The game of politics in our country is truly an interesting art form—a sarswela politika which has been developed through the years ever since the very first electoral exercise our country experienced after having been granted a token independence by the United States. Although the political sarswela follows a certain script pattern, it also suffers upgrades from season to season in its aesthetics of deception as time flies by.
Yes indeed, ever since the first electoral exercise that enthroned President Manuel A. Roxas along with other members of the first batch of Trapo politicians in power, we have been fed with sarswela shows in our political life as a nation. The over-all design of this sarswela politika is to create an aura of “democratic-ness” in our political system,. As such it is also a distinct stage show genre—it is essentially a farce.
The electoral season has all the trappings of a stage play that follows an established plot. And the actors must render their excellence in playing their roles—most often as comical characters in hilarious display of worn-out witticisms and adlibs scripted through decades of repeat performances.
The campaign period witnesses the scene after scene of character assassination and all those mudslinging tirades—much like the exchange of fist blows between pugilists in the ring. Who are the principal players of the play? The main protagonists of the sarswela are the candidates from the administration and the opposition parties. They appear alternately onstage to actualize their pleasurable acts, flavored with speeches that do not give the electorate their vision of a future society, but hollow promises and abstract phrases of “matuwid na daan”, “magandang buhay”. etcetera et cetera.
But the main entertainment dish in their campaign menu is the “demolition speech” that lambasts the political opponent with all imaginable demonizing terms to the great entertainment pleasure of the crowd who wants more and more of it. And the protagonist, the momentary hero or heroine of the scene, heightens the appetite for hilarity and raucous laughters and giggles with the introduction of a “comic relief” that invariably consists of a pre-climactic “Bomba Nyor!” from the highly agitated crowd. And the candidate obliges until the deepening hours of evening, his mouth bubbling with a litany of supposed sins and crimes of the opponent.
One of these comic reliefs presents a non-sensical parody or what constitutes an acute ridicule of how politicians during election campaigns conduct themselves. And so, in a political rally –
POLITIKO: [To his crowd of listeners] Magtukod ko dinhig tulay! [I will construct a bridge here!]
CROWD: [Shouts in chorus]: Pero Nyor! Walal may suba dinhi! [But Nyor, there is no river here!]
POLITIKO: [Triumphantly] Magtukod kog suba! [I will construct a river!] And the crowd applauds extravagantly.
Lo and behold! But the sarswela in Philippine politics is more creative than one can imagine. In keeping with more current development in aesthetics, such conventions and inventions of theatre arts techniques have also been adopted in political games of deceit. And so, the “play within a play”, and or the “magical realism”, and or the “postmodernistic style” has found its currency in our sarswela politika.
See how the creative political directors of President Noynoy have adroitly scripted the “sarswela within a sarswela” in the current political rigmarole in our country. It has contrived a new deceptive element. In the guise of projecting an image of sincerity in its campaign against corruption, the stage managers of Noynoy opens a new dramatic eksena that shows the DOJ and the Ombudsman in their simultaneous acts of presenting the so called Third Batch of government officials that includes administration cabinet members and legislators allied with Malacanang as involved in corruption/plunder cases of Janet Napoles. And Malacananag did not take long in announcing forth with that this is to show that the matuwid na daan is a no nonsense policy. In other words there is reason to surmise this is part of a ploy to give a semblance of credibility to the much vaunted “matuwid na daan” banner slogan of Malacanang.
Well, it remains to be seen whether this latest propaganda ploy of the Noynoy government will succeed as an acceptable element of the sarswela. Or it will just be junked as useless or “wa epek”.
But it is good to listen to what some observers with seeming perspicacity say, to wit –
1) “Political propaganda of the administration people to make it appear to the people specially the voting public that they are truly the tuwid na daan but look after several hearings by the Ombudsman all of the allies of the administration will be declared innocent. Siyempre p apano paniniwalaan ang Pangulo ng Pinoy kung hindi sila gaga wa ng paraan at maaring may mg a Sacrificial Lamp na masabit pero at the end of the day it is still a sarswela in the making.”
2) “Para nga naman lumabas na seryoso ang LP leadership ni PNoy. Political strategy lang yan para kayo m aniwala at iboto si Roxas sa d arating na 2016 election.At the end, of the day all of these alleged corrupt officials belonging to LP coalesed party will be exonerated the soonest possible time not even reaching the start of the election campaign. But for the opposition they would never see that day since their cases will be heard slower than the walk of a turtle.”
3) “Kunwari at palabas lang yan. Ang dali naman ninyong mani wala. Nabitag agad kayo ni PN oy.. Ilang hearing lang yan an g resulta lahat sila absuwelto dahil kapartido ng Liberal P arty. Lol.”
4) “It’s illegal documents for them to sign personally, so they used closed relatives and friends to signed for them to avoid being detected, planado na yang FORGED..na yan..di kami BOBO!! Aminin nyo na..”
The magical realism as another dramatic element concocted by the administration geniuses inserted in the current sarswela refers to the inclusion of TESDA Director Joel Villanueva. And here is what commenters say, as follow:
1) Most probably we will hear the familiar line : …Sec Joel still has my full trust and confidence…In other words, acquitted immediately.
2) Most likely Joel Villanueva will be acquitted from what he is being charge, because he is a friend of the president, this is just for show, that even a president’s friend can be charge.
3) He has nothing to worry about …He is one of king Aquino’s untouchables. Same as M(a)r. Corruption alive and well. Thanks to the uneducated voters. Abu for you 2016 🍴🐷
This political sarswela as a fundamental prop of our country’s socio-political system is what engenders and nurtures the “patronage politics” that has consigned our nation to the pit of political immaturity and cultural backwardness. And certainly, economic underdevelopment.
And after the last scene of the show, and the curtain falls, the stage remains an eloquent image of emptiness and stagnation in societal growth or development. No matter that it entails huge huge amount of money from the national coffers. And no matter that the producers, directors, stage managers and players are seasoned practitioners in the show production, season after season after season of our hapless life and existence as a nation.
To put it bluntly, “The people is fooled all the time every time. . . forevermore”.
