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renzzfuentes · 3 years ago

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Kampihan!

Image Credits: PolitiXXX Today

Which faction should you side with – The DDS or Dilaws?

“The early internet may have provided a fluid and unstructured space for debates, and it spreads across the internet once players can move online,” stated Resnick (1998). Users of social media can openly voice their opinions on any topic related to politics. Furthermore, the website allows users to communicate with others who share their viewpoints. Netizens, particularly those on Facebook and Twitter, can share information, voice public opinion, and demand responsibility from the government, political personalities, and socio-political players.

This tendency was particularly noticeable during the 2016 elections when there was a significant divide between President Rodrigo Duterte’s followers, known as the Diehard Duterte Supporters (DDS), and those who did not. As a result of Duterte and his followers’ actions, the main opposition, the Liberal Party, became the target of their outrage. Personalities like Mocha Uson, bloggers, government officials, and Duterte have simplified and popularized this opposition. It allowed them to lump their opponents into a single, clearly identifiable category: dilawans. People who favor Duterte versus those who do not support Duterte are called “DDS” versus “dilawan.”

However, DDS or Dilawan factions are merely social constructs – neither is right nor wrong.

The DDS

Image Credits: Jakarta News

It was formerly known as the “Davao Death Squad,” a vigilante group loyal to Duterte accused of murdering many people in Davao during his stint as mayor. Duterte was accused of masterminding the assassinations to kill political opponents and rid the city of criminal elements without trial. People who voted for him or supported his campaign began to refer to themselves as “Diehard Duterte Supporters.” It was as though they were mocking the allegations while simultaneously declaring that they didn’t care.

The most high-profile, vitriolic pro-Duterte bloggers were given government positions or hired as consultants using public funds. Pro-Duterte propagandists are being given special treatment by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), which includes Malacañang accreditation, government resources, and cash allowances. An interim policy allows pro-Duterte bloggers to continue using profanity in their posts, often targeting administration critics and media. Under the Duterte administration, the bloggers are legitimized through various ways, including access to those in power, consultancy contracts, and “allowances” from the PCOO.

Former sexy dancer and now Duterte staff/influencer Mocha Uson campaigning for President Duterte in 2016. Image Credits: South China Morning Post

Funding has been provided chiefly towards bloggers, according to sources acquainted with PCOO activities, with Martin Andanar favoring his DDS groups. The PCOO relies on these bloggers to track and affect Duterte’s online reputation. It’s a strategy similar to what Duterte’s media strategists employed during his presidential campaign to boost support for the popular President by harnessing online influencers.

Former Duterte influencer, now government official Martin Andanar mentioned that whatever the bloggers were up to during Duterte’s campaign, they’re still up to, now that he’s in office. “It’s propaganda now that they have state support,” a communications expert who worked on the 2016 campaign stated. One insider said, “They also prioritize DDS bloggers over media.” The dictatorship of Rodrigo Duterte continues to distort history and reduce the current political crisis to a fight between “us” and “them,” DDS versus “dilawan.”

Today, being a DDS generically means someone who is a supporter of the President. (u/gradenko_2000 on Reddit) Consequently, according to Contreras (2020), Duterte loyalists proudly label themselves as such. The label started during the campaign and was worn like a badge of honor, used as a rallying point to consolidate the Duterte political base.

Read more on DDS influencers: https://r3.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/178709-duterte-die-hard-supporters-bloggers-propaganda-pcoo

The Dilawans

Image Credits: The Adobo Chronicles

Portrayed since the 2016 election by some as a vote on the PNoy administration’s achievements, critics of Duterte have been referred to as “dilawan,” as in “Liberal Party (LP) loyalist.” For Duterte supporters, seeing resistance to the Duterte administration as a single group was more articulately convenient for them. Unlike the opposition, however, Liberal Party supporters never referred to themselves as such.

“Dilaw” is a Filipino word that signifies “yellow,” the color of the LP, which ruled for six years under then-President Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III before Duterte. Benigno Aquino Jr., PNoy’s father, recalled the song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” from his captivity and exile during the Marcos regime. In 2010, the late Former President and LP selected yellow to revive the color. Furthermore, yellow (and the ribbon) has become part of the party’s identity. In 1986, when then-presidential candidate Corazon “Cory” Aquino used the name Dilaw to describe her campaign, it had a distinct connotation. Because the anti-Marcos coalition donned yellow, it became the color of democracy.

The use of yellow was the LP’s attempt to claim “heirship” to EDSA 1 and Cory’s movement, according to Patricio Abinales, Ph.D., historian, and professor at the University of Hawaii. Former LP presidential and vice-presidential candidates, such as Mar Roxas and now Vice President Leni Robredo, are living proof of this. Similarly, they used yellow in their electoral campaigns. Yellow was also “elitist,” according to Abinales, who claims that Duterte reinterpreted yellow to refer to the billionaires he vowed to remove in line with his populist approach. He also criticized the LP’s inability to appeal to the Filipino people, citing the party’s failure to confront President Duterte’s populism.

For further reading on this faction: https://theguidon.com/1112/main/2020/04/a-tale-of-two-wars/

Why are neither sides right nor wrong, then?

