Half-full

By Artchil B. Fernandez

What’s next?

This is the existential question that confronts the Pink Movement unleashed by the candidacy of Vice President Leni Robredo. The election loss of the vice president is heart-breaking to the members of the movement.  However, there is a silver lining in this depending on how they look at the situation. The Pink Movement can look at the glass as half-empty or half-full.

Looking at the glass as half-empty magnifies the loss and gives a negative view of what happened. It can lead not only to disappointment and distress but to a worse consequence – apathy.

Seeing the glass half-full gives a fresh and new perspective on the experience of being part of a political movement. One of the significant if not the most significant aspect of the Pink Movement is unleashing the spirit of volunteerism. Never before since the 1986 snap election has volunteerism been harnessed in a political campaign.

In the case of the Pink Movement, volunteers sprouted all over the country to join the Pink Movement driven by the desire for good, honest and competent governance. Tens of thousands took part in the campaign of Vice President for free, almost all of them spending their own money and resources. This phenomenon has never been witnessed by the country for over thirty years.

Volunteers gave their time, resources, and effort to push the agenda of good governance.  They conducted house-to-house campaigns, crossed rice fields, rivers and streams, and even climbed mountains to win over people to their cause.

The spirit driving the volunteers is unmatched in this election. The enthusiasm of the volunteers is unrivaled. They turned out in hundreds of thousands in mass gatherings, giving political rallies a unique flavor. Pink rallies have a fiesta atmosphere that resembles more like a pop concert than a political event. Passionate participants came not only to hear the gospel of good governance but to dance to its beat. The collective effervescence of Pink rallies has created a special bond among the participants.

Aside from the spirit of volunteerism, the Pink Movement has awakened and moved the youth, particularly the students and young professionals to take part not only in political discourse but to be politically active. Prior to the election campaign, these segments of the population have been viewed as apathetic, apolitical, and even hedonistic. These perceptions have been proven wrong in the last election. The youth of this country are concerned and involved. They are mindful of the country and its future.

The passion of the young for good governance bodes well for the future of this nation. Their desire and thirst for leaders who are honest, credible, with integrity, and competent reveal the young in this country care about governance and have a vision of what kind of leadership this country needs to move forward. They have shown that contrary to popular opinion, the youth of the country are not easily swayed by black propaganda, fake news, disinformation and misinformation.

Involvement of the young in the campaign of Vice President Leni Robredo is an experience of a lifetime, something that they will carry for the rest of their lives. The experience will definitely define their political views and positions in the future. If a generation of young people defined themselves through their involvement in the First Quarter Storm and another generation was defined by the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, the current generation of young people was shaped by the Pink Movement. They can be a potent political force in the future as the country defines its moral mooring.

Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the Pink Movement is unlocking the energy of the middle class by harnessing and deploying it to effect change in the political landscape. Energizing the middle force to take the center stage in politics not only in shaping the discourse but to effect leadership change is an extraordinary achievement of the Pink Movement. It may have fallen short in numbers but it galvanized 15,035,773 and this number is huge. Dismissing this number is erroneous if not outright arrogant.

The more than 15 million mobilized and electrified by the Pink Movement is a constituency for change and good governance. The challenge now to the Pink Movement is how to utilize and channel the zeal of this powerful electorate beyond the election. If the Pink Movement can maintain the fervor of this sizeable portion of the voters, it can remain not only relevant in the coming years but can be a formidable opposition force.

Even if it has lost in the election, the Pink Movement should not concede the political space to the winner. An opposition is vital in a democracy, especially an engaged one. The new administration must be held accountable to the people in words and in deeds and this is only possible with a vibrant opposition.

The incoming administration promised the moon and the stars to the public – 20 pesos/kilo rice, lower price of gasoline and diesel, transforming the Philippines into Singapore, the return of a mythical “golden age” wherein the fiction Filipinos lives in prosperity. Those who gave these promises must be made answerable and challenged to be true to their words.

There is an opportunity in defeat and if the Pink Movement plays its cards well, the loss is an opening for a political break in the near future. The prospect is there as the incoming administration will be hard-pressed to fulfill its glorious and splendid promises. People, especially those who believed in the sweet talk of the next leaders will be asking for results sooner than later. With big mandates come great expectations which can easily turn to frustration.

Members of the Pink Movement should take heart. If they look at the glass half-full, the loss is not a loss at all. They have made immense political gains and if utilized wisely can be used to turn the tables on the other side.