Wazzup Pilipinas!?
In one viral reel of Vice President Sara Duterte—posted by a single pro-Duterte vlogger—the numbers spoke louder than any fiery debate on social media: almost half a million likes, and counting. Just one reel. Just one content creator. And yet, it resonated with hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in a way that most progressive messaging never comes close to achieving.
This is the uncomfortable truth that many Filipino leftists and self-proclaimed progressives refuse to acknowledge: the Dutertes are not merely propped up by trolls, bots, or disinformation machinery. They are, in fact, genuinely loved by millions of ordinary people. Survey after survey, election after election, the numbers have made this painfully clear. To deny it is not just wishful thinking—it is political blindness.
Politics is More Than Facts
The left often prides itself on being the “enlightened” side, armed with facts, data, and the moral high ground. But politics has never been about facts alone. It is also about belonging, about emotion, about class solidarity—or, in the case of the Philippines, class resentment.
When progressives mock the so-called DDS, dismissing them as uneducated trolls or “bobotantes,” they reinforce the very narrative that populists like the Dutertes thrive on: the belief that the educated, urban, middle-class “pinklawans” look down on the poor, sneer at their choices, and shame their politics.
Every insult hurled at the masa is recycled as fuel for populist fire. Every sneer from a progressive only deepens the divide.
The Dangerous Divide of Class Hatred
The tragedy is that both sides are working-class at their core. The tricycle driver, the market vendor, the BPO worker—they are not enemies of the teacher, the activist, or the NGO volunteer. But the system thrives when they are divided, when political discourse is reduced to colors, factions, and tribes.
Progressives may feel smarter, more politically aware, more “woke.” But the working poor feel something different: they feel seen by the Dutertes. They feel heard in the rhetoric of strong leadership and unapologetic toughness. They feel respected, even when that respect is more performative than transformative.
That emotional connection is far more powerful than a fact sheet or a PowerPoint presentation about governance failures.
Outnumbered and Outmaneuvered
The blunt reality is this: progressives are outnumbered. No matter how noble the ideals or righteous the cause, no movement can move forward without the consent of the very people it claims to fight for.
And yet, the left continues to talk about the masa rather than with them. Worse, many talk down to them. This is not only counterproductive; it is self-sabotage.
If you truly want change, if you want to dismantle systems of inequality and injustice, then you must first listen. You must respect lived experiences as much as you respect academic analyses. You must recognize that the masa are not passive recipients of your wisdom, but active agents of their own political will.
A Call to Humility and Unity
The cycle will never end until the Filipino left learns this crucial lesson: educating the masses is not about condescension. It is about conversation. It is about creating solidarity without shaming, about building bridges without belittling.
The masa can teach progressives as much as progressives can teach the masa. Only in that exchange—humble, mutual, and sincere—can a real movement for progress be built.
Because the truth is simple, if hard to swallow: facts may win arguments, but emotions win people. And until the left understands that, the Dutertes—and leaders like them—will continue to dominate Philippine politics.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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