On Leverage Part 2
More about political leverage.
Allow us to give you an illustration.
During the last election, it was clear that two people won the popular mandate: Rodrigo Duterte and Bongbong Marcos.
The yellows tried to cheat Duterte, by shaving off votes from him so that Mar Roxas will benefit but his lead was far too big for them to simply overtake, even with a cheating apparatus (COMELEC and Smartmatic-TIM) working in their favor.
So they trained their sights instead on the Vice-Presidential race. There were two important factors here: From the get go, they were already positioning Leni Robredo as a contender, by manipulating surveys and all while Leni cloaks herself in the then-untarnished brand of her deceased husband Jesse. Which means it is far easier to justify Leni's come from behind victory (albeit through cheating) than Mar. Another factor is Panot's classic disdain for the Marcoses. To him, this shit was personal. All hell will break loose before he allows Bongbong to stage a Marcos revival.
So the rest is history. Duterte won despite massive cheating while Bongbong was overtaken as the whole country fell asleep in the proverbial noodle house.
The will of the majority was trumped and the mandate stolen by the usurper that is Leni Robredo.
We are numerically superior in numbers (the majority). Yet we are not united and we are disorganized. This makes it easier for those who cheated to get away with the deed. All they have to do is lobby to the people in charge of the electoral protest - with promises of money, power, position and other perks - in order to derail the protest and postpone it indefinitely until the end of days.
All this while the majority suffers. Are the majority capable of lobbying? With what? The majority does not have the money, the influence or the power to turn things in our favor. The status quo and the oligarchic structures that control our institutions made sure of that. The more disorganized we are, the more convenient it is for them. Hell we do not even have means to audit our own votes. If they cheat, it's almost tantamount to winning itself.
Which brings us back to the issue at hand. What element is lacking here?
Leverage.
The power to claim what is rightfully ours.
The power to turn things in our favor.
The power to counter the influence of the ruling few.
The power to get rid of people who thrive in corruption and usurp the popular mandate.
The power to ultimately decide.
PRRD is a good start.
Why not take the extra step further?
