Old is new, new is old

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

The more things change, the more they stay the same. We started out as a jumble of fiefdoms ruled by petty chieftains in pre-colonial times. Our society has always been tribal, and it reflects up to the present time. There is no sense of nationhood nor a shared identity other than our immediate families, village or townmates, or linguistic groups. Thus, we are Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Bisayans, Bicolanos, Pangalatoks, Chavacanos, etc.

No wonder the Spaniards easily conquered the archipelago, village by village, island by island. Only the Muslim South was able to resist conquest, and they kept up the resistance up to the end of the Spanish rule and even braved the Americans.

Within this society, the colonizers kept control with the aid of the erstwhile rulers, the datus and their families, since there were few peninsulares around to run the country. Thus, the feudal structure of old was maintained, and this ruling class has since kept control over the other natives.

This is the comprador class, the “natives of a colonized land that are ‘bought’ by the colonizers, a relatively privileged, wealthy and educated elite… introduced by colonial domination, and who may be less inclined to struggle for local cultural and political independence” (Ashcroft et al 2001. The Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts. London: Routledge).

This co-optation is a recurring theme in Philippine history. No sooner than a regime change comes, this elite class takes advantage. Witness how the Philippine Revolution unfolded. When the tide turned in favor of the Katipuneros, the compradors subverted it from within, causing a schism that tore apart the leadership of the Katipunan along tribal lines.

As soon as the Americans took over, they were there to support the new colonizers. With their education and access to the educational system set up by American missionaries, they quickly learned English, thus cementing their social and economic status under the new regime.

The granting of independence saw the further entrenchment of the comprador class, which, even as it dominated the economic scene, started political dynasties that tightened their stranglehold on the toiling masses with patronage politics. They developed an attitude of mendicancy among their poor constituents by being ninong/ninang in baptisms and weddings, or by giving contributions at wakes. Calamities were mere opportunities to show off their generosity by doling out relief goods, with their names and photos plastered all over the packaging.

The feudal lord-serf relationship is perpetrated by the lack of education of the majority of the masses, because they don’t have the resources to put their children through school, and many of those who get to primary and secondary schools drop out early to work and contribute to family incomes. Ignorance lends itself well to a resigned fate.

Poor folk do not ask for much, since they are inured to hardships. Therefore, they are overcome with deep gratitude for any blessings that come their way, and they repay these by voting the congressman, mayor, councilor, and these officials’ family members into office come every election year. Thus are political dynasties born.

Political power comes with the means and opportunities to further enrich themselves through corrupt practices and to deny political opponents the means to unseat them. The almost unlimited sources of income (from public funds) mean they can continue their dole outs at no expense to themselves in order to perpetrate this vicious cycle of corruption-dole-outs- dynasticism-corruption.

Nowadays, their repertoire has expanded to mind conditioning via social media and troll armies that sing paeans to their wondrous nature and destroy the reputations of political adversaries.

Thus, we have a former senator in detention for trumped-up charges of drug trafficking by means of convicted felons making allegations of drug dealing with her but who have since recanted their testimonies. Despite all the recantations, the Department of Justice refuses to drop the charges and blocks the presentation of the recanted witness, leaving the hapless senator in jail for over 5,000 days since then.

Meanwhile, the scion of a political dynasty gets arrested in flagrante for drug smuggling, and the news only came out two days later, ostensibly to prepare for his defense both in court and on social media.
He will, of course, be accorded all his legal rights to defend himself in court, whereas summary justice by extra-judicial execution is usually the fate of lesser mortals.

Our feudal system really hasn’t changed since the time of Rajah Sulayman, I guess.