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00:00.0
Yan na, let's get the ball rolling.
00:02.5
This is officially going to be the last live vlog for 2023.
00:07.7
And God willing, this vlog will set the tone for 2024 sets of analysis.
00:13.3
So we have a couple of things already in the pipeline.
00:16.5
So of course, dun sa mga interested or excited.
00:20.1
As I promised, I'm looking at doing new things including giving a semi-lecture series.
00:25.5
Beginning with an introduction to Orientalism, right?
00:28.6
So what is the Orientalist paradigm?
00:31.7
What was the conceptual, you know, the foundations to that?
00:37.2
Anong implication ito for modern political and geopolitical analysis?
00:41.9
So it's going to be a one hour and a half, almost, I think, one hour long lecture.
00:46.8
Or something a little bit shorter than that.
00:48.7
So I have been working on a number of lecture series to give a different twist.
00:54.5
Dito sa mga vlogs natin, dito sa mga, sa YouTube channel natin,
00:58.4
Facebook channel natin, YouTube channel natin,
00:58.5
Facebook channel natin, among others.
00:59.7
Because I know, of course, folks come to our podcast and vlogs, you know, for entertainment, for humor.
01:05.4
And, you know, I always say, no problem.
01:08.7
I never shun humor. I never shun entertainment.
01:11.9
Because, you know, as Socrates said, you have to seduce people into truth.
01:16.2
Unfortunately, you know, unvarnished facts and truths sometimes are not the most attractive things.
01:21.4
And unfortunately, that's why fake news are almost more viral than factual news, no?
01:28.5
So what we need to do is always being an element of humor, an element of kanchawan, an element of bardagulan.
01:36.3
Especially kung nandito tayo sa Pilipinas, no?
01:39.3
In a culture like ours.
01:41.1
I gave the same advice to a number of leaders in this country, including the late and former president Aquino.
01:47.6
I had a conversation with him just before pandemic.
01:50.6
You know, we had our own sets of disagreements.
01:53.0
But I think one of the things that any Filipino leader or president or thought leader should,
01:58.5
should appreciate is that pagdating sa ating bansa, you always have to give,
02:02.5
you have to put a little bit of a spice, you know, into your conversation.
02:05.8
You have to put a little bit of humor, no?
02:07.7
But never ever compromise your content in terms of, you know, substantive discussions
02:13.2
or yung character mo bilang isang tao or intellectual.
02:16.8
I've been always uncompromising on that.
02:18.9
So I always disagree with two sets of people.
02:21.1
One set of people would say, hopeless yan, don't even try, right?
02:24.6
All people want to watch is entertainment.
02:27.6
The erotic, you know, kind of podcasts or conversations or yung, I don't know, chismisan, maritesan, all of that.
02:36.6
And then there's another group of people who say, no, no, no, you can do it, but you have to, you know, a little bit water it down.
02:41.1
I even hear terms like you have to dumb it down.
02:44.0
So I disagree with both of those groups, no?
02:46.4
So our experiment essentially since last year or so, since we became much more like full-blown, all-out podcaster with more than 300 podcasts,
02:57.6
uploaded since last year, my observation is that kaya yan, kaya yan.
03:04.2
Hindi siya madali, but thanks to support of people like you, our supporters on different platforms,
03:09.9
thanks to the foundations that we built throughout the years, I think there's, you know, you can give leg to these kinds of advocacies.
03:17.9
So for today, I'm going to talk about three things.
03:21.1
Essentially, the three top political developments for me as far as 2023 is concerned.
03:25.8
Anong implication?
03:27.6
Ito for politics next year, right?
03:31.2
All of these are going to be extremely, extremely important, no?
03:34.0
Now, let me be absolutely clear.
03:35.9
Para sa akin, una-una, ang pinakamahalaga, the biggest political event of 2023 for me is yung paglaya ni Senator, former Senator Leila de Lima.
03:46.8
I think that's the biggest political development of 2023 on so many levels.
03:52.2
And I'm going to explain it to you guys why.
03:54.8
To begin with, of course, this just confirmed.
03:57.6
What everyone has been saying for quite some time, which is walang basihan yung mga charges ng nakaraan na administration
04:04.2
laban sa number one critic of President Rodrigo Duterte.
04:08.5
I mean, no offense to some of our journalist friends, no offense to some of our friends who tried to build themselves as the David versus the Goliath of Duterte,
04:15.3
but the reality is that, you know, when some of our journalist friends of ours were having chummy interviews or debates,
04:22.2
sourcing debates with Rodrigo Duterte, years before that, Leila de Lima,
04:27.6
as the chief of the Commission on Human Rights, was taking the fight to Rodrigo Duterte, including in Davao, including in the city hall in Davao, right?
04:36.9
So, former Senator Leila de Lima has a very long track record of fighting for human rights against de facto warlords or, you know,
04:45.9
your classic case of, you know, warlord political diocese.
04:49.1
So, this is a person who has a long track record of really fighting for convictions.
04:54.5
I can talk about a lot of other things now.
04:57.6
By every metric, Leila de Lima was the chief critic of the former president, his most contentious rival in many ways,
05:07.5
at least in terms of, you know, standing up to Duterte in the first six months to one year.
05:12.2
Most people, most people, let's be very honest about it, had second thoughts about, you know,
05:19.5
parang huwag mo nabanggayin ito si Digong dahil napaka-popular na, 70, 80, 90 percent approval ratings.
05:24.7
In fact, I think close to 90 percent approval ratings.
05:26.6
Yung idea na, ito yung political honeymoon niya, let him do what he's supposed to do.
05:31.8
But it was de Lima who really stood up to him.
05:34.4
Fair, well, not so fair, but definitely square, right?
05:38.2
And she paid the price for that.
05:39.9
She paid the price for that.
05:41.1
And no one, no one, as far as the big political personalities in this country are concerned,
05:47.3
came close to the level of sacrifice that Leila de Lima had to make in her fight for justice, in her fight for truth, no?
05:55.4
And human rights.
05:56.6
Human rights in particular.
05:57.8
You know, yes, there was harassment, legal harassment, there were death threats, all sorts of horrible situations.
06:04.1
Yun ang hinaharap ng mga ibang critics ng administration.
06:07.0
I mean, I can say for myself, you know, the death threats, the attacks, the harassment,
06:11.5
how many times we had to shut down our pages, go offline, you know, it became just so crazy throughout the years.
06:17.7
But, but, you know, this doesn't compare at all, doesn't even come close to what Senator Leila de Lima had to go through.
06:25.0
And, you know, she was awful.
06:26.6
Almost killed, no?
06:28.8
At least, we know about one instance, no?
