ALL of the above are minorities that succeeded in shocking and/or terrorizing the majority into paralysis, silence and obedience.
Coup conspirators are the minority of the military that in turn is a minority of the entire society.
Both EDSA I & II were centered in Metro Manila and the major regional urban centers.
Hitler became Chancellor of Germany while his national socialists did not have a majority in their parliament, the Reichstag.
Saddam Hussein belonged to a minority Muslim sect. The Taliban were a minority both in the 1990’s as well as now when they took over Afghanistan.
Marcos (in 1965) and Duterte (in 2016) were elected without a majority.
Subsequently, Marcos won re – election in 1969, in spite of his unpopularity simply because he managed to have an even more unpopular opponent, Sergio ‘Serging’ Osmena, Jr.
However, he did it with the abuse of his presidential powers, ruined the economy in the process and applied the proverbial ‘guns, goons and gold’ during the campaign, the election and the counting of votes.
Thus, he triggered the popular backlash which was manifested in the ’First Quarter Storm!’ that started on January 26 and 30, 1970.
Both Marcos and Duterte did everything they could to subvert the 1935 and 1987 Constitutions under which they were elected.
Marcos used subtlety to instill fear and get his way. He started with persuasion, then bribery before threats.
Duterte started right away with threats. Thus, the majority was fooled or forced into collaboration and cooperation.
That is why Duterte remained popular in public opinion surveys until recently.
Since the methodology of the survey organizations does not make the identity of the respondent completely anonymous or secret to the surveyor, many of the respondents do not reveal their true feelings or sentiments.
They are either scared or ashamed. In our society, more people want to be identified with the winner rather than the loser.
However, the incumbent is only able to make use of fear and shame while he is not yet a lame duck.
Duterte should have turned into a lame duck a long time ago because of signs of his failing health. However, his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, served as his crutches for a long time.
In July 2018, original Duterte supporter Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez was unseated and replaced by former President and Pampanga Congresswoman GMA with the help of Sara.
In that maneuver, Sara showed that her political reach extended well beyond Davao City, the Davao region and Mindanao.
In the 2019 contest for Speaker among Cayetano, Velasco and Romualdez, she was again an important factor. When Cayetano tried to hold on to the Speakership last year, Velasco prevailed with Sara’s backing.
Meanwhile ‘Run, Sara, Run!’ organizers and supporters started campaigning at the grassroots a long time ago.
This pushed up Sara in the surveys and delayed the slide of her father into a lame duck. Recently, however, the rest of the family secret has come out.
What the public has known for a long time was only part of the secret. Sara’s mother, Elizabeth Zimmerman, is American and would not stand for the double standard.
She separated from Duterte.
Duterte on the other hand took a companion publicly and had a child by her. This did not go well with Elizabeth’s children, Paolo, Sara and Baste.
However, he also developed a friendship, a relationship and a dependence that was thicker than blood – with Bong Go.
Some political analysts believe that the father – daughter feud is mere drama. It is designed to insulate Sara from the ‘kapalpakans’ and mismanagement as well as the corruption that is now surfacing.
However, I believe that the split is very real. I also believe that the highest value of the ‘distancing’ will come in on election day.
However, the value of the split and the lame duck comes in now during the month before the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy.
What the anti – Duterte candidates and political parties need ASAP is the dilution and melting of the fear and shame factors in the next poll surveys.
Since Sara has already been ahead, other candidates only have to show an improvement in their relative rankings for the moment.
Hopefully, the next survey will include Pacquiao and Go in the list of presidential candidates.
That will split the Mindanao vote among Sara, Go and Pacquiao.
However, while Duterte remains a vice presidential candidate, all other candidates and political parties should not let go.
No matter what differences there are between father and daughter, the sins of the father are so great that part of them will rub off on the family.
They will also rub off on both his official running mate as well as on any presidential candidate who is suspected of being his real candidate.