Welcome to the wheelchair club

By Herman M. Lagon

I knew exactly where the conversation was heading the moment I saw the headline. Not because I am a medical doctor. Certainly not because I know anything about knee replacement surgery beyond what friends and relatives have gone through. I knew because I am Pinoy. Like many Filipinos, I have seen enough political seasons come and go to recognize certain stories the moment they begin. Whether the pattern is real or merely perceived is almost beside the point. It has long become part of the country’s political memory.

The moment reports about Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s knee condition started circulating alongside news about a possible warrant, social media sprang to life. Even after he surrendered, the public reaction barely missed a beat. By then, the public conversation in the traditional and social media had already moved beyond one politician, one knee, or one legal case.

The jokes practically wrote themselves. Some mentioned wheelchairs. Others brought up neck braces. A few joked that the country’s supply of mobility aids might soon be under pressure again. Within hours, people were revisiting old political stories from years ago as if somebody had opened a dusty family photo album.

That reaction fascinated me more than the story itself.

In fairness, Jinggoy, unlike his ally Sen. Bato dela Rosa, eventually surrendered and subjected himself to the legal process. That fact deserves acknowledgment, though not without a presscon that generated its own share of raised eyebrows. Yet what lingered in the public discourse was not the surrender itself but the speed with which people connected the story to a much older political narrative.

After all, most Filipinos are naturally sympathetic people. We visit wakes even when we barely know the deceased. We contribute to fundraising drives for strangers. We pray for neighbors we hardly talk to. We are generally inclined to give people the benefit of the doubt. Yet whenever a powerful public figure suddenly develops a medical problem while facing legal trouble, sympathy often takes a back seat to skepticism.

That did not happen by accident. Nor did it emerge overnight. Over the past two decades, several high-profile controversies became associated in the public mind with wheelchairs, hospital rooms, neck braces, medical bulletins, and health-related accommodations. Many can easily recall the images: Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the election fraud and plunder controversies. Former President Joseph Estrada during his plunder case. Juan Ponce Enrile and Bong Revilla during the PDAF scandal. Renato Corona during his impeachment trial. And Joc-Joc Bolante during the fertilizer fund controversy.

The list goes on. Janet Napoles and Gigi Reyes in the PDAF cases. Carlos Garcia in the military corruption scandal. Leandro Mendoza in the NBN-ZTE controversy. Imelda Marcos in her graft cases. Mike Arroyo during various Senate investigations. Andal Ampatuan Sr. and Andal Ampatuan Jr. in the Maguindanao massacre case.  More recently, discussions surrounding former President Rodrigo Duterte’s health during proceedings related to the International Criminal Court likewise fueled public debate. And Cassandra Ong during congressional inquiries on POGO and her association with Alice Guo. Every case had its own facts and circumstances. Yet fairly or unfairly, these episodes helped shape a political memory that still influences how many of us react whenever a powerful figure cites health concerns while facing legal trouble. At some point, the wheelchair stopped being just a wheelchair. It became a symbol.

I realized that again during a conversation over a simple meal after a seminar. One retired teacher quietly remarked, “Funny how ordinary people become inmates, but powerful people become patients.” Nobody laughed immediately. Not because it was particularly clever. Because it felt familiar. The table erupted in knowing smiles. Everyone understood the reference almost instantly.

Maybe because the joke touched a familiar feeling. The feeling that for most people, life does not pause when things become difficult. The fisherman still sails. The teacher still teaches. The tricycle driver still drives. The vendor still sells. Bills do not wait. Hunger does not wait. Life certainly does not wait. Most would probably tell you that life offers very few exceptions and even fewer privileges. Perhaps that is why many of us view discussions about hospital accommodations through a different lens whenever a prominent public figure is involved.

The jokes are not really about wheelchairs, neck braces, blood pressures, or hospital rooms. More often, they are about how people see fairness. We joke during typhoons. We joke during blackouts. We joke during elections. Sometimes we joke because we are happy. More often, we joke because we are tired.

The memes about wheelchairs and hospital arrest are not really about orthopedic medicine. They are about trust.

Trust is a fragile thing. It disappears quietly. Not all at once. A little today. A little tomorrow. One disappointment here. One controversy there. Eventually, people stop evaluating events individually. They begin viewing new developments through the lens of old experiences.

That is what seems to be happening now.

To be clear, illness is real. Aging is real. Knee problems are real. Anyone who has watched a parent struggle with stairs or seen a loved one wait months for joint replacement surgery understands that these are not matters to be mocked. Human bodies wear down. That is part of life. Compassion should never disappear from public conversations.

Still, the public reaction tells us something worth paying attention to. Even after Jinggoy surrendered, many people remained focused not on the legal development but on the symbolism surrounding the earlier reports about his knee condition. The most revealing part of the story may not be the medical issue itself but the speed with which the public assumed there was a bigger story behind it.

When citizens respond to medical news with political jokes, they are revealing something about how they view institutions. The wheelchair becomes secondary. The hospital room becomes secondary. Even the politician becomes secondary.

Maybe that is why these episodes resonate so strongly.

They touch an old and unresolved question: when accountability finally arrives, does it arrive the same way for everyone?

Senator Estrada’s surrender may have closed one chapter of the story. And one question stays long after the laughs are over. Are we really thinking that accountability is the same for a market seller, for a tricycle driver, for a teacher, or for a senator?

Until we can all answer that question with conviction, the wheelchair will remain much more than just a wheelchair. It will remain uncertain.

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Doc H fondly describes himself as a “student of and for life” who, like many others, aspires to a life-giving and why-driven world grounded in social justice and the pursuit of happiness. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions he is employed or connected with.