Senator Bongbong Marcos's safe assertion: Philippines could be Singapore today if not for Edsa I
Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in a recent statement made crack that the Philippines "should have been a Singapore" by now if the Edsa "People Power" "revolution" of 1986 had "not prospered". This is of course debatable and an easy assertion to make since it is by all intents and purposes unknowable and unprovable anyway.But, see, that this assertion is debatable now highlights a revealing point. Back in the lead up to this "revolution" of 1986, to consider the Philippines continuing under the rule of then President Marcos meant pondering the unthinkable. Ask any mid-1980's Filipino schmoe how he or she foresaw the Philippines if Marcos was not replaced, and it is almost certain that his or her reply would describe a bleak scernario -- a Philippines shrouded by darkness and severely stunted economically, its people cowed by fear.
Thus the rallying cry of the time: Tama na, palitan na.
Enough is enough. Let's replace President Marcos.
The thinking there was categorical: Marcos = Failure.
But then fast forward to 2011 and those same words -- shrouded by darkness and severely stunted economically, its people cowed by fear -- can, as it turns out, be said to describe the Philippines today to some reasonable degree.
So whereas an assertion that the Philippines could be a Singapore under the continued rule of Ferdinand Marcos back in 1986 would have elicited a categorical No way!, the same assertion made today would now be considered debatable. From a perceived impossibility, to being debatable -- the point had become moot now that we had proven to ourselves that 25 years of "freedom" from tyranny hardly made a difference as far as our economic fortunes go. We had become a food-insecure, environmentally-devastated, and over-populated country ruled by morons who acquired their office by virtue of the popular vote.
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the 1986 "People Power" "revolution" simply highlights this in-your-face reality about how we over the last quarter century turned what was once thought to be a golden egg into a little brown turd. In the process the once unthinkable alternative presented to us in 1986 -- continued rule under Ferdinand Marcos -- became something that could now be pondered in hindsight.
I would say that if Marcos have not won against Macapagal, what Bongbong was claiming could be highly possible.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. We'd probably be equal to South Korea, not just Singapore.
DeleteLet's admit it!! Marcos made a difference in History up to this day..Wlang makakapagsabi na walang nagawa ang marcos regime kung hindi magnakaw.Sino ba ang hindi magnanakaw ngayon sa gobyerno?? Maraming nagawa ang administrasyon marcos na pinakikinabangan hanggang ngayon ng Pilipinas.
ReplyDelete@Anon: Only THAT!? In fact, INCOMPETENCE is much worse than "stealing". The only mistake that he committed is his love for Imelda. And because of Imelda, well, the rest is history.
ReplyDeleteDeal with it.
Also, kung patuloy pang papalpak si Noynoy, well, si Bongbong ang mananalo sa 2016. :P
ReplyDeletebaka hindi lang singapore ang pilipinas kung hindi napaalis si marcos kung ang pag-uusapan ay kaunlaran... ng mauupo si cory sa pwesto doon nagsimulang mawindang ang pinas economically, morally at politically....noong panahon ni marcos walang ukay- ukay... ngayon lupain na tayo ng ukay-ukay...!!!!!
ReplyDeleteanybody who became president between 1969 and 1972 would have faced that time's democratic threat -- joma sison's communist party of the philippines (which he founded in 1969) much like the insurrection that Trillanes led a few years ago but in a different vein. kaya nga trillanes milked his imprisonment with all his might to come out as the hero. the weird thing is joma is still the leader of his terrorist group/private army to this day pero every time they held rallies thru their cell groups like gabriela and bayan eh they would scream to their lungs the change in presidency.
ReplyDeleteFilipino po ako at nandito ako ngayon sa Singapore, at almost all Filipino here i know is saying Singapore's governance was patterned in Marcos plans for the Philippines, guys kun nandito sano kayo makikita nyo kun ano ka effecient dito, i would say not in high tech way pero talagang disiplinado mga tao dito. Wala ng security guard dito at walang traffic aid,. Imagine nyo lng kun wla sa atin yan ngayon, talagang magkakagulo. In my point of view politiians noon 1986 ay ginamit lng si Marcos para malagay did cla sa pwesto, ayaw kasing madisiplina kun sana inisip nila kinabukasan nang mga anak nila at hindi sarili nila, maunald na sana tayo ngayon
ReplyDeletedo you remember?
ReplyDeletePan Philipine Highway
San Juanito bride
LRT-1
south/north luzon expressway
Cultural Center of the Philipines
Nayong Pilipino
Phil Lung Center
Phil. Heart Center
Phil Childrens Medical Center
UP Bliss
Pag ASA Bliss
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
lahat nito ang Project ni Marcos ang ngayon at ginanamit natin NGAYON.
I agree with Sen. Marcos but i think Philippines could have become more than just Singapore under his father's leadership because President Marcos had brilliant plans for the country and as fact of the matter Lee Kwan Yew, leader of Singapore idolized President Marcos that's why Yew patterned his governance to Marcos' ideology and it really helped Singapore to become what it is today.