06:31.5
When a terrorist inmate held her hostage.
06:36.2
And, you know, she, she, she was almost gone, right?
06:39.5
Not to mention, you know, the constant threat of something potentially happening to her while behind bars.
06:46.3
And all of this happening even without her facing a proper trial.
06:50.8
You know, judge after judge, they had to cancel the trial.
06:54.2
They had to recuse themselves.
06:56.4
Or come up with excuses.
06:57.6
So, for more than half a decade, Senator de Lima, you know, lost her freedom.
07:03.0
And was facing constant uncertainty.
07:05.4
The worst kind of uncertainty.
07:06.7
And that's the kind of sacrifice that has no parallels among the top political leaders in this country.
07:11.7
Let's just be, let's just be absolutely honest and clear about that.
07:16.2
Now, the other thing that is important with the case of Leila de Lima is this.
07:21.1
Nung pinalaya si Leila de Lima, she wasted no time to get back on the saddle.
07:26.4
You know, we know that in the case of Leila de Lima, immediately, she, she, you know, she gave interviews right and left.
07:34.4
Including with yours truly, dito sa podcast natin.
07:37.0
We know that with Leila de Lima, immediately, you know, she considered getting back into political action.
07:43.5
Including yung kanyang pag-tanggap ng position of spokesman for the Liberal Party.
07:49.3
I mean, the long-time opposition party.
07:52.1
And the longest-running opposition party.
07:56.4
Party, mainstream party in the Philippines for that even matter, for that matter.
07:59.6
And, and more than that, of course, nakita natin with Senator Leila de Lima,
08:03.5
she openly threatening to go after her tormentors, you know, including the former president, you know.
08:09.7
So, essentially normalizing the quest for accountability.
08:13.3
So, may kinalaman na ito sa ICC.
08:15.8
May kinalaman na ito sa Franz Castro and other progressive leaders also fighting back
08:21.3
and considering legal action against the former president for threats.
08:25.5
And all sorts of horrible things in the past and the human rights catastrophe that we had in the past.
08:30.5
But the other important thing to also keep in mind here is also Senator Leila de Lima potentially inspiring a new generation of political leadership.
08:42.9
A new generation of opposition politics.
08:46.3
And potentially being the center, you know, being the center of a new revival.
08:55.5
So, nakita natin dun sa isang diskusyon natin earlier this year, we had the, we had this picture, you know, by Congressman Gilat,
09:07.6
which showed Leila de Lima in the center and then you had de Lima and then behind you had Franz Castro.
09:12.8
So, you're already seeing embers of a potential united opposition with Senator Leila de Lima as the fire in the belly, right?
09:19.8
As the pivot of this potentially more, more unified, more.
09:25.5
Full spectrum and more dynamic opposition.
09:28.4
Now, let's be realistic.
09:30.3
I think, you know, things in 2025 may not look best for the opposition.
09:34.6
But I think if the opposition get its act together and put the, you know, the pieces of the puzzle together,
09:40.7
they could be in a very strong position for 2028 and they could be very strong fiscalizer from 2025 to 2028, no?
09:48.4
And also make sure na they'll be in a position to make sure na walang mambo-jamba mangyara after 2025, no?
09:54.3
So, in that sense...
09:55.5
Biggest political development of the year also has very much long-term implications, especially for 2024.
10:05.7
And in the moral-emotional sense, of course, I'm more than happy to see former Senator Leila de Lima spending time with her family and loved ones
10:14.1
and having the kind of respite, getting the kind of respect and recognition and everything that she deserves after all the sacrifices that she made.
10:20.9
Now, let's go to number two.
10:23.6
The number two biggest political development of the year.
10:25.5
And it's something we have been hinting at, at quite some time.
10:28.8
I have been writing about this potential for years already, as early as 2021.
10:33.5
You can check my article on Nikkei Asia about the potential fight between House of Duterte and House of Marcos.
10:39.1
So, it's this kind of a Game of Thrones situation.
10:41.0
This is something that I've been looking at for quite some time.
10:44.2
But to be honest, that the speed, the velocity, and the viciousness of the conflagration of the UNITEAM has perhaps taken a lot of people off guard.
10:52.9
But one reason...
10:54.5
This was never surprising.
10:55.5
This was never surprising to a lot of us is because we were following what was happening in the blogosphere.
10:59.5
We have followers there that we know.
11:02.5
They know what we're talking about.
11:04.5
Now, you know, we saw some of the big bloggers, you know,
11:08.5
who are now fighting against Marcos Jr. and against the First Lady.
11:13.5
The others who are now solid against Marcos Sr. and now very angry with Marcos Jr.
11:19.5
The others who are now pro-Duterte and now solidly against the administration.
11:23.5
And we see also a lot of moves by...
11:24.5
And we see also a lot of moves by...
11:25.5
former allies of the former president, former members of PDP Laban,
11:29.5
now them aligning with the other side, you know,
11:32.5
and with no less than the vice president somehow, you know, being caught off guard...
11:37.5
caught in between, no?
11:38.5
And yes, also caught off guard.
11:40.5
So, yung conflagration of the UNITEAM, I don't think this process is over yet.
11:45.5
I think we're going to see more of that as we get closer to 2025 elections.
11:49.5
You can use, you know, all-out war, civil war, whatever terminology you want to use there.
11:54.5
Obviously, you know, we wish the best for the country.
11:58.5
I don't think it's good for the country to be divided.
12:01.5
I'm not necessarily a fan of any of these political factions,
12:04.5
but division within the country is not good for us, especially as we face a lot of challenges,
12:08.5
internationally, geopolitically, economically, and so on and so forth.
12:11.5
But, in a way, this was almost inevitable because what brought the UNITEAM together was convenience,
12:19.5
was electoral calculus, and there were a lot of tensions, including,
12:23.5
when Marcos Jr. began to choose his top cabinet position
12:27.5
and did not give the Department of National Defense position to his running mate as was expected, right?
12:33.5
So doon pala nakita natin may mga hidwa na, may mga fault lines na.
12:37.5
Once Vic Rodriguez was gone, once, you know, people close to the former administration,
12:43.5
including the military, were semi-marginalized, if not more,
12:47.5
we saw the embers of something more significant coming, no?
12:50.5
But, you know, the whole Tamba Los Los episode,
12:53.5
the viciousness, not only among bloggers, but also the back and forth among politicians,
12:57.5
major next level, yeah.
12:59.5
But I think more is yet to come next year,
13:02.5
and we're about to see also what's going to happen to SM&I,
13:05.5
because the SM&I is also kind of being caught off guard,
13:07.5
well, caught in between, if not also caught off guard here.
