Questions we must ask ourselves about Bongbong

The right to vote for our president is a privilege. It is like being given a chance to choose our very own parents.

The Philippines is our family and we are all her children. Thanks to democracy, we are given the opportunity to choose who is to lead us. We must choose the parent who provides the best for us, be it by means of health care, education or housing. A parent who creates the ideal conditions for us to prosper in our chosen fields. Above all, a parent who is sincere, honest, fair and law abiding – one who is a good example of what a respectable Filipino should be.

Bongbong Marcos is leading in the polls. I would not have a problem with this if his lead was gained fair and square. Fact is, Bongbong rebranded himself through lies and disinformation, with court records to prove it. This is why we should question Bongbong’s legitimacy as a candidate and as a person.

Before we make our final decision, we owe it to ourselves to know the facts. As advised by Ateneo professor Ed Garcia, we must ask ourselves the hard questions about Bongbong and form our judgment from there.

First, on Bongbong being a good example to our people, if elected. How can our citizens be enjoined to pay their correct taxes when the father of the nation has been convicted for tax evasion on numerous occasions and still refuses to settle his tax liabilities? How can we be sure that the war on drugs will be carried-out with credibility when the father of the nation is himself an alleged cocaine user? How can the youth be enjoined to excel in academics when the father of the nation lies about his diplomas and even failed basic economics and political science?

How can we be a nation that upholds the truth and how can we be credible to the international community when the father of the nation lies through his teeth at every instance? How can we, the citizenry, expect to be the priority when the father of the nation has prioritized himself all his life? How can we trust a man whose closest allies are convicted plunderers like Gloria Arroyo, Erap and Bong Revilla?

Second, on plunder. Has Bongbong admitted that his family amassed ill-gotten wealth during the presidency of his father? Has he helped the justice system take its course or has he tried to obstruct justice?

The evidence is compelling. In 1986, the New Jersey Superior Chancery Court ruled that the Philippine government has provided sufficient evidence that the monies and properties it recovered from the Marcoses belong to the republic. In January 2009, Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court ruled that the Marcos family kept numerous accounts in Swiss banks.

In 2003, 2012 and 2017, the Philippine Supreme Court decided that plunder was perpetrated by the Marcoses against the Filipino people. From 1986 to the present, the PCGG recovered P174 billion from the Marcoses with billions more under litigation. When the dictator died, Bongbong refused to pay the estate tax of P23.3 billion. Today, with interest and penalties, the amount stands at P203.8 billion.

Despite multiple court rulings, Bongbong still insists that his family never stole a single centavo from the Filipino people. Look, if Bongbong is indeed sincere about his intentions to lead the country with honesty and integrity, the first step should be to own up to the sins of the past. Only after atonement can reparation take place.

But Bongbong has done the opposite. Instead of cooperating with the courts, he continues to deny the existence of ill-gotten wealth and has made every effort to derail the legal process. Neither has he offered to return a centavo to the Filipino people. This reeks of malicious intent to keep the stolen loot.

We should also question how the Marcos family maintains their lifestyle without a legitimate business or source of income. To partake or consume of ill-gotten wealth is equivalent to playing a part in the crime. They are just as guilty as the father.

Third, on human rights abuses. Has Bongbong admitted that human rights abuses took place under the hand of his father? Has he made any effort to do right by the victims?

Let’s examine the evidence. Amnesty International documented 3,257 cases of “salvaged” victims, 35,000 tortured victims and some 70,000 arbitrary arrests during martial law. The Commission of Human Rights dealt with 11,103 human rights victims from the period 1972-1986. In 1995, a US District Court jury ruled in favor of a class action suit filed by human rights victims with damages awarded to them.

The fact that Bongbong has not admitted to the human rights abuses of his father shows a sheer lack of empathy towards the victims. He prefers to defend his father’s grievous sins rather than do the right thing. This makes him as cold, egocentric and ruthless as his father.

This puts to questions the very motives for him seeking the highest office of the land. Is it to right the wrongs of the past, effect socio economic reforms (no policy has been presented by Marcos so far) and build a stronger nation? Or is it to quell all efforts to recover the stolen wealth and vindicate the Marcos name?

In all good conscience, we the Filipino must answer these questions before we cast our vote. Let us not forget what is at stake – our freedoms, our economic wellbeing, our international reputation and the future of our children.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow him on Facebook @Andrew J. Masigan and Twitter @aj_masigan