In “Politicians and New Media,” it was mentioned that the relationship between politics and new media is polarized. They are separated into oppositions - the extent to which opinions on an issue are opposed.

Social media is likely to be the most popular venue for expressing political objectives. Netizens can force traditional media to explore and feature specific topics enforced or influenced by netizens. The web is a public forum where people can express their political views and beliefs. While it can be used to report and discuss current events, the authenticity of those who use it may be questioned because they are ordinary people. People may find it simpler to form ideas with the support of their own experiences paired with communicating them in a public setting. This gives people the impression that there are more perspectives on a topic than those offered in the mainstream media. (Siapera, 2018)

Many decent people might identify with one of the two camps. I respectfully disagree, however, that any of the two camps have a stronghold on good citizenship and public service. I realized that some individuals resent being labeled a DDS when someone has at least one positive thing in mind about Duterte. I was also confronted with the same concern just because they are willing to speak out when a critic of Duterte makes a false statement or argument. On the other hand, some people prefer not to be tagged as “Dilawan” because they are willing to condemn the Duterte government despite being rationally or morally opposed to the LP. Both political identities have become disparaging to those who are critical of political worship.

Many people may find it offensive to be referred to as a DDS when praising the President or a “dilawan” when criticizing him. Excessive loyalty to any political faction may be associated with blind idolatry. However, the latter does not apply to everyone who expresses support or criticism.

So, where should we side with?

Controlling how people regard each political party is unavoidable, according to Stephen and Coleman (2009). Political tagging is not a new notion in politics. It has always been a convenient tool for categorizing individuals to be easily controlled, as the morality of a political tag is determined by the position it holds. In the domain of competitive politics, it may be a healthy exercise of free speech as long as the labeling does not become a tool for political persecution and marginalization. It becomes acceptable for as long as it doesn’t infringe on people’s rights.

Therefore, it would be better if we side with no particular group. We must remember that political parties are just a means to an end, namely, realizing democratic national interests. Furthermore, belonging to the DDS or the “dilawan” side does not entail failing to fulfill one’s civic obligations.

In the coming elections, it is high time we put our political identities aside. We should work together for the more significant benefit of our country instead of the advantage of specific factions. It is also time to refer to Filipino citizens as the "Republic of the Philippines," rather than DDS and "dilawan."

References:

Bassig, P.B.; Gabrillo, D.M.; Kho, G.D. (2020, April 24). A tale of two wars. The Guidon. Retrieved from https://theguidon.com/1112/main/2020/04/a-tale-of-two-wars/

Contreras, A. (2020, February 1). Labels and political tagging. The Manila Times. Retrieved from https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/02/01/opinion/columnists/topanalysis/labels-and-political-tagging/678791

Gutierrez, N. (2017, August 18). State sponsored hate: The rise of the pro-Duterte bloggers. Rappler. Retrieved from https://r3.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/178709-duterte-die-hard-supporters-bloggers-propaganda-pcoo

Heydarian, R. (2018, September 4). Neither DDS nor ‘dilaw’. Inquirer.net. Retrieved from https://opinion.inquirer.net/115837/neither-dds-dilaw

Ressa, M.A. (2016, October 8). How Facebook algorithms impact democracy. Rappler. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/facebook-algorithms-impact-democracy

Siapera, E. (2018) Understanding New Media. 2nd Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd.

#DDS #dilawan #philippines #election #philippines election #register to vote #dds vs. dilawan

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riszellira · 2 years ago

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Reflection: Courage!

Today is a good reality check. The reality the Lord speaks about is something that the world has been reeling under through the centuries and millennia. There is no denying that many challenges arise in every imaginable aspect—from climate change to corruption, from terrorism to terrifying calamities. The raging pandemic now counts among those in the topmost of our growing list of concerns.

It is one thing to be aware of reality, but being swamped over by it is quite another. As a counselor, I know the immense consequences of two interconnected things—not being aware of things, and, worse, the incapability or the downright unwillingness to accept the real. The former is simple ignorance. The latter is denial. While the second has further deleterious consequences, the former is not altogether harmless. In this case, ignorance is not bliss.

Merely being informed, however, is not the opposite of ignorance. Social media keeps everyone informed, but every social media savvy guy knows that in this age of info flood, the information passed on is heavily filtered by selective algorithms. If one is a “dilawan,” for example, one sees only news that cater to that political group, and the same is true if one is a DDS(Fox News vs. CNN in the U.S. context).

Today, the Gospel passage gives us an alternative. The Lord counsels us to focus on Him (His person) and His Word. He even acknowledges that He would be left alone when His hour comes, but also proclaims that the Father is with Him. If the question is whether He is in touch with reality, then our answer is a big yes.

But let us now take it one step further. The Lord also tells us to focus on what He says: “that we may have peace.” He adds one more point to give us a greater grasp of reality: “In the world, you shall have distress.”

That hurts. But to be forewarned is to be forearmed. And here is where being formed rather than just being informed comes in handy. What then counts as most important? “Have courage. I have overcome the world.”

~Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

What currently distresses you? How does the Word of God help you overcome your present challenges?

Lord, I need Your Word to help me get through my present trials.

Prayer

… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.

… for the strength and healing of the sick.

… for the healing and peace of all families.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

GOD BLESS!

#reflection #prayer

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