This piece was written in 1998, just a few days after the presidential elections which catapulted Erap to the Palace-by-the-River. I am reprinting it for the same reasons that moved me to write it a decade ago. Obviously, Erap is still Erap - the Sandiganbayan's verdict finding him guilty of plunder notwithstanding.
THE MASSES: A PEEK INTO ERAP’S LEGIONS
“‘What is your name?’ Jesus asked (the demoniac). ‘My name is Legion,’ he answered,‘for there are many of us.’”
(From the Gerasene Demoniac, Mk. 5:9-10)
The election of Joseph “Erap” Ejercito Estrada to the presidency highlights the emergence of a “new” ruling class -- the masses. Credit – or blame – is being lavished on them. If Corazon “Cory” Aquino was catapulted to the presidency by People Power and Fidel V. Ramos by the anointment and popularity of Cory Aquino (and some say by “Dagdag-bawas”), Erap is brought to the Palace-by-the-River by the “Eraption” of votes courtesy of the masses.
The masses, the legions, the hoi polloi, the masa, the bakya crowd in the GenX jargon, the “herd” according to the father of Existentialism Soren Kierkegaard, and, as many will argue, the Proletariat -- who are they?
In survey-speak, class A and class B are the elite, class C are those from the middle class, class D are the poor, and class E are the very poor or the destitute. In the Social Weather Stations (SWS) exit poll conducted just a few days before the May 11 elections, Erap got 52 percent from among the combined class DE which compose the majority of voters, and 18 percent from the A, B, and C classes. These evidently, are Erap’s masa.
Who are the Erap masa?
1. From the ranks of the poor. The Erap masa, first and foremost, belong to the ranks of the poor -- 52 percent from class DE and 18 percent from class ABC. The SWS national survey of April 1997 revealed that 58 percent of families classified themselves as poor. This is about 7.75 million families. It is further estimated that there are at least 2.3 million families of self-rated poor in class E, 5.2 million families in class D and 250,000 families in the A, B, and C classes.
Erap knew this and in fact exploited this. He seized a populist theme – “Erap para sa mahirap” – and bannered pro-poor slogans like “Kontra sa pagtaas ng presyo!” and “Trabaho para sa Pilipino!” He projected himself and created the illusion of himself as pro-poor and approachable, riding on the image of Pinoy jeepney (“Jeep ni Erap”) to create the image of a “Maka-Pinoy,” employing pro-poor and pro-people rhetoric although he did not offer any concrete program for alleviation of poverty or redistribution of wealth and although his records as Mayor of San Juan and Senator and Vice-President of the republic attest that he foisted the worst anti-people and anti-poor policies on the people.
Erap himself is not from the ranks of the poor. His social background shows he belongs to the elite affluent class. He was an Ateneo dropout and was never a part nor acquainted with the ways of the great unwashed or toiling proletariat
And yet Erap created the illusion that he was from the ranks of the poor and is pro-poor, not only because the poor are numerous but also because of the power of bread and circus over a poor man’s brain. If there is anything that Erap has proved, it is the fact that with a little entertainment, plus a little amount, one can easily seduce a poor man’s sanity. You think Erap will try to alleviate the condition of the masses? That’s like putting them out of trance into the world of reality, much like putting Alice out of wonderland. Erap can bless them instead and wish that their tribe increase.
2. From the ranks of the less educated. Secondly, the Erap masa came from those who had less education. In the SWS January 1998 poll, Erap had only 9 percent of followers from among college graduates while he had 37 percent from among those who were at most elementary school graduates.
Erap again knew this and easily identified himself as their hero. Of course he didn’t have to project himself as an intellectual pygmy to be able to identify himself with the less educated. He simply had to be himself and bring this personal ineptitude to his advantage by supporting the publication of “Erap Jokes.”
But how will Erap solve the problem of education – or the lack of it? “Nemo dat quod non habet,” says a Latin dictum. No one can give what he does not have.
3. From those who have reasons to resent. Thirdly, the Erap masa are those who have been waiting too long to have a larger share of the benefits of economic growth since the late 1960’s up until today. They are the people who were bypassed by the different successive administrations for the sake and in the name of the benefits of development enjoyed by the rich and the middle class. They are the people who have been most greatly victimized by the world-record-holder thievery and self-serving cronyism of the Marcos dictatorship, by the greed of Kamag-anak Incorporated and ineptitude of the Aquino administration, the people who were left behind by the growth-accented economic policy of the Ramos administration, the very people who were neglected in their striving to get past their impoverishment.