13:10.5
So lots of proxy wars happening here, and potentially we may go beyond proxy wars here.
13:15.5
More back and forth between the chief protagonists here.
13:19.5
The former president already is very vocal about his criticism
13:22.5
of the incumbent and his successor.
13:26.5
So let's see if the current president incumbent is going to go also gloves off,
13:33.5
you know, mode anytime soon.
13:35.5
These modes are in there.
13:36.5
Again, we know this person to be very, very conflict avoidant, among others.
13:41.5
But, you know, at some point, you have to draw the line.
13:45.5
And at some point, your hands is going to be forced.
13:47.5
So that's another thing that we have to look at.
13:49.5
But this brings us to the third and a very important element,
13:52.5
which is yung sitwasyon sa West Philippine Sea.
13:55.5
Now, there's a lot of momodrombo nonsense out there.
13:58.5
Yung idea na this whole gaslighting industry of our makapili club friends.
14:05.5
This idea na kasalanan pa ng Pilipinas na binubuli tayo sa West Philippine Sea.
14:09.5
I mean, there's nothing more ridiculous than that.
14:12.5
The idea of us blaming ourselves for doing the right thing,
14:15.5
which is upholding and defending our sovereign rights sa sarili natin, bakuran.
14:20.5
International law is very important.
14:23.5
Walang basiyan yung China's nine-dash line.
14:25.5
International law is absolutely clear.
14:28.5
Hindi po teritory ang Second Thomas Shoal.
14:30.5
It's just a low tide elevation.
14:32.5
But because it falls within our continental shelf and our exclusive economic zone,
14:37.5
it's more or less, you know, an area where we can exercise our exclusive sovereign rights.
14:42.5
At walang basiyan yung mga claims ng China dyan.
14:45.5
But more importantly, this is something that people keep on missing.
14:49.5
The reason why ng OA, napaka-OA yung China,
14:52.5
in terms of their response to us,
14:53.5
is not only the element of, you know, ETCA and Taiwan,
14:58.5
which I think are important, in fairness naman, to that,
15:00.5
and the Philippines Treaty Alliance with the United States.
15:02.5
Of course, that's a big factor.
15:03.5
But I will contend that the big element here is that nasurprise din ang China
15:10.5
sa direction ng Marcos Jr. administration.
15:13.5
I think nasanay sila dun sa slavish, subservient presidency na meron tayo in the past,
15:20.5
and they were expecting that Marcos Jr. would take over.
15:22.5
They were expecting that Marcos Jr. would more or less continue along the same line.
15:25.5
And they thought that with pledge trap and just making empty pledges,
15:28.5
they could get the ball rolling in their own favor,
15:30.5
and get our, essentially, strategic, you know, submission.
15:35.5
But none of that is happening.
15:37.5
None of that is happening.
15:38.5
Now, we can have a long discussion about dynamics between Marcos Jr. and the U.S.,
15:42.5
what's going on there, marami mga marites and conspiracy theories there,
15:46.5
but the reality here is that the Philippines is doing what it was supposed to do under Duterte,
15:50.5
and what any decent, self-respecting patriotic president would do,
15:53.5
which is continue to resupply our own mission sa sarili natin bakuran.
16:00.5
And we're talking about, you know, since 1999, andun po yung mga tao natin dyan sa Sierra Madre.
16:08.5
So bakit ang OA ng China ngayon pag nagre-resupply tayo dyan?
16:11.5
We have been doing this for more than 20 years.
16:14.5
Almost a quarter of century we have been doing that.
16:17.5
So clearly, this is about whiplash.
16:20.5
This is about, you know, the violent lashes of a, you know, of a bully, right?
16:26.5
Of a surprised beast, for that matter.
16:30.5
So yun yung po yung tinitingnan natin konteksto ngayon.
16:32.5
So in many ways, the big, big development of 2023 is not only the Philippines becoming more and more open, no?
16:41.5
Doon sa kanyang, you know, well, Philippines more openly exposing yung pagbubuli na nangyari dyan sa world.
16:49.5
Yung pagbubuli na nangyari dyan sa West Philippines.
16:51.5
See, which I think is something slightly different from the previous administration also, including also the Kenya administration.
16:56.5
Using of, usage of drones, usage of aggressive transparency.
17:00.5
But also, of course, building up defensive alliances and joint patrols and all of that.
17:05.5
So tanggap ko yun, tanggap ko na these are slightly new elements.
17:10.5
But these are elements that are commonsensical, right?
17:13.5
Now, we have a lot of our friends, our Makapili Club friends, you know,
17:17.5
who keep on saying, dapat, you know, dapat gayahin natin yung mga ating mga kapitbahay.
17:24.5
Tignan mo sila, nakakuha sila ng investments and all of that.
17:27.5
But let me be absolutely clear about some basic facts here, okay?
17:30.5
First of all, Vietnam has made zero concessions on the East Sea or South China Sea issue.
17:37.5
They continue to claim the areas that China claims.
17:40.5
They continue to push back against what China has been doing.
17:43.5
They continue to push for oil and gas exploration.
17:46.5
They continue to push for oil and gas exploration.
17:47.5
By Russian, Indian, foreign companies in areas also claimed by China.
17:51.5
So there's zero concession by Vietnam.
17:54.5
In fact, the reason why Vietnam is having this relatively decent relationship with China
17:58.5
is because China had to accept. Matapag talang yung Vietnam.
18:01.5
So ano, mag-gera tayo? Hindi.
18:03.5
Because China also cannot afford that. Their economy is not doing well.
18:05.5
And economically, because Vietnam is so geographically close to China,
18:09.5
malapit yung manufacturing base ng China, especially ng Pearl River Delta,
18:13.5
yung tinatawag na Greater Bay Area, napakalapit sa Vietnam.
18:16.5
It's also emerging as an alternative global manufacturing hub.
18:20.5
So it makes sense for China to have good relationship with Vietnam
18:22.5
because a lot of Chinese companies can export to the West via Vietnam,
18:25.5
which, by the way, has bilateral free trade agreements with the EU, with the United States.
18:30.5
It's part of the CPTPP, which is led by Japan and was supposed to be led by the United States.
18:35.5
So it makes perfect economic sense for Chinese folks to be invested in Vietnam
18:41.5
because this is where to make money.
18:43.5
And China had to accept.
18:45.5
So hindi ubrang Vietnam.
18:47.5
So ano gagawin natin? Huwag na tayo maging economic deal? Huwag na tayo maging chami?
18:51.5
And at the end of the day, they're two communist countries, so they have a relatively robust party-to-party relationship.
18:55.5
So this has nothing to do with them supposedly, you know.
