By Shenellyn Pineda
Every morning, the cameras roll.
A gunfight inside the Senate complex unfolds with the absurdity of a poorly-concealed script, while the spectacle surrounding a senator’s escape from authorities transforms accountability into another cliffhanger. Then comes the impeachment storm surrounding a high official who answers inquiries of accountability with rehearsed nonchalance, as though public duty itself was merely another inconvenience to outplay before loyal audiences who are already prepared to applaud regardless of the substance.
And yet, many Filipinos sit idly by — watching, participating, and believing in a reality that exists within a carefully manufactured vacuum.
The horror in this? Unlike in “The Truman Show,” Truman is not only one man but an entire population.
Everyday, there is a construction of narratives so persistently repeated, that they become accepted as dogmatic truths. In turn, fanatic supporters defend politicians not as public servants, but as infallible protagonists whose actions must never be questioned. Hence, facts become inconvenient interruptions to the storyline, opposing views becomes betrayal, and criticism becomes “paninira.”
Sadly, political fanatics have become the perfect host for parasitic politicians. They cheer while institutions collapse behind the curtains. They weaponize loyalty against fellow citizens, defending politicians accused of corruption, abuse, or incompetence as though protecting family honor itself. The powerful no longer need to govern effectively so long as they govern perception. They understand a dangerous truth: in an age of spectacle, image often matters more than integrity.
And so the show continues.
Flooded communities become photo opportunities. Government aid is distributed with surnames stamped larger than the word “from public fund.” Senate hearings resemble entertainment segments. Political campaigns rely less on platforms and more on personality cults carefully engineered through social media algorithms and historical revisionism.
Amidst all of this, the ordinary Filipinos carry the unbearable weight of maintaining the illusion without them even realizing it. Thus, they endure impossible wages while politicians continue to enrich themselves with public funds, battle rising transport costs while electricity rates climb alongside recurring energy shortages, and inherit broken systems from “leaders” who preach sacrifice while living untouched by its consequences.
But do you know what the cruelest thing in this is? It is that even if many people already sense the falseness of the world around them, they still remain trapped within its bounds and metes because escaping requires confronting painful truths. It means admitting that their beloved leaders have failed the nation and accepting that they have become participants in preserving the very systems that oppress them.
Even so, in each show lies a conclusion, just like Truman’s decision to leave despite fear, a powerful moment in the movie where even if the deception of his reality was never fully revealed, he still chose to confront the situation head-on. No matter the consequences and outcome.
Perhaps the challenge facing Filipinos now are three-fold: To stop regarding politics like entertainment, to stop treating public positions as seats for the line of succession, and to stop confusing fanaticism with patriotism.
The Philippines will remain trapped inside a show until these questions are no longer avoided: Who is the true man behind the performances and who continues to benefit from this manufactured reality?
The answer, I will leave up to the audience to decide.
Until the next episode, folks!
THE BARRISTER 