Master of Renege

Word of the day: na-Duterte.

© 2016 Reuters

Ironically, the Filipino people have always been wary of election promises yet at the same time, they are the eternal optimists who can't learn from experience. No matter how unrealistic an election promise is, they still believe it because they want to convince themselves that these politicians will improve their lives. But when post-election reality slaps them in the face, they forget how absurd they are in believing that somehow this time, the outcome would be different. However, almost all the time, “this time” turns out to be yet another disappointment. In psychology, this phenomenon is called “negative expectancy disconfirmation” and surely, many voters—especially those from the LGBTQ—have experienced this upon President Rodrigo Duterte’s full 180-degree turn on his promise of considering legalizing same-sex marriage in the Philippines.

Remember that during his electoral campaign, PRRD endeared himself to the LGBT Community by saying that if he won, he’ll push for the legislation to create a bill that would allow same-sex marriage in the Philippines? He even said that there appeared to be an “error in the Bible” when it said unions must be only between men and women. It should have stated that marriages were for “Adam, Eve and the gays,” earning him an eruption of cheers from the crowd. Now that he’s elected into position, what has he done to fulfill his promise? None—he even practically took a 180-degree turn from his campaign promise when he said that same-sex marriage is not for the Philippines because we are Catholics. Oh, so we’re devout Catholics who live by the words of God written in the bible when talking about the issue of same-sex marriage but when it comes to the issue of extrajudicial killings, reinstatement of death penalty, and pushing for aggressive birth control, we are suddenly not so concerned with what the bible has to say and even appeal for the separation of church and state? This only goes to show that PRRD only invokes the teachings of the church whenever convenient for his agenda and revokes it when it contradicts what he wants to do. Hmm..never knew that the bible could be that convenient.

On the other hand, PRRD’s supporters argued that the president never said that he’s rejecting the idea of same-sex marriage in the Philippines and that these “biased” news sites are twisting the information to suit their propaganda against PRRD. As a matter of fact, during his interview in Nay Pyi Taw, he said that he has nothing against members of the LGBTQ. “If it makes the gays happy, let them be. I do not condemn anybody there. What makes you happy, good; just don’t violate the law, period. If I allow same-sex marriage, then I would have violated the law. But if you ask me, do what makes you happy”. Now he’s citing the Civil Code of the Philippines which states that marriage is only for man and woman yet during his campaign, he expressed openness to possible legislation allowing same sex marriage. However, the people should be careful not to inject into his statements their own wishes for it could really affect how they would interpret the message. In all due fairness to PRRD, he had a clever tactic up his sleeve. He’s saying ambiguous statements—all the while treading on safe water, careful not to have a clear stance on the issue so that whatever he says cannot be used against him. He’s taking advantage of the fact that ambiguous messages could be interpreted in several ways but the people are quick on their feet; although PRRD was careful not to explicitly state his opposition to same-sex marriage, the implicit message content still conveys the same thought.

The latest development on PRRD’s stance on the issue of same-sex marriage is, of course, a big slap in the face for the members of LGBTQ who voted for him last election. But really, what’s new with his conflicting, inconsistent, and rapidly fliip-flopping “rhetoric” statements? Haven’t we gotten used to it by now? After all, it’s the foolishly optimistic voters who are to blame because they believed what PRRD said even if they know that what he said are promises way up in the sky. We should be thankful enough that he promised it in the first place but asking him to fulfill that promise would be too presumptuous and demanding of us, right? Show some gratitude! And oh, by the way, forget about the fancy psychology jargon mentioned above—negative expectancy disconfirmation—we have a modern and simpler term for that: na-Duterte. Na-Duterte tayong lahat.