18:59.5
No. Vietnam is still fighting for what they're fighting.
19:01.5
So that's fact number one.
19:03.5
Fact number two, Malaysia, it's true that under current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is sounding very pro-China and all of that.
19:10.5
And there's a lot of story behind that.
19:12.5
But let's not forget what Mahathir was doing a few years ago.
19:15.5
He was bashing China and pledged trap and all of that.
19:17.5
Let's not forget that Malaysia unilaterally deployed the West Capella oil drilling platform
19:26.5
to drill oil and gas for Petronas sa South China Sea areas,
19:31.5
in areas claimed not only by one communist country but two communist countries, both Vietnam and China.
19:35.5
So there was a three-way scramble happening from late 2019 onwards.
19:39.5
But Malaysia did not give up.
19:41.5
Tuloy-tuloy ang ginagawa ng Malaysia.
19:43.5
And speaking of Singapore,
19:45.5
Singapore, yes, it's true that Premier Lee said something about caution and all of that.
19:48.5
But let's not forget, Singapore has no direct maritime disputes with China.
19:52.5
Singapore has very good economic relationship with China.
19:55.5
It's a Chinese majority country also.
19:57.5
But importantly, having said that,
20:00.5
Singapore has solid military relationship with the United States
20:03.5
and increasingly with other major powers including United Kingdom,
20:09.5
The United States has been permanently positioning its littoral combat ship, Jansat Changge,
20:16.5
Behind the scenes, Singapore is buying billions of dollars of American weapons systems
20:20.5
including F-35 fighters, F-35B, which can vertically go up.
20:25.5
So let's get some of those basic facts very clear here.
20:29.5
So ano bang mungkay na ating mga matatalinong makapili club?
20:36.5
Ang mungkay nila ay maging nice tayo sa rhetoric?
20:41.5
Well, I mean, President Marcus Jr. has been very nice to China often.
20:43.5
And what did he get from China in return, right?
20:45.5
Kaya nga sabi kailangan natin new paradigm.
20:47.5
Ano bang mungkay na mga makapili friends natin?
20:50.5
Na huwag na tayo mag-resupply sa sarili natin area
20:52.5
and let's just allow China to take over?
20:54.5
No ASEAN country is doing that.
20:56.5
Vietnam is not doing that.
20:57.5
Malaysia is not doing that.
20:59.5
Indonesia is also not doing that.
21:01.5
Indonesia actually does not have direct disputes with China,
21:04.5
But because napaka-vague yung claim ng China,
21:06.5
napaka-expansive,
21:07.5
and napaka-all over the place,
21:08.5
umabot pa sa North of Tunisia,
21:10.5
so lumaban din ang Indonesia.
21:11.5
And yet, Indonesia was still able to fight
21:13.5
to get huge investments
21:14.5
because they drew the line with China
21:15.5
and because they're a big market.
21:17.5
So this is the problem with the spin doctors,
21:21.5
you know, let's just call them what they are,
21:22.5
useful idiots out there,
21:23.5
who are spinning this for a hostile power.
21:26.5
When in fact, the reality is this.
21:28.5
The Philippines can have a good relationship with China
21:30.5
when China accepts that the Philippines is not a pushover.
21:33.5
China accepts that Duterte is no longer the president
21:35.5
and we're not gonna have a Duterte-like president perhaps
21:37.5
for quite some time.
21:38.5
Constitutional change coming soon.
21:43.5
the other thing we have to keep in mind also here
21:45.5
is that, you know, um,
21:47.5
yes, why not China also tone down their,
21:50.5
you know, their, their bullying dyan sa West Philippine Sea
21:52.5
and rather focus on economic cooperation with the Philippines.
21:54.5
Now, speaking of economic cooperation,
21:55.5
actually, our trade with China increased
21:57.5
even during Panon ni Aquino.
21:59.5
Ang problema kasi sa trade natin with China is
22:01.5
mas kumikita sila sa atin, right?
22:03.5
Mas maraming exporting China sa atin
22:05.5
kaysa tayo sa China.
22:06.5
So actually, there's an imbalance in this trade.
22:09.5
So actually, the real challenge is
22:10.5
how to make sure we export more to China.
22:12.5
But more than that,
22:13.5
we have no evidence to suggest that
22:15.5
if you're nice to China or subservient to China,
22:17.5
sa West Philippine Sea and all,
22:18.5
they're gonna be nice to us
22:19.5
in terms of big-ticket infrastructure investment.
22:21.5
Aside from some beautification projects,
22:23.5
some whatever bridge made by Chinese contractors
22:27.5
ano mga big-ticket infrastructure projects
22:28.5
ang ginagawa ng China?
22:29.5
Ang maraming Pogo investments,
22:30.5
but that's not big-ticket infrastructure investment
22:33.5
from the Chinese government.
22:34.5
Let's be very clear about that.
22:37.5
So, when you look at all of those things,
22:43.5
it looks like the three will all be
22:44.5
playing with each other.
22:45.5
So all these three elements
22:46.5
will be related in one way or another, right?
22:48.5
What the real opposition is gonna do
22:50.5
is gonna affect the dynamics of unitim,
22:57.5
Marcos versus Duterte dynastic,
22:59.5
and then there's also intra-dynamic
23:04.5
But it also gonna affect the West Philippine Sea aspect
23:07.5
because our ability to stand up to China
23:09.5
and fight for our rights,
23:10.5
a lot of that will also depend on
23:11.5
how unified we are domestically
23:13.5
and how we make sure
23:14.5
the Machapili Club and all of that
23:16.5
will not undermine our national security
23:18.5
and create unnecessary
23:20.5
fissures and fault lines within the country.
23:22.5
So all of these three elements are interrelated.
23:24.5
And we have to understand them as a whole package and unit
23:27.5
and that's the thing that we're gonna focus on
23:29.5
in the coming year.
23:30.5
Now, before we end this vlog,
23:31.5
thank you so much again sa lahat naman
23:33.5
sa mong support sa atin.
23:36.5
I just had a post about,
23:47.5
last year at this point,
23:48.5
I was actually very, very anxious
23:54.5
the question I had to myself was like,
23:58.5
The question I had to myself was like,
24:04.5
because the idea was,
24:06.5
sorry, I just talked to you.
24:13.5
I'm a competitive person.
24:14.5
I don't want to waste my time, right?
24:16.5
I'll do my best to make sure that we push the country
24:19.5
in the right direction and all of that.
24:22.5
if people want to keep on,
24:24.5
voting trapos and all into power, et cetera,
24:25.5
you're gonna ask yourself a question like,
24:27.5
okay, what are we doing here?
24:29.5
What are we doing right?
24:30.5
What are we doing wrong?
