In a recent Facebook post, Prof. Walden Bello bemoaned what he perceives as the collapse of the so-called “Third Force” following the decision of Senators Bam Aquino, Kiko Pangilinan, and Risa Hontiveros to align with the Senate majority led by a Malacañang ally. His dismay appears rooted in the belief that these three personalities embody the last hope for a genuine alternative to the Marcos-Duterte axis of power.

But herein lies the first critical error: Who anointed these political elites as the vanguard of the people’s aspirations? Who defined this “Third Force” as the domain of the remnants of the Liberal Party and their social-democratic affiliates?

To mourn the demise of a Third Force under their watch is not only analytically flawed—it is politically dangerous. It risks placing the fate of a growing people’s movement into the hands of personalities deeply embedded in the very system they claim to reform.

Reclaiming the Term: What is the “Third Force”?

If we are to speak of a “Third Force,” we must define it not in the language of political survival, but in the lexicon of popular sovereignty. The term cannot—and must not—be reduced to three senators navigating elite coalitions. Instead, it refers to the millions of Filipinos who find themselves outside the two dominant poles of power: the Marcos Restoration and the Duterte authoritarian project.

Survey after survey from Pulse Asia, SWS, and Octa Research consistently reveals that 46–56% of the electorate does not identify with either political bloc. This segment is not marginal—it is the plurality. Composed largely of Filipinos aged 18–45, this “silent majority” reflects the demographic bulwark of the voting population, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and COMELEC.

What do these Filipinos want?

They want what every working-class citizen desires: a life of dignity. A 2024 PCIJ report and a 2025 Publicus Asia survey both identify the top three concerns of Filipinos:
1. Inflation,
2. Low wages
3. Corruption

These are not superficial complaints—they are the symptoms of a system in decay. They reflect a population caught in the gears of a parasitic, neoliberal order where the few feast and the many starve.

Systemic Betrayal, Systemic Demand

If we trace the source of this discontent, we uncover not just economic hardship but a betrayal of trust—a sentiment deeply embedded in our national psyche. As early as 2016, a NEDA study revealed that 79% of Filipinos simply aspire for a “simple and comfortable life,” not ideological utopias or technocratic revolutions.

And while the same population rejects a shift to Federalism (62% opposed per Pulse Asia, 2018**), they are united in demanding a state that functions, a government that delivers, and a system that works. They reject both the populist theatrics of Duterte and the elitist nostalgia of the Aquino years.

In essence, the people demand systemic transformation—not the illusion of reform within a broken framework. And yet, that is precisely what the so-called “Third Force” of Bello, Hontiveros, Aquino, and Pangilinan continues to offer: a rearrangement of deck chairs on a sinking ship.

A Movement in Formation: Signs of Organic Consciousness

Is this 46% organized? Not yet—but it is awakening.

The 2025 elections offered a glimpse of this shift. Candidates like Akbayan , Partido Lakas ng Masa and the Malayang Liberal fared well despite limited resources. Even independent Senate candidates without billion-peso war chests resonated with voters—proof that the electorate is beginning to reject personality politics, patronage, and money-driven campaigns.

This signals the rise of an organic movement, embryonic but real—a New Katipunan, not in name but in essence.

This movement is not animated by tired slogans of “imperialism” and “bureaucrat capitalism,” nor by the technocratic platitudes of the liberal center. It is animated by lived experience, by the daily injustices of a system that fails its own people. It is dialectical, not dogmatic. It seeks not to smash the system overnight, but to force its full development until it gives way to a truly emancipatory alternative.

False Comrades: The Case Against the Liberal Triumvirate

So we return to the central question: Are Bam Aquino, Kiko Pangilinan, and Risa Hontiveros the leaders of this emerging movement?

Absolutely not.

These three remain representatives of the elite liberal consensus. They are figures of the “Dilawan” ancien régime, still wrapped in the glory of the 1986 People Power narrative, yet entirely complicit in maintaining the neoliberal status quo that birthed Duterte in the first place.

In the framework of Bonifacio’s Katipunan, they are not “comrades” (kasama) nor “enemies” (kaaway)—they are opportunistic sympathizers, orbiting around real struggles to preserve political relevance.

To borrow from Emilio Jacinto’s Liham ng Liwanag, these figures represent “ningning” (glitter), not “liwanag” (illumination). They peddle virtue-signaling and nostalgia, rather than vision and commitment. Their allegiance lies not with the suffering masses, but with the survival of the political order.

And until they actively break from that order, they cannot—and must not—be mistaken as the standard-bearers of the people’s cause.

Bayang Sawi: A Nation Still in Darkness

Let us recognize that our present condition is what the Katipunan describes as “Bayang sawi.” This is the condition which began during colonialization but did not end when we achieved political independence in 1946.

Hermegildo Cruz in his Kartilya book, describes the Katipunan Revolution of 1896 in two stages: the first stage is the attainment of Kalayaan which we already achieved when we attained full political independence in 1946. Cruz says the Katipunan revolution did not end there—it remains until the condition of a Bayang sawi has been changed or eradicated. This eradication can only happen when the Filipino people has achieved a state of Kaliwanagan or “enlightenment.”

Let us end where true revolution begins: with poetry. The condition of the Filipino nation—Bayang Sawi—was etched by Francisco Balagtas and made real in the cries of every betrayed citizen.

“Sa loob at labas ng bayan kong sawi, Kaliluha’y siyang nangyayaring hari, Kagalinga’t bait ay nalulugami,Ininis sa hukay ng dusa’t pighati.”

Kaliluhan—treachery. This is the affliction at the heart of our republic. Not just by dictators or demagogues, but by elites across the spectrum who, time and again, betray the masses in exchange for power.

Bayang Sawi is the logical consequence of a people denied their birthright by those they trusted. Political independence in 1946 did not end our suffering because betrayal became systemic.

And yet, within the Sinakulo and the Black Nazarene, in the stories passed from generation to generation, the Katipunan’s dream lives on. It has not died. It has only evolved.

Towards Kaliwanagan: The Real Struggle Ahead

Prof. Bello is right to lament the state of the nation—but wrong to place hope in the wrong hands.

The path forward is not through old elites in new clothes. It is through the people themselves—organized, enlightened, and committed to a systemic transformation that goes beyond slogans and senate alliances.

To finish the revolution of 1896, we must complete the second phase of the Katipunan struggle: from Kalayaan to Kaliwanagan.

Let the so-called Third Force emerge—not from above, but from below. Not from glitter, but from light. Let the Bagong Katipunan rise—the true Filipino movement that the traditional politicians from the entrenched political parties tried to kill since the establishment of this Republic. And Artikulo Onse is a step towards the fulfilment of the Katipunan revolution.

Sources:
Pulse Asia 2018 Charter Change Survey](https://pulseasia.ph/june-2018-nationwide-survey-on-charter-change/)
NEDA 2040 Development Study](https://2040.depdev.gov.ph/2016/06/08/almost-eight-of-every-10-filipinos-aspire-for-a-simple-and-comfortable-life-in-2040-study)
PCIJ 2024 Report on Voter Concerns](https://pcij.org/2024/12/22/fighting-corruption-tops-voter-concerns-but-senate-bets-hounded-by-scandals-lead-surveys)
Publicus Asia June 2025 Survey](https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/07/09/news/corruption-economy-inflation-most-pressing-concerns-of-filipinos-survey/2145970)
Armingol, Kevin P. Si Balagtas at ang Pagsasakatuparan ng “Bayang Natimaua” ng Rebolusyon ng 1896. Malay 31(2): 60–70.