If anyone still harbored doubts on what is at stake next year, let this week’s spectacle erase all of it.

If anyone still harbored doubts on what is at stake next year, let this week’s spectacle erase all of it.

An Arroyo, a Duterte and a Marcos have forged an alliance. Three names whose clout and resources are matched only by their implacable ability to bring them to bear. If this alliance holds, the past becomes our collective future. And we need only revisit how these names earned their places in Philippine history to see what that means. Or perhaps not. Because if this alliance holds, then the next 6 years will be a daily reminder of those times.

The coming storm will spare no one. Some find confidence by placing bets on everyone, as they've always done. They forget one thing. A son brought up believing in his "divine right" looks at the empires around him, and sees stolen kingdoms. "Those are ours". Beware a prince denied his birthright. And be sure to understand what he means when he says he seeks to Reclaim his father’s legacy.

An Arroyo, a Duterte and a Marcos have united. And against this Trinity, how petty our internecine disagreements are. The last time two of these names held dominion, it took almost all that each generation could muster to stand against them. With the three together, it will take much more. We can no longer afford to be distracted by decades-old ideological quarrels or turf wars. If we say “every vote counts”, then let us act accordingly. 

An Arroyo, a Duterte and a Marcos are poised to sweep everything aside. What reason is there to even hope to succeed? We have not one but, three. Three truths upon which constitutions were built. Because since the time of kings, the nature of man has always been the same: Ambition checks Ambition; Pride never shares; And Power falls upon itself.

An Arroyo, a Duterte and a Marcos combined is unstoppable. So, why even resist? Because what else is there? This triune is our failure to deliver on the promises of EDSA given form. It is what decades of waltzing with political dynasties and the oligarchy finally amounts to. We can cower or run away as we have done. Or, we can look into the abyss we invited and halt its advance. If not for ourselves then, for those who will come after. Because our failures should be ours to bear and, our past need not be their future.

Six arduous months lie before us. With odds insurmountable by anything less than the broadest coalition. Our advantage is Clarity. Clarity on What needs to be done, and Clarity on Who we are doing it for. Their Trinity is unified only in ambition. Our cause is driven by Unity of Purpose. And our aim is no different from that of Churchill's: "It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”

An Arroyo, a Duterte and a Marcos need to be reminded. We are Asia's first democracy. We once taught the world a new way to earn freedom. We will do so again. Because this is Our Republic, not one family's or three. 

Laban lang. 

John Molo