24:31.5
Am I wasting my time?
24:33.5
And then of course,
24:34.5
it's not only our politics which is a big problem.
24:39.5
It's all of those big companies and conglomerates
24:42.5
dominating every aspect of our economy.
24:48.5
traditional folks in the intelligentsia and media,
24:52.5
I'm not sure if they're really here to,
24:55.5
speak truth to power or,
24:57.5
speak along with power,
24:58.5
their own version of truth,
24:59.5
which serves them both,
25:02.5
there were so many things that I was,
25:04.5
I was very worried about and I was trying to find out,
25:09.5
what was the best course of action?
25:10.5
How can I be of use?
25:11.5
And how can I make sure I'm not wasting my time?
25:14.5
Because as you know,
25:17.5
I do a lot of things,
25:19.5
I write on China.
25:20.5
I write on geopolitics.
25:21.5
I'm familiar with multiple regions of the world.
25:23.5
I have written books,
25:24.5
academic books on multiple regions of the world.
25:27.5
I work with think tanks all around the,
25:29.5
all around earth.
25:31.5
I've been quoted by and work with,
25:35.5
written op-eds for,
25:37.5
leading media publications.
25:38.5
Media publications in Asia,
25:45.5
what I was asking myself is like,
25:48.5
anong gagawin natin dito?
25:53.5
I was very anxious.
25:57.5
I think it's really during that moment of,
25:59.5
of uncertainty where you really have to make that leap of faith,
26:04.5
as Kierkegaard puts it.
26:05.5
You have to really make that leap of faith.
26:06.5
And the idea was,
26:07.5
I cannot control everything.
26:09.5
I cannot control most things.
26:13.5
I'm not 100% sure about how things are gonna turn out.
26:17.5
I was slightly optimistic in general.
26:21.5
But there were so many things that frustrated me.
26:24.5
there were many people that,
26:25.5
that were extremely disappointing.
26:27.5
There were a lot of people that I expected more from.
26:35.5
hindi naman madali gumawa ng vlogs and all of that.
26:37.5
It was this overwhelming excitement.
26:38.5
So the greatest excitement,
26:39.5
it's actually when the kids were about to begin taking pictures and doing it,
26:41.5
which five steps,
26:42.5
five steps out of five steps.
26:43.5
It was also for me kind of the feeling of never giving up.
26:47.5
I thought I'm going to let go,
26:50.5
different from that.
27:00.5
I just couldn't click through them.
27:02.5
It took me throughout.
27:03.5
I just trained then I grew up.
27:04.5
There's no change.
27:05.5
wala akong barkada, you know, most of the time, I'm alone, I'm just reading, I'm just writing, I'm thinking,
27:11.2
and try to spend time with family levels, I mean, that's just who I am, you know, I mean, I, you know,
27:17.2
I try to be cool and fun if you're around me, but as much as possible, you know what I mean,
27:21.5
there's just so, I'd rather, you know, be alone with my thoughts and figure out how to, you know,
27:27.0
help the universe in that sense, right, and to make the most out of my life, so,
27:33.1
to be honest, it, sometimes, it got very, very lonely and very, very frustrating because there
27:40.0
were some people that I really expected a lot from and, you know, they gave these indications,
27:44.0
they gave these indications, they gave these indications, and I have to take care of my
27:48.5
sick dad, yes, yes, Friday, yeah, yeah, the, the, my dad is sick, it's just there, okay, no, no, I mean,
28:03.1
damakong frustrations talaga last year, grabe, and, and, and, and the reason I was able to get over
28:10.9
those frustrations because it's the love of my family, it's my faith in the Lord, it's because
28:17.6
I believe what I was doing is right, and it's really also because of you guys, I know that may
28:22.1
mga pinost ako na, you know, like, no sponsors, no, no production team, whatever, it's just passion,
28:30.7
but that passion didn't come out of nowhere,
28:33.1
it's, it's feeding off on the energy that you guys give, you know, the funny comments you make,
28:37.2
the, the caring and the supportive comments that you share and messages you send,
28:43.6
not the creepy ones, please lang, guys, I know, you know, alam ko love niya ako, but, you know,
28:47.9
please lang, don't, don't, don't post weird stuff there, okay, like, I feel uncomfortable,
28:51.9
please, okay, alright, hindi ako BTS, okay, don't, don't send me like, okay, but, but, you know,
28:56.7
like, you know, mga decent, dignified comments and messages, I really appreciate that, I appreciate
29:01.4
when, you know, friends just message me,
29:03.1
hey, guess who I'm watching, my favorite show, R&R, or, you know, yung mga ganun, di ba?
29:10.2
So, yeah, I was really disappointed with a lot of people, there were a lot of people that I,
29:14.0
I thought they're, they're progressively minded, I thought they, they respect what we do,
29:19.3
and I thought that they would be more than happy to support, you know, something special,
29:23.0
because, you know, you need a certain infrastructure, you need certain economics,
29:27.9
no, to, to make something like this work, right, because it takes a lot of time, energy, and everything like that, so,
29:32.3
I was just so, so frustrated, with so many people, and, you know, guys, you know, if, if someone crosses me,
29:41.0
and I believe they're wrong, I'm gonna call them out, I called out Facebook, I called out TikTok,
29:45.3
I called out Philippine Airlines, so, hindi ako natatakot, I mean, you could be big, big corporations,
29:49.4
and I'm gonna call you out, and guess what? In a way, I always win when I, when I call out on big companies,
29:56.1
right, because I'm right, and I know people understand where I'm coming from, so, you know, I always make sure,
30:02.3
if I'm gonna go after you, a big corporation, big company, you're gonna be held accountable for that,
30:07.3
and I'm grateful that, of course, there was also receptiveness and openness to the legitimate criticism I raised, right,
30:12.9
and, of course, the constructive advices that I gave them, Philippine Airlines, mahal ko kayo.
30:18.6
Anyway, but, you know, there's so many virtue signaling, pawok, you know, corporations, institutions out there,
30:28.5
and I tried to reach out to them, you know, because I, you know, I had faith in them, I said,
30:32.3
baka naman, baka naman, and at first, they'll give you all of this, paasa sila sayo, pasen sila sayo ng mga proposals,
30:39.9
so, I ended up wasting, I'm pissed off, really, I'm really, really pissed off, because I wasted 10, 20 hours
30:47.4
writing proposals here and there, you know, to make sure that, you know, I could have reasonable partnership
30:55.4
with different people without undermining my integrity and independence, because that's always non-negotiable,
31:02.3
gago, essentially, gago yung nangyari, diba?
