities of this group, and the obvious hidden motives were not acceptable to the middle class and youth sectors. While the Sotto-BBM group is not also a paragon of virtues, their motives/objectives are more palatable and acceptable, especially if linked to the impending impeachment trial of VP Duterte

While the Philippine economy has slowed down since the Iran war started, and is loaded with problems, it has grown decently in the past years with the residual positive effects ongoing. The BBM government cannot be totally faulted for the recent economic conditions that are still tolerable to majority of the Filipinos, so there is no reason for political destabilization. The people are for strengthening the social/political institutions and are not eager to weaken existing democratic structures.

The current political drama in the Senate has actually some elements of a good story. There are some colorful protagonists, the conflicts are identifiable, sometimes relatable, and sometimes vague. We can conjure a climactic chapter that will lead to a resounding resolution, except that the main characters in the aggressor group are not credible, lacks the charisma and will not get the viewers/readers sympathy. While we cannot expect moral and ethical values from most politicians, the Cayetano group, which includes many who are criminally and civilly charged with various offenses, takes the cake. So righteous indignation, which is an essential ingredient in a good story is not possible.

“Righteous is an adjective describing actions, beliefs, or individuals that are morally right, virtuous and justified. It implies a strict adherence to ethical or divine laws.”