I don’t want to come back. The past is so bad for me that even the idea of possibly re-experiencing the same things that I had as a child makes me shudder. The people themselves want nothing more than to see this country damned and hurt by the same people who caused their misery. Are we a masochistic people who love being flogged by a select few whose claims to power are their stolen wealth and their names on the ballot?

My family and I have no choice. We live in a democracy. Whatever options my neighbor and the rest of the expected fifty million plus Pinoy voters this May 9 pick, even if those choices differ from mine, I have no option but to suffer with them. The general impression is that most voters would vote for the dictator’s son as president and the daughter of another dictator as vice president. Why do most Filipinos even consider voting for the scions of these men is simply incomprehensible?

The signs are all there—a presidential bet being haunted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for not paying estate taxes worth billions. A vice presidential bet admits to being unfit for the job and would “try to move mountains” to satiate the desire of her legions. Move mountains? Does she mean using every means possible, even unconstitutional and inhumane options, to fulfill her whim? Both bets do not want to be questioned, no shows in debates or discussions of platforms, and worse, both show contempt against the media or anybody that opposes them.

Our predecessors fought against this attitude of being above everybody because of the illusion of being cloaked with power. Sara Duterte once punched a sheriff whose only fault was doing his job. As a lawyer, Sara knows that she, like the sheriff, is an officer of the law. Yet, Sara committed an infraction that failed to merit punishment. She was not even sanctioned by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP). At the same time, other members of the legal profession whose surnames failed to register a heartbeat get penalized or disbarred after getting the ire of a billionaire.

BBM is no lawyer, but he claims to be a political science graduate. As a former senator, BBM vows to follow the rule of law. Yet, by not paying heed to the plea of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to pay the taxes due for the estate of his deceased father, BBM just exhibited contempt for the law. And here, we see thousands of ordinary citizens being punished by the state for not paying the correct taxes. Some are even arrested and thrown in jail due to non-payment of personal loans.

People think that justice often pays for those who have and eludes those who haven’t. Those who pursue correction of lousy behavior merit red tagging, while degenerates are liked and even voted upon by the people. The law was once perceived as a haven for the unwashed masses. Today, the law is being used as a weapon against the very people the government has sworn to protect.

Our people are slowly fragmenting into different and confusing pieces. In our quest to find heroes in our midst, we are being lured into degenerative beliefs that alter our values. Even religious institutions contribute to this retrograde. We are populated by false Christs who manipulate us and use us for their nefarious interests.

Most of those in power see us as willing slaves who must often wear face masks so that we would suffer in silence while they raid the public coffers. We are like those in the matrix who think they live everyday lives when these hapless people are being milked of their essences by mechanistic parasites.

Look at Meralco. The government wants them to pay back 7.8 billion pesos of excess collections. Imagine that. While Meralco pays for time, their customers who failed to pay those humongous amounts they collected during the pandemic suffer in darkness. Talk about fairness.

Look at telecoms. We have the worst telecommunications services globally, yet they still operate and charge us exorbitant amounts. Talk about fairness again.

The worst is yet to come for us. I am dumbfounded listening to people telling me that with the loss of BBM during the vice presidential run and the fantabulous amounts he spent in this election, the possibility of a payback looms. People think BBM will try to maneuver for his family to get out of the BIR mess and for his associates to get back their investments the minute, he is sworn in as president. Yet, most will still vote for him and give him that chance. Why? We are so fucked up.