31:10.2
Sorry to say, diba? I'm sorry, Lord, but,
31:13.2
so, anyway, ako naman, I'm a professional person,
31:18.3
all I say is, next time, make sure you don't waste my time, because if you waste my time one more time,
31:23.7
you know, the 20, 30 hours, whatever hours I spend on all these things, I'm gonna make you pay a price for that, okay?
31:29.4
Because the 20, 30 hours I could have put into so many other things,
31:32.4
that would have been 10 times more productive and all of that.
31:35.5
But, anyway, the warnings were already sent to certain people, so I hope they don't mess around anymore.
31:40.6
But, so, I was really, I don't take things lightly, right?
31:47.1
Because I believe God did not create us in vain.
31:50.2
I think God had a mission for all of us, and we have to fulfill this mission,
31:54.1
and really do our best to fulfill this mission.
31:56.1
So, when I feel someone is wasting my time, or someone is not taking something seriously, seriously enough,
32:01.0
or I think people are just,
32:02.3
I'm gonna call that out, all right?
32:05.9
You see, we had Gomborza, we had Rizal, we had all these fantastic people more than 100 years ago.
32:12.2
And then, look at how we ended up.
32:14.6
We ended up this way because we allowed the trapos and oligarchs and all this,
32:19.7
like this whole culture of mediocrity and everything else to hold us back.
32:25.2
So, we need to correct that.
32:26.7
We need to push back against that.
32:28.1
And, of course, it's not gonna be easy.
32:30.5
And, for me, I just felt,
32:32.3
it's part of the journey.
32:33.8
At least, nakakalaman na.
32:35.3
Now, I know who is who.
32:37.8
And, thanks to you guys, I got to also know, you know,
32:40.8
that marami, marami dyan sa ating mga kababayan,
32:44.1
including a lot of people who do not agree with me 100%.
32:47.9
I know, I mean, we have followers who are like pro-Duterte, pro-Marcos.
32:53.2
Of course, many of course, pro-Pro-Leni, many of course, may mga pro-Eastco, may mga pro-
32:57.5
And, I know that they're not there because they're happy with everything I say.
33:01.3
I think some of them, even,
33:02.3
some of them came in just to bash me or hate her or whatever.
33:05.1
But, I think eventually, everyone who bothered to listen to the cadence,
33:11.2
to bother to understand the intentions behind what we're doing,
33:15.9
they realize, okay, something else is going on here, right?
33:19.2
This is a humble, small, flawed, yes, flawed, but still,
33:24.2
well-intentioned effort to introduce a different approach to entertainment and infotainment, right?
33:31.1
I know what I'm talking about.
33:32.2
I've worked in all big media networks in this country, right?
33:35.1
Not only abroad, but I've worked, and I'm still writing for the biggest newspaper in this country, all right?
33:40.5
So, I know what I'm talking about when I'm talking about the state of infotainment and everything in this country.
33:47.8
I just realized, you know, if you want to do something really special,
33:52.4
something that has not been done before or has not been done for quite some time,
33:56.4
it's just unavoidable.
33:57.6
It's just unavoidable.
33:58.9
That you're going to run into frustrations, you're going to run into some walls,
34:02.2
you're going to have moments when you're going to doubt yourself,
34:08.1
you're going to have moments where you're going to question yourself,
34:11.6
you're going to have moments where you're wondering,
34:13.8
am I doing the right thing?
34:15.6
Am I wasting my time here?
34:17.5
Because, you know, I'm not going to be quote-unquote young forever, right?
34:22.4
I still want to write a novel, at least.
34:25.2
You know, one of my goals is to write a novel that would have been Rizal's third novel.
34:30.1
As you know, guys, Rizal had the three lobes.
34:32.2
So, everyone knows Nolly.
34:35.1
If you have read El Phili, which is fantastic, really my favorite,
34:38.4
one of my favorite, top ten favorite novels of all time,
34:41.6
along with The Idiot and War and Peace and a lot of Russian novels for that matter.
34:54.2
I want to do a proper book on, you know, why is the Philippines where it is today
34:59.8
and kind of like the secret history of the Philippines.
35:02.2
You know, and you need energy for that.
35:06.4
You need strength for that.
35:07.6
You need time for that.
35:08.6
You need to have resources for that, no?
35:13.4
So, you know, I hope folks don't, this is not about being whiny and drama and saying,
35:21.1
it's just, you know, sometimes you just have to be reasonable and wonder,
35:26.4
what is the, how can I make the best out of what I got, right?
35:31.6
And while you're saying,
35:32.1
I'm still semi-young, right, or still energetic,
35:35.4
how can I make the most out of that so that I can leave a legacy, right?
35:40.6
And lo and behold, what I realized is that this podcast things we're doing,
35:44.8
this vlog things we're doing is also part of the legacy building, right?
35:49.0
One of the things I realized is that greatness is not only about writing great novels or great books.
35:54.6
That's fantastic.
35:56.5
You know, I've written many books myself.
35:57.8
I want to write more.
35:58.6
I want to do more.
35:59.5
But I realized it's not that one,
36:02.1
one big, you know, book, grand book, and then that's it.
36:08.1
It's really about this everyday conversation you're going to have with folks, right?
36:12.1
These everyday disagreements and back and forths and bardugulan.
36:15.1
This constant dialogue, this daily dialogue, just like what Socrates had in the Agora.
36:20.3
You know, every day he would go there to the center of town,
36:23.3
talk to the aristocrats, talk to either slaves, talk to whoever, right?
36:27.5
And it was that daily, daily philosophical interaction.
36:32.1
And that's what gave meaning to his life and what makes Socrates one of the most amazing souls
36:38.0
that has ever, you know, walked the surface of earth.
36:41.3
Although some would question whether Socrates really lived.
36:43.7
We can talk about Socrates, Shakespeare.
36:45.8
But you get what I'm saying.
36:48.6
So what I realized is actually what we're doing, these vlogs and all of that,
36:53.3
yeah, on the surface you can make fun and napaka underproduced,
36:59.0
pangit ng quality, internet natin malabo,
37:02.1
yeah, many times, you know, yung mga puro mga, I mean, all the,
37:08.3
alam mo yung this, diba?
37:11.2
But, you know, that's why I really, I felt so relieved, no?
37:17.4
Nagkita ko na kaya natin magta-top 100 sa Spotify.
37:22.3
Na nagawa natin top 30 sa Apple Podcasts.
37:27.3
And time and again, we were number one sa news and political podcasts.
37:32.1
It's really a big deal for me.
37:34.1
It's really a big deal for me because it's not about my ego.
37:37.0
I mean, although, I mean, I'll be honest, I'm not the most humble guy walking around.
37:40.0
Yes, at least I have the self-awareness.
