THE ENEMY AMONG US
The state of politics in the Philippines cannot be blamed solely on the politicians. The more painful truth is that the rot begins not only at the top — but also among us.
We have created the very monsters we now despise.
Every election season, we watch as the cycle repeats: people lining up not for principle, but for a few kilos of rice; not for vision, but for a crisp ₱1,000 bill pressed into a waiting hand. It is not the qualified, the competent, or the visionary who wins — it is the one with the deepest pockets and the longest list of debts to collect after victory.
Our Constitution guarantees the right to vote for every Filipino above 18, regardless of education or mental capacity. It is a sacred right — yet it has become a weapon turned against the nation itself. In the hands of the uninformed, the vote becomes currency. And in the marketplace of corruption, that vote is cheap.
We have mistaken democracy for freedom from thought.
We have turned suffrage into an auction.
And in doing so, we have sold not only our future, but our dignity.
The corrupt thrive because we keep them alive. They loot the nation, return every three years with alms disguised as generosity, and are rewarded again with power. Those who once plundered the people’s coffers return as benefactors. Those who crippled progress come back as saviors. And the people — weary, hungry, and conditioned by poverty — take the bait.
Philippine politics remains a business. The capital: money stolen from the public. The investment: rice, promises, and fear. The profit: another term in office, another cycle of impunity.
Until we break this cycle — until we teach our children that a vote is not a commodity but a covenant — the enemy will remain not just in the halls of power, but within our very neighborhoods, in our own hands.
Because the truth we dare not face is this:
The enemy is not only the corrupt politician.
The enemy is the complacent voter.
The enemy is among us.
