BY: GILBERT PILAYRE
Caged Minds: The Endless Dance of Patronage and Illusion in Philippine Politics
Most Filipino voters claim to abhor corruption in governance. Yet, when the corrupt figure is a friend, a padrino, or someone they admire, they turn a blind eye. They long for a transformed society—one free of fraud and dishonesty—but refuse to do the work necessary to bring it about. This contradiction has long been exposed.
In the 1970s, the late Prof. Jose Maria Sison named this disease in his book Philippine Society and Revolution: Bureaucrat Capitalism. He describes bureaucrat capitalists as politicians and government officials who exploit public office for private gain, using state policies, contracts, and loans to enrich themselves while perpetuating poverty and oppression among the masses. These bureaucrats act as intermediaries between foreign imperialists and local landlords or big capitalists, ensuring that economic and political structures remain in favor of the ruling class.
Prof. Sison described it as a form of capitalist development unique to countries where the traditional, independent bourgeoisie is weak or nonexistent. But naming a disease is not the same as curing it. It is an act of power—a means to define, categorize, and control—but the people remain captive in the narrow cages of their own minds, bound tight by their blind, frantic anti-communism and the lingering chains of colonial mentality.
Colonial mentality, that self-destructive deference to foreign powers, has kept Filipinos from fully asserting their sovereignty, making them more prone to idolizing politicians who carry the same traits of power they once admired in their colonial masters. Trapped in the thick fog of their own brainwashing, they march in circles, placing their faith in the same hands that have kept them shackled. Over and over, they vote, expecting their chosen master to free them, believing in the hollow illusion that salvation will arrive with the next regime. Ah, as Einstein so truthfully said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.” What is misery, then, if not the endless repetition of mistakes, echoing through the corridors of time?
Now, with the Midterm Elections fast approaching, the question looms once more: Will Filipinos waste their votes again, as they did in past elections? Or will they finally turn the tide against the true enemies of peace and progress?
Many of us cling to hope, fingers crossed, praying that this time will be different. After all, we do not call ourselves Christians without believing in the possibility of resurrection. We hope that they will reject the traditional politicians who recycle the same empty promises, devoid of conviction. That they will instead cast their votes for those who, like them—poor, persecuted, red-tagged, silenced—yet remain standing firm. That before their final days, they will witness brighter ones ahead.
To act differently, to break the cycle—to will against the herd, to carve one’s own path upon the fabric of existence—this is the mark of one who dares to affirm life beyond the meek obedience of the many. And perhaps, this time, the people will not remain caged. Perhaps, this time, they will break free, reclaim their dignity, and forge a future not dictated by the shadows of the past but illuminated by the light of their own resolve.
For all its struggles, the Filipino spirit has never been truly broken. Beneath the weight of history and the chains of old habits, there remains a quiet but persistent fire—one that has fueled revolutions, toppled tyrants, and rebuilt a nation time and again. Though the dance of patronage and illusion has gone on for far too long, there is always the chance that one day, the music will stop, and the people will finally step off the floor.
Perhaps this election will be the one where they see through the deception. Perhaps this time, they will cast their votes not out of fear, nor blind loyalty, nor fleeting promises, but out of a deep and unwavering love for the country they call home. Perhaps, instead of resigning themselves to another cycle of disappointment, they will choose to believe in their own power to shape their destiny.
And when that day comes—when the people finally choose courage over complacency, truth over illusion, and hope over despair—then the Philippines will rise, not because a savior has come, but because its people have finally saved themselves. Like the Phoenix rising from its ashes, the nation will emerge from the ruins of corruption and fear, renewed and unshackled, proving that true strength lies not in blind obedience but in the unwavering will of a people who refuse to be defeated.
(Editor’s note about the author: He was the Editor-in-Chief of The Word, the official student publication of Divine Word College – Tagbilaran (1987), and later worked as a researcher at the former Ilaw International Center; as researcher/documentalist at the Diocese of Tagbilaran’s Commission on Social Action; as a project evaluator for CBCP – Visa in Cebu City; and with SEARICE, a social development organization where he was part of a research team focused on plant genetic resource conservation in Bohol. After moving to Vienna in the early ’90s to join his wife, Juliet, he worked at the Vienna International Airport and had a stint with the UN-CTBTO. He once pursued priesthood formation with the SVDs at Christ the King Mission Seminary in Quezon City, Philippines. He is currently a devoted husband, father of three, and a social activist with Migrante-Austria).