37:41.7
But this is about showing that kaya yan eh.
37:45.1
That with limited resources, with limited production,
37:49.6
I mean, may konting naman tulong ako here and there with thumbnails or whatever,
37:52.6
but you see most of it is really just spontaneous.
37:55.7
With shorts, of course, thanks to Paring Anton.
37:58.7
But most of it is really raw production, no?
38:02.1
And we're not talking about, you know, I don't know, celebrities,
38:09.6
I don't know, sex life of people, yung mga barangay love stuff like that.
38:13.2
I mean, those are fantastic, of course.
38:14.5
But my point is, to be able to be still in top 100 in Spotify, top 30 in Apple Podcasts, etc.,
38:22.8
when you're up against all of these other well-established, well-funded,
38:26.9
overproduced, entertainment-oriented, erotic events, all of them,
38:31.2
that, I just felt a profound sense of relief.
38:36.3
Na parang, okay, mukhang hindi ako delusional when I thought we can do something special here, right?
38:43.2
And again, and again, this is not about, oh, hey, Darian thinking,
38:46.5
here's the man who's gonna solve all that.
38:48.7
This is about inspiring a new generation.
38:52.4
Kaya kung nakita niyo yung sa ibang interviews ko recently,
38:55.1
I had two dun sa TV show natin, View from Manila,
38:58.5
which, thank God, of course, we were nominated.
39:01.2
It's a Asian Television Network Award finalist in Taichung,
39:04.5
so I'm super thankful to the Lord.
39:06.5
I mean, thank God, and God willing, you know,
39:11.1
I hope the best because this is also my way of saying thank you to my team
39:14.6
and all of that, so View from Manila, and our long conversation and all.
39:17.6
Now, going back to this,
39:20.6
sorry na, this stuff, oh, I'm just checking on my dad here.
39:27.4
No, I mean, yun nga eh.
39:31.2
so sorry, yeah, I just remembered.
39:33.0
So you saw, you know, I'm doing also this podcast with some of our fellows,
39:38.2
fellow millennials, almost gen Z na yata, di ba?
39:41.1
Talking about West Philpissian and all of that.
39:43.3
I had two at least episodes of View from Manila with three younger than me,
39:48.0
definitely, you know, folks in their 20s or early 30s.
39:51.4
You know, so I was very proud and happy that, you know, we have this generation.
39:56.7
I'm not thanking, let me be absolutely clear, I'm not taking credit for that.
40:00.2
What I'm just saying is that,
40:01.2
I hope the next generation, gen Z or younger folks, you know, when, you know, they can say,
40:06.6
there was a guy like A. Darion, you know, with limited resources, but a lot of, you know,
40:11.8
a lot of, was kind of able to pull off at least, I don't know, five out of ten.
40:16.4
And hopefully, one day, there will be people who pull off ten out of ten,
40:19.6
or fifteen out of ten, or whatever, gonna do better than that.
40:21.6
But at least, I'm glad we paved the road, we paved the road.
40:24.9
And essentially, proof of concept, Aya, that this can be done.
40:27.9
This can be done without sponsors, without production, whatever.
40:31.1
I'm not ruling out that at some point, you know, when you reach a certain scale,
40:34.6
you will need certain level of production and help, et cetera.
40:38.1
Yes, of course, at some point.
40:39.4
But at least over the past year or so, we proved that we can make it to top 100 in Spotify,
40:44.1
top 30 in Apple Podcasts, and not naman always, but at least more or less number one in news and political podcast
40:51.4
with the very limited resources that we have, right?
40:54.5
And with the very sabog.
40:57.0
Sometimes sabog, I mean.
40:58.1
But that's the thing.
40:59.3
Sometimes, I'm irritated when I comment.
41:02.2
Now, why don't you go straight to your point?
41:03.7
Like, dude, if you want to read, if you want to get my idea exactly on a certain issue,
41:08.2
go on Google and type, hey, Darion and Vieta, you will have my full article, 100% on about that.
41:13.7
This vlog is not supposed to be a substitute for you reading quality materials, including articles by yours truly.
41:21.5
So, my articles are out there.
41:22.6
There are probably 2,000 of them at least out there that are available for free.
41:26.1
You can read them, or at least you can have free access, limited access.
41:31.1
So, this is a conversation.
41:32.6
This is dialogue.
41:33.4
You know, Socrates wouldn't go to a god and say, Mr., I don't know, something, I'm going to have three points today.
41:38.9
That's not how you do it, right?
41:41.1
It's a conversation, right?
41:42.5
Now, if you want to have, you know, essentially treaties on a certain issue, I also have that.
41:49.1
But go and read my books.
41:50.6
Go and read my articles.
41:52.1
But if you're here, this is going to be a conversation.
41:54.8
Anyway, I don't want to be drama.
41:56.5
I don't want to be emotional or anything like that.
41:59.3
I just hope you realize, guys, there's a lot of passion.
42:02.9
Positive passion.
42:03.6
But there was also a lot of frustration and anger that has been driving us.
42:08.0
But for the good cause.
42:09.5
Because we know we're doing the right thing here.
42:12.3
So, you know, before we end the final vlog of the year, let me just say thank you so much to all of you folks on YouTube, on Facebook.
42:23.2
I mean, YouTube has been a revelation.
42:25.4
I mean, YouTube has been big.
42:29.3
We're doing very well also in YouTube.
42:30.5
Thank you so much.
42:31.8
Of course, Facebook.
42:32.8
I mean, it looks like it's cyclical.
42:34.3
So, siguro, hopefully, pag malapit na election sulit, bumalik tayo dun sa mga million views videos and all natin.
42:39.1
But thank God, some of the supporters natin sa YouTube and other platforms, you know, there's some sort of momentum here.
42:46.4
And we're trying to be more active on TikTok, among others.
42:48.7
As you know, I raised already some issues with TikTok.
42:51.1
I'll try to raise this with their management and all.
42:53.3
And let's see how things go with that.
42:54.8
Because I want to make sure that we maximize all platforms in the best way.
42:59.3
It's possible to get the message out and more generations, you know, people across different generations listening to the right message.
43:05.6
Because I think this is what we're doing.
43:07.2
And as you know, I'm into collaboration.
43:10.4
I'm really, really into collaboration.
43:13.0
I don't believe in petty competition.
43:15.3
Yeah, yeah, it's post-ranking.
43:16.6
I'm number one, this and that.
43:17.5
But, you know, this is not supposed to be disrespect to other people.
43:21.9
It's just telling our supporters and all that we're on the right track.
43:26.6
You know, I'm really for collaboration because I don't like petty competition.