ReplyDeleteI dont think so. If Marcos or his cronies would've continued his leadership, we'd be like North Korea by now. Lee Kwan Yew, never idolized Marcos. In fact, if you read Lee Kwan Yew's autobiography about Marcos, he is very critical of Marcos' leadership. Judging Marcos to be charismatic all-talker but no real plan of action for his country. At one point Yew confronted Marcos about this, and Marcos didnt get it what Yew was trying to say. At the end article, Yew disliked Marcos but wrote it in the most politically-correct and diplomatic way possible (in his autobiography). But he did admire Carlos P. Romulo. The whole article he wrote in his autobiography about the Philippines is that Filipinos are greatly skilled and highly-educated, the country used to have a lot of promise in Southeast Asia but it was wasted away by a lousy and tyrannical leadership. Also, to all you uneducated people out there who says that Marcos would have made this country to be the greatest in the region if EDSA did not happen. That is total bull, Lee Kuan Yew made his country great just in 18 years time. Marcos had 20 years, and during those years he made the country from second in Asia to Asia's wastebasket.
DeleteI totally agree with you, aa. I hope more Filipinos are as knowledgeable as you regarding Marcos matters. Mabuhay ka!! I hope you also noticed that a lot of things are propping up Marcos these days. Frankly, they give me the creeps. We all have to be vigilant more than ever!
DeleteI read somewhere that Marcos wouldn't budge to some CIA demand, thus causing the latter to stage a coup against the former. Cory and her revolution was staged, using democracy as a facade to oust Marcos, and silly Pinoys fell for it.
ReplyDeleteso...again palayasin din ang mga Americanong iyan dito sa Pilipinas...huwag patuntungin...alisin ang kanilang /Embassy sa Pilipinas....
ReplyDeletepare kung bibigyan ka ngf visa ng america siguradong payag ka.huwag ang america ang sisihin mo ang maykasalanan ay ang mga komunista at mga [politiko at mga ganid na negosyante .dahil kinukuntrol ni marcos ang kaganiddan nila ,,na mga tangang taong bayan ay naniwala sa news media ng mga lopez ang tingin kong napapatay kay ninoy ay ang mga taong kasama nila sa partido bawi sa ginawa ni ni ninoy na pagpapasabok sa plaza miranda na maraming nasaktan na si marcos ang sinasabi nila may kagawaan ..ano ang naging resulta ng nawala si marcos lalong gumarabe ang mga nakawan sa gobyerno yan ang gusto ng mga nagpaalis kay marcos dahil hindi nila magagawa ito noong panahon ni marcos si enrile ay huwag ninyong iboboto pati narin ang mga anak na kakandidato dahil sya ay traidor kay marcos pati narin si ramos .
Deleteang edsa people power ay dapat na dapat seneselebrate dahil wala namang mabuting nagawa ito sa bayan lalo lang sumama ang lagay ng pinas ang mga ganid na negosyante ay naging biyonaryo ang mga mahirap lalong naghirap .mga politiko at mga military at mga judge yumaman din dumami ang mga ang mga kriminal ang mga npa ay politiko na pati ng rin ang mga muslin na mamamatay ay nasa politiko narin amsgrabe ngayon ang patayan kaysa noong panahon ni marcos ..
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletejust because hindi nagwork ang EDSA sa pagpapaunlad doesn't mean na uunlad tayo kung hindi napatalsik si Marcos. False dichotomy yan. Im pretty sure kung hindi si Marcos ang naging presidente at hindi nagka-martial law, kahit may oligarchy pa noon ay hindi magiging ganito kahirap ang Pilipinas. Bakit nakakalimutan yata ng Pilipino na si Marcos ang nagpa-bankrupt sa Pilipinas. sobrang bankrupt hindi na kayang magrecover as it was before Marcos time. Dagdag pa na si Cory ay wala ring alam sa pagpapamuno. Sa tingin niyo ba kung ang isang negosyo na dati ay sobrang profitable (lets call the company: Friendster) ay nabankrupt na, madali lang ulit ibalik sa dati? Di ko talaga maintindihan kung bakit akala niyo na si Marcos ang nagpayaman sa Pilipinas. In fact, Ang US Commonwealth ang nagpayaman sa Pilipinas at itinaguyod ang demokrasya sa Asya. Si Marcos ang sumira sa lahat ng ito.
ReplyDeleteVery troubling to see most comments here favor Marcos. It was the reverse, He pillaged the PH.
ReplyDeleteU are troubled mr.anonymous? why should u? just keep an open mind about the realities of today and the past i'm pretty sure you'll get through with it and be a fair judge to the man wrongly judged by the wrong minds in '86 and i was hoping u are not one of those one-tracked minded Pinoys.
Deletehttp://asianjournalusa.com/chronology-of-the-marcos-plunder-p10909-67.htm
ReplyDeletePeople only remember the negative because the victors of EDSA (oligarchs) made him into a demon. Cory like everyone else was an opportunist like her husband Ninoy, who died for his political ambition.
ReplyDeleteAng problema ng Pilipinas ay ang mga Pilipino.. likas talaga tayong mga magnanakaw. Ultimong sa barangay ang daming nagpapalusot hanggang sa munisipyo. Ang solusyon? Ipakulong lahat ng magnanakaw at taasan ang sahod ng manggagawa!
ReplyDeleteAt dahil magnanakaw halos lahat! walang makukulong hahaha
DeleteIf Marcos stayed in power, baka hindi lang Singapore ang labas ng Pinas, baka Korea pa nga......
ReplyDeleteNorth Korea nga lang
hahaha
Deletehanef sa twist sa bandang huli
Projects from Marcos regime still exists nowadays...
ReplyDeleteI believe Philippines could follow Singapore under Bongbong Marcos leadership.
ReplyDelete