00:17.0
methods being utilized, the more science
00:20.1
we bring into the thing,
00:22.4
the more the surveys
00:23.7
matter in the life
00:26.0
of our country. So this is something
00:30.0
to advocate as individuals, as members
00:32.0
of organizations like OCTA,
00:37.8
it is what it is. We're in
00:39.6
interesting times, Richard.
00:41.0
For the first time in a long time,
00:43.2
we have factors running the show
00:45.2
that are outside of the country,
00:49.1
Romaldises, the Marcoses,
00:51.3
the parochialism,
00:57.7
We have strong players
00:59.6
in the global arena.
01:01.4
The new Cold War. We're kind of the Berlin
01:03.9
of the 21st century, if I can put it that way.
01:05.5
Exactly. Yeah, yeah.
01:06.6
We're caught in the middle.
01:10.0
It's complex, diba?
01:11.6
It's extremely complex.
01:13.7
These are entities
01:15.5
that are driving the dynamics
01:17.4
at the domestic level. And for the first
01:19.6
time, we really experienced
01:20.8
what... And they're taking sides.
01:24.4
They're influencing.
01:25.2
And we have, as people,
01:27.3
to be conscious of this and
01:29.2
take charge. Take back
01:32.4
and play a more productive role
01:35.4
as far as democracy is concerned.
01:37.5
And that can only happen if we
01:38.7
inform, inform, inform, and empower
01:41.1
people. I believe in
01:47.2
lead. And of course,
01:49.4
stronger institutions. But, you know,
01:50.8
it starts really with citizens.
01:53.5
And that's what OCTA is trying
01:55.2
to do, trying to be a part of.
01:57.3
That movement of truth-telling
01:59.3
and truth-sharing
02:01.6
hopefully will continue to do
02:04.0
in the years to come.
02:07.2
Last one, I want to put myself
02:10.0
For me, I see populism.
02:13.1
I mean, what's Cosmoda? It's something like
02:15.1
it's an illiberal democratic response
02:19.8
liberalism, right?
02:21.5
Yeah, I agree with you on that.
02:23.2
Right? This is not coming
02:25.3
out of nowhere. I think it's
02:27.3
partly a protest vote. It's partly a desperation
02:29.3
vote. It's partly also people trying
02:31.3
something different. It's ambivalence, right?
02:34.0
So you think Marcos win
02:35.3
or something like that?
02:36.6
Oh, absolutely. And also the appeal of
02:39.2
what I call disciplinary politics. You know,
02:41.1
this whole Singapore model thing,
02:43.3
right? So I think people
02:45.2
have to understand that our critique of populism
02:47.3
doesn't necessarily mean a full endorsement
02:49.2
of what came before it. I think the two
02:51.2
are connected. There is a causality there.
02:53.8
Therefore, Sigur, last point
02:55.1
here. Again, I don't want to put you on the spot because you're from
02:57.2
a survey agency, but you're also a political scientist.
02:59.7
What do you think is the challenge now for the
03:01.2
opposition? Because there's a lot of, I mean, there's
03:03.4
the Duterte-Marcos fights
03:05.3
and all of that. But, you know, as far as opposition
03:09.1
nasa na opposition, right? I mean...
03:11.1
That's the basic question. It's a more
03:12.7
simple question. Where's the opposition?
03:15.7
Somebody has obviously appropriated
03:17.3
being the opposition, but are
03:19.2
they really the opposition?
03:23.1
that's why the opposition has to be
03:25.1
wherever they are.
03:27.2
They have to be more mindful, a little more
03:29.3
self-conscious about this.
03:31.9
And the opposition
03:33.4
has, you know, it can't be
03:35.2
the opposition of the last
03:37.4
six years. It has to
03:39.4
be around the values and
03:41.3
programs of government at this point.
03:48.2
debates that have to be
03:51.3
engaged by all the groups.
03:53.9
Where the country is going?
03:55.6
Who is it going to align with?
03:57.2
What are its values
03:58.5
that have to be protected?
04:01.2
In the end, that is what will
04:03.2
define whoever is going to emerge
04:05.0
as the opposition.
04:08.5
it doesn't seem clear
04:10.7
that there is a viable or even
04:12.9
legitimate opposition
04:16.3
And largely because
04:17.7
people have become quiet, people have become
04:20.4
parochial and personal, people have
04:24.1
the current dispensation. But
04:26.4
there is a window.
04:27.2
I think you understand and I believe
04:29.6
also that there is a space
04:31.4
for progressive politics to emerge.
04:34.4
And it really has to start
04:35.5
along, it has to be
04:37.5
disciplined by values, by
04:40.9
eventually by an ideology.
04:44.0
I know I'm being idealistic here,
04:45.5
but once our politics begins
04:47.4
to be disciplined by ideas, platform
04:49.7
and program, then
04:51.4
we can conceive of alternatives.
04:54.0
And organization. You need
04:57.2
You need legwork.
04:59.1
But do you believe that
05:01.2
possibly, it's very possible, this administration
05:03.6
might become more yellow than
05:05.1
it ought to be, right?
05:06.9
It's turning out to become
05:08.9
it's kind of an irony of sorts.
05:12.5
That's a Tiglau theory, right?
05:14.2
Like this is Aquino 2.0
05:15.8
or something like that.
05:18.5
That's what's happening now.
05:20.5
If the president's
05:27.2
He has to run a platform
05:29.1
that's a counter-argument
05:30.4
to the Duterte argument,
05:35.2
clear, although it's not very
05:42.9
And I guess this is what was wrong
05:45.1
with the campaign of Lenny
05:47.3
before. It just totally
05:49.0
negated that whole historical
05:51.1
past of being yellow
05:52.6
and all that it stood for.
05:55.5
And watered it down
05:58.3
which in the end appropriated what was
06:00.9
yellow in the first place.
06:02.4
What am I trying to say here?
06:04.0
The opposition has to go back to