The growing acceptance of glowing myths of the Marcos era is therefore not just the outcome of Filipinos’ innate forgetfulness or “forgiving culture.” It has more to do with the absence of a real settling with the past and the failure of an “elite democracy” characterized by unabated poverty, injustice and rampant corruption.
This is why the son of the dictator can brazenly call on the public to forget the past in his run for the second highest position in the land. This can also explain the lure of the iron fist, as exemplified by the tough-talking Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s open endorsement of the killing of petty criminals.
Bombard the Headquarters! 