43:32.2
I am for competition, certain levels of rivalry in competition like Ronaldo versus Messi, I don't know, Brian versus Lebron James, I don't know, Benz versus P.M.
43:42.0
Yeah, yeah, certain healthy rivalry is always good and I welcome that, right?
43:47.8
But I'm definitely for more collaboration than competition, blah, blah, blah, you know, of that.
43:52.3
So thank God that we have friends like Lele Claudio.
43:56.6
Friends like Ronald Llamas, friends like Cristan, Mark Gamboa, among others who have been collaborating.
44:03.1
With Mark naman, this goes more than two years already.
44:05.6
But this year, Quater Revelation with Ronald Llamas, Quater Revelation, of course, with also with Cristan.
44:13.8
And of course, with Lelo, yung tuloy-tuloy din yung efforts natin.
44:16.8
So thank you so much for that.
44:18.5
Alright, before tayo mag-drama, baka magiging melodramatic na tayo.
44:22.7
Let me just go back to this.
44:25.0
I'm just making sure.
44:27.9
Sige, check ko na kung major na ito.
44:29.3
Now, before we get melodramatic and all,
44:32.3
no, we're not gonna get melodramatic.
44:34.4
But this was myself saying thank you to you guys, right?
44:37.2
And you see me for who I am, right?
44:39.9
You know, no makeup, no...
44:44.0
I mean, of course, you know.
44:45.7
Hindi ko na kasi naman medyo stylish tayo.
44:47.5
But, you know, and sometimes a little bit too experimental.
44:50.0
Alam ko, dami nag-bash sa akin doon sa Tatler Ball last year na naka, ano ako,
44:56.5
Hindi, kasi diba may heel socks na hindi na nakikita.
44:59.0
But, anyways, whatever, you know.
45:00.5
Mamaya natin pag-uusapan yung mga Paris Fashion Week and all of that.
45:04.1
But, you get what I'm saying.
45:08.7
And yeah, I mean, unlike some, you know, people na nagbubuldyakan,
45:13.3
you know, I'm not here to spread marites and call people names
45:16.2
and say, you know, I have Chanel of 1970s na vintage and all of that.
45:21.3
But I hope, guys, you appreciate yung mga split-screen mecos-mecos edition
45:24.9
na ginagawa natin.
45:25.5
It's just a new experiment we're doing.
45:27.5
And, anyway, thank you very much, mga amigos.
45:33.5
It was really, really a great pleasure sharing this year with you guys.
45:38.5
And believe me, you guys think you're just, you know, a message there.
45:45.5
So, see, I see your comments.
45:47.5
I'm responding to them.
45:48.5
I'm taking in all the information and suggestions and all of that.
45:52.5
Thank you so much.
45:53.5
Thank you so much again, guys.
45:54.5
For all your support and all.
45:56.5
Please just continue to do that.
45:57.5
And support everyone who's doing the right thing in this country.
46:00.5
Because you never know.
46:01.5
One day, we might get the perfect, not perfect, but, you know, yung mga swak na leaders para sa ating bansa.
46:08.5
Hindi lang politically.
46:09.5
But in every level of governance and in every field of competence and leadership.
46:15.5
Kailangan natin yan.
46:16.5
Educational, economic, corporate, media, journalism, government.
46:22.5
All of this, right?
46:23.5
We need really a new approach to leadership.
46:27.5
And you're not going to get that if we do not have a proper understanding of how societies run in the 21st century and how societies are supposed to be run in the 21st century.
46:38.5
And those are the things that we do in these vlogs and discussions and all.
46:42.5
Thank you very much.
46:44.5
Wishing everyone a happy, happy new year.
46:47.5
Of course, tomorrow is Sunday.
46:48.5
It's going to be, you know, the day before.
46:52.5
The day before New Year.
46:55.5
And Sunday, as you know, is Sabbath for me.
46:57.5
So I always, always advise for you folks.
46:59.5
I know you can see I'm tired.
47:00.5
The highbacks and all of that.
47:01.5
But at least, I always make sure that I have at least one complete Sabbath day in every sense of the word.
47:07.5
And at least on Fridays, digitally speaking, I try to take half a break.
47:10.5
So as you can see, I don't make that much comments.
47:13.5
Yung ba kasi naka-scheduled.
47:15.5
Or wala akong post almost.
47:16.5
1 to 7 pm, 1 to 6 pm.
47:18.5
Very limited yung ma-post usually on Fridays.
47:22.5
So please also take care of yourself.
47:24.5
Try to make sure you have some sort of health and vocation balance.
47:33.5
And my sincere apologies if ever, you know, we said things or we did things even inadvertently in the past year that may have hurt people's feelings and all of that.
47:44.5
No, I always say, whoever you voted for, whatever you have said against me or whatever in the past,
47:50.5
as long as you're willing to listen, as long as you're willing to be self-reflective,
47:54.5
and in some cases, kung may contrition and there's a, you know, a will to redemption,
48:01.5
And nakita ko eh, marami nang kaka-comment minsan sa mga videos natin.
48:04.5
Ayaw nga nung 2016, ganitong binoto ko.
48:06.5
Last year, itong binoto ko.
48:07.5
Ngayon, ngayon nagsisisi ako.
48:09.5
At least, at least there's that level of openness.
48:12.5
And at the same time, also aminin natin na no candidate has been perfect.
48:17.5
No president has been perfect.
48:18.5
All of our presidents have had their shortcomings.
48:19.5
Some way more than others.
48:22.5
So, huwag lang, huwag din tayo mag-feeling na,
48:24.5
oh, dahil yung sinuporta nila, palpak nung lumabas,
48:28.5
tapos yung sinuporta mo hindi nanalo, doon na siyempre automatically,
48:32.5
yung sinuporta mo kung nanalo yun, that person would have been perfect.
48:36.5
Governance is difficult.
48:37.5
Politics is always divisive.
48:39.5
This is a lot about emotions, unfortunately.
48:41.5
More about emotions than reason.
48:43.5
So, we have to be patient.
48:44.5
And we have to be compassionate.
48:46.5
Because through patience and compassion,
48:47.5
we can push for critical things.
48:49.5
Thank you very much, everyone.
48:50.5
Maraming salamat.
48:55.5
Sabi niya Jovelin diyan.
48:56.5
Relax ka lang, Jovelin.
49:02.5
Happy New Year, everyone.
49:03.5
And looking forward to greeting you.
49:05.5
God willing, inshallah.
49:10.5
In just over 24 hours, depending on what time zones we are.
49:16.5
Thank you so much.
49:19.5
Hasta pronto, okay?
49:20.5
Hope to see you, guys.
49:23.5
And talk to you soon.