Erap exploited this strong undercurrent of resentment by the poor to his own advantage. He captured their disgruntlement and portrayed himself as one who echoed the frustrated aspirations of the underclasses who in turn, perhaps because of their utter desperation, responded to the demagogic appeals of a populist politician molded over the years by the silver screen as the champion of the poor and defender of the underdog. Erap tapped these frustrations even though his themes were ambiguous and were not amplified by concrete programs.
It is in this sense, and only in this sense, that one can advance the theory of a “protest vote” during the May 11 elections. The Erap masa were tired of politicians and politicking, they sought for a messiah. For people whose visions have been blurred by hunger and empty promises of food, for people who could no longer see the divide between reel and real life, Erap, portrayed as the defender of the underdog by the silver screen, was the very clear answer – the knight in shining armor, the modern-day Moses, the Christ. Erap was the answer to their protests, ergo, their votes went to Erap.
4. Mesmerized by the silver screen. Fourthly, the Erap masa are people who were easily hypnotized by the silver screen, people who couldn’t see the divide between reel and real life, who see actors’ roles as an extension of what they are in real life, and what they are in real life as an extension of their roles.
Erap again exploited this and rode on the grand illusion mounted by his movies, capitalizing on the seduction exerted by the silver screen. Image, show biz, popularity -- they are the things that count in our “politics of personality,” they are the things that create the illusion of Erap as the Superman of the Philippines.
Our quotation from the Gerasene Demoniac is relevant in an obvious sense: The Erap masa are possessed by a kind of demon – the evil of illusion. The Erap masa voted for a myth, for an illusion, for a make-believe, for a pale shadow of reality. The immediate need and cure is a kind of exorcism.
How then exorcise the Erap masa?
Erap’s popularity has a lot to do with the “masa’s” dissatisfaction with their own economic lot as well as with their affection for entertainers. He is popular because he exploited the “masa’s” disgruntlement through his own form of circus. Not because he stokes the fires of rebellion among the “masa” - far from it - but because he douses them. A lesson is therefore clear: So long as the divide between the rich and poor remained or grew, so long will the Estradas of the world arise. So long as there are bitter resentments from below, so long will populist leaders arise. In the same manner, so long as we vote a person into public office for being a myth, so long will reforms in our country be an empty myth. Indeed, so long as we think of Philippine politics as one great moviehouse, so long will our leaders not do anything although they may act as though they are doing something. Acting, yes, that will be the word that will best describe our government.
The story of the Gerasene Demoniac proceeded with the demons asking Jesus to “send us to the pigs, let us go into them” (Mk. 5:13). Perhaps there is nothing more apt today than to ask our newly elected – and re-elected – officials: You want to exorcise the Erap masa? Then send the poor the pig.
Or perhaps more succinctly, give them your pork!
(From the Gerasene Demoniac, Mk. 5:9-10)
The election of Joseph “Erap” Ejercito Estrada to the presidency highlights the emergence of a “new” ruling class -- the masses. Credit – or blame – is being lavished on them. If Corazon “Cory” Aquino was catapulted to the presidency by People Power and Fidel V. Ramos by the anointment and popularity of Cory Aquino (and some say by “Dagdag-bawas”), Erap is brought to the Palace-by-the-River by the “Eraption” of votes courtesy of the masses.
The masses, the legions, the hoi polloi, the masa, the bakya crowd in the GenX jargon, the “herd” according to the father of Existentialism Soren Kierkegaard, and, as many will argue, the Proletariat -- who are they?
In survey-speak, class A and class B are the elite, class C are those from the middle class, class D are the poor, and class E are the very poor or the destitute. In the Social Weather Stations (SWS) exit poll conducted just a few days before the May 11 elections, Erap got 52 percent from among the combined class DE which compose the majority of voters, and 18 percent from the A, B, and C classes. These evidently, are Erap’s masa.
Who are the Erap masa?
1. From the ranks of the poor. The Erap masa, first and foremost, belong to the ranks of the poor -- 52 percent from class DE and 18 percent from class ABC. The SWS national survey of April 1997 revealed that 58 percent of families classified themselves as poor. This is about 7.75 million families. It is further estimated that there are at least 2.3 million families of self-rated poor in class E, 5.2 million families in class D and 250,000 families in the A, B, and C classes.
Erap knew this and in fact exploited this. He seized a populist theme – “Erap para sa mahirap” – and bannered pro-poor slogans like “Kontra sa pagtaas ng presyo!” and “Trabaho para sa Pilipino!” He projected himself and created the illusion of himself as pro-poor and approachable, riding on the image of Pinoy jeepney (“Jeep ni Erap”) to create the image of a “Maka-Pinoy,” employing pro-poor and pro-people rhetoric although he did not offer any concrete program for alleviation of poverty or redistribution of wealth and although his records as Mayor of San Juan and Senator and Vice-President of the republic attest that he foisted the worst anti-people and anti-poor policies on the people.
Erap himself is not from the ranks of the poor. His social background shows he belongs to the elite affluent class. He was an Ateneo dropout and was never a part nor acquainted with the ways of the great unwashed or toiling proletariat
And yet Erap created the illusion that he was from the ranks of the poor and is pro-poor, not only because the poor are numerous but also because of the power of bread and circus over a poor man’s brain. If there is anything that Erap has proved, it is the fact that with a little entertainment, plus a little amount, one can easily seduce a poor man’s sanity. You think Erap will try to alleviate the condition of the masses? That’s like putting them out of trance into the world of reality, much like putting Alice out of wonderland. Erap can bless them instead and wish that their tribe increase.
2. From the ranks of the less educated. Secondly, the Erap masa came from those who had less education. In the SWS January 1998 poll, Erap had only 9 percent of followers from among college graduates while he had 37 percent from among those who were at most elementary school graduates.
Erap again knew this and easily identified himself as their hero. Of course he didn’t have to project himself as an intellectual pygmy to be able to identify himself with the less educated. He simply had to be himself and bring this personal ineptitude to his advantage by supporting the publication of “Erap Jokes.”
But how will Erap solve the problem of education – or the lack of it? “Nemo dat quod non habet,” says a Latin dictum. No one can give what he does not have.
3. From those who have reasons to resent. Thirdly, the Erap masa are those who have been waiting too long to have a larger share of the benefits of economic growth since the late 1960’s up until today. They are the people who were bypassed by the different successive administrations for the sake and in the name of the benefits of development enjoyed by the rich and the middle class. They are the people who have been most greatly victimized by the world-record-holder thievery and self-serving cronyism of the Marcos dictatorship, by the greed of Kamag-anak Incorporated and ineptitude of the Aquino administration, the people who were left behind by the growth-accented economic policy of the Ramos administration, the very people who were neglected in their striving to get past their impoverishment.
Erap exploited this strong undercurrent of resentment by the poor to his own advantage. He captured their disgruntlement and portrayed himself as one who echoed the frustrated aspirations of the underclasses who in turn, perhaps because of their utter desperation, responded to the demagogic appeals of a populist politician molded over the years by the silver screen as the champion of the poor and defender of the underdog. Erap tapped these frustrations even though his themes were ambiguous and were not amplified by concrete programs.
It is in this sense, and only in this sense, that one can advance the theory of a “protest vote” during the May 11 elections. The Erap masa were tired of politicians and politicking, they sought for a messiah. For people whose visions have been blurred by hunger and empty promises of food, for people who could no longer see the divide between reel and real life, Erap, portrayed as the defender of the underdog by the silver screen, was the very clear answer – the knight in shining armor, the modern-day Moses, the Christ. Erap was the answer to their protests, ergo, their votes went to Erap.
4. Mesmerized by the silver screen. Fourthly, the Erap masa are people who were easily hypnotized by the silver screen, people who couldn’t see the divide between reel and real life, who see actors’ roles as an extension of what they are in real life, and what they are in real life as an extension of their roles.
Erap again exploited this and rode on the grand illusion mounted by his movies, capitalizing on the seduction exerted by the silver screen. Image, show biz, popularity -- they are the things that count in our “politics of personality,” they are the things that create the illusion of Erap as the Superman of the Philippines.
Our quotation from the Gerasene Demoniac is relevant in an obvious sense: The Erap masa are possessed by a kind of demon – the evil of illusion. The Erap masa voted for a myth, for an illusion, for a make-believe, for a pale shadow of reality. The immediate need and cure is a kind of exorcism.
How then exorcise the Erap masa?
Erap’s popularity has a lot to do with the “masa’s” dissatisfaction with their own economic lot as well as with their affection for entertainers. He is popular because he exploited the “masa’s” disgruntlement through his own form of circus. Not because he stokes the fires of rebellion among the “masa” - far from it - but because he douses them. A lesson is therefore clear: So long as the divide between the rich and poor remained or grew, so long will the Estradas of the world arise. So long as there are bitter resentments from below, so long will populist leaders arise. In the same manner, so long as we vote a person into public office for being a myth, so long will reforms in our country be an empty myth. Indeed, so long as we think of Philippine politics as one great moviehouse, so long will our leaders not do anything although they may act as though they are doing something. Acting, yes, that will be the word that will best describe our government.
The story of the Gerasene Demoniac proceeded with the demons asking Jesus to “send us to the pigs, let us go into them” (Mk. 5:13). Perhaps there is nothing more apt today than to ask our newly elected – and re-elected – officials: You want to exorcise the Erap masa? Then send the poor the pig.
Or perhaps more succinctly, give them your pork!
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