Critical Thinking

The Philippines has always been known for its problematic government, especially during elections. A scroll from your favorite social media site is typically bound to contain misinformation, malinformation, and disinformation that is connected with politics. The government plays a major role in the development and growth of the country, and it has a lot of responsibility. However, it is too common to realize that corrupt politicians, dynasties, and power-seeking leaders take advantage of such roles for their own benefit. Their race to power is supported by the Filipino people, who are actually victims of their lies and wrong information. The 2022 presidential campaign sparked heated debates and numerous controversies. With the results of the elections favoring Bongbong Marcos, there was a serious outrage in the country. Why was another Marcos put in Malacañang? How did he get his power back in the office? Filipinos never fail to disappoint.

To put it straight, Marcos is unfit to be president. If there is one reason to blame for his seat as president of the Philippines, it is the spread of false information on the internet. Social media is the greatest tool for a politician’s propaganda—in this case, for Marcos during his presidential campaign. It is clear that there is indeed a lack of media literacy among Filipinos. The information they see on their favorite social media easily influences them to believe and trust the “facts.” The most popular misconceptions about the president need to be further informed to the public. Proper education on the facts must be given to Filipinos to aid them in truly understanding the truth behind some of Marcos’ lies. 

1. One of Bongbong Marcos’ most popular claims is his educational attainment. Marcos enrolled at the University of Oxford in 1975 for a degree in economics, philosophy, and politics. When questioned about his background, Marcos claims to have been awarded a bachelor of arts degree in Oxford; however, it was later proved to be false. Marcos did not complete his degree, but he was only awarded a special diploma in social studies. The Oxford Philippine Society states that Marcos did not finish his degree, as confirmed by the school in 2015.

2. Moving on, another famous myth about Bongbong is that he has already fully paid his taxes. The Supreme Court ordered the Marcoses to pay their estate tax debt of 23 billion; however, their unpaid debt has now become 203 billion pesos according to the BIR because of penalties. Numerous demand letters have been sent, but no full payment has been collected yet by the government. In addition, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court issued a guilty verdict for Marcos’ nonpayment of taxes and failure to file income tax returns from 1982 to 1985, when he was vice governor and, later, governor of Ilocos Norte (Ramos, 2021).

3. Lastly, Marcos claimed that there was fraud in the 2016 elections. As a result, an election protest was filed against his opponent in the race, Leni Robredo. This was later determined to be false, as he had no evidence of such a case. The Presidential Electoral Tribunal later dismisses his protest. A recount of votes was done, and it showed that Leni still garnered much more votes.

You may probably say that these arguments and claims are indeed all biased, but let it be known that this information was extensively researched and studied by experts to reveal the entire facts and truth about the situation. The mistakes of Bongbong Marcos may be seen as “little” and outweighed by his strengths. However, these apparent “small” mistakes do indeed serve as a significant reminder to the public of his false claims and incompetence. Yes, these arguments may not be enough as of the moment, but the sole fact that Marcos’ claims are inaccurate may show that he is not the perfect leader as of the moment.

Aside from the false information spread by the Marcoses, the lack of media and information literacy among Filipinos poses a threat to the easy influence of the population. It is significant that proper education is given to all citizens in order to avoid being victims of the malinformation, disinformation, and misinformation spread on social media, especially during campaign periods. Choosing the right president is highly significant, as these are the people who will help us progress as a country. We must continue to be critical thinkers with the information we see and combat the wrong information.