A Long Cab Ride

On my way back from Bangkok I had to spend one night in Manila before proceeding to Davao. I was alone (as I left a day earlier than my co-workers to get back in time to greet David at the airport) and was staying overnight in a hostel. My cab ride was incredibly long since I flew in on the tail end of rush hour traffic. Luckily, my cab driver was extremely chatty.

One great thing about telling people what I do in the Philippines is that it almost always elicits a political discussion. This allows me the opportunity to learn the various opinions Filipinos have of their country. And this particular cab driver had a lot of opinions. He was incredibly pessimistic about his country. He said his country was slowly headed towards anarchy. He felt that things were better during Marcos’ time (the president who is almost universally acknowledged as a horrible dictator). He said that during Marcos there was peace in Mindanao because he just drove all the Muslims out. It was only when President Cory Aquino was elected that the problems in Mindanao worsened. And he felt corruption began with the people around Marcos, not Marcos himself. The cab driver also told me that the People’s Power movement that ousted Marcos weakened the rule of law. Lastly, he felt as though Filipinos don’t care about their country, they are only “good” when they are in other countries.

I realized from this conversation how much I take democracy for granted in my country. Here in the Philippines democracy is quite new, and it hasn’t been altogether picture perfect. The citizens of this country face multiple insurgencies, deep seated corruption, rampant crime in many cities, and widespread poverty. For some, a hard-fisted dictator would feel much safer than this wild system of elections and change. There seems to be some people may feel as if there is such a thing as too much democracy. I think I finally understand why Mayor Duterte (now vice-mayor), who orders extrajudicial killings of “criminals,” is so popular in Davao. He really makes the residents feel like they are safe and everything will be ok. Residents acknowledge his killings, but they say it’s only of the bad guys; it is only to keep us good guys safe and everything under control, so it’s okay. Perhaps some are not yet comfortable with so much political control in their own hands, perhaps they would rather leave that power with someone trustworthy to take care of things as they see fit. I can see now, in the face of so many problems, how this is a viable option for some, even if it is so out of my realm of understanding coming from the political system that I do.

The cab driver also added another piece of the puzzle for me as to why the Philippines is struggling to move its country forward, that is, it is a archipelago of diverse peoples lacking in unity. The cab driver explained that there is no such thing as a Filipino; everyone identifies first with their tribe. He stated that it is untrue what people say about the People’s Power movement uniting Filipinos. He contended that the People’s Power movement only united Catholic Filipinos. He asked, how is our country every supposed to improve if its citizens don’t even identify as Filipino and fellow country men and women?

When I left the cab I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to reassure the cab driver that things will get better, that adjusting to democracy takes time and your country will get there one day. But really, I had no answers. And the cab driver, while slightly misguided about Mindanaoan history, made some important points. When I left the cab I simply said I hope things get better for you and your country. I also left wondering, however, what will a functional democratic society or system of governance finally look like in the Philippines? And what will need to happen for the country to get there?