The Decaying Illusion of Democracy

by Nikki Shane Pillejera

One year ago, COMELEC saw thousands of Filipinos flock their offices —faces marred with anger, convinced that electoral fraud was involved in the 2022 Philippine Elections. With placards and signages in hand, the people took their demands to the streets: accountability for failing to protect the integrity of the national elections.

Today, these calls still echo. And with the realization of its deeper implication, that perhaps the events leading up to and following the electoral results were telltale signs of the cracks in our democracy, some had rightfully begun demanding for more.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗲: 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

In biology, the first stage of decay is the destruction of cells by its own enzyme, occurring immediately after death. Parallel to this, the false hope promised by the Marcos-Duterte regime started peeling away almost instantly after the official results were released. This was of their own doing. Their inactions had caused their own destruction.

Looking back, almost nothing could be recalled from their first few months in office, which in hindsight hinted at how the administration would ;ater lead. Apart from the lavish parties Marcos and his family kept throwing in the Malacañang alongside his frequent vlog updates —so frequent, that one would think he was a full-time-vlogger-part-time-head-of-state instead of the other way around— he did virtually nothing. In his first 100 days, all he accomplished was the SIM registration act and an impressive amount of debt. Government positions also lacked appointees for the longest time. Even I, a habitual procrastinator, had done more work during that timeline.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝘄𝗼: 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

The next stage is when enzymes leak and produce gases, leading to bloating. In the decay of their illusory democracy, as they grew complacent of their power, they became careless with their statements. In January 2023, incumbent president and son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that his participation in politics was for his family's survival. He recalled their exile and described it as their “dark days,” as if their being thrown out the country was not because of the grave suffering that they inflicted to the Filipino people; one exponentially worse and undeserved unlike their banishment.

His words only confirmed what many already speculated: that junior's run can be traced all the way back to his father’s downfall. The preparation for their return? Decades in the making. It affirmed the doubts of those initially suspicious of the legitimacy of their win, that we were cheated. Maybe not through convenient tactics like pre-shaded ballots or faulty vote-counting machines, but in remaking collective memory and distorting history, we were cheated still.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲: 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘆

In the last stage, fluids exit the body and the cadaver loses most of its mass. Though born of dirty tactics, the 31 million behind their victory are still 31 million real people making up most of their faux democracy’s weight. It is their belief that validates it and sells the story. But take them away, and only smoke and mirrors will remain. These groups are not our enemies but the key to complete the process of decay. Once they detach from the illusion, the illusion will die.

Thus, it is crucial not to cause further divide. While many are unfazed, some are gradually realizing that the regime is not what it claims to be; with a year into the term and their promises unfulfilled. Perhaps most notable among these promises is the myth of the 20-peso-per-kilo rice. Instead of fighting among ourselves, we must remember the real enemy. The 31 million are victims of this regime just as much as the rest of us; we eat the same grains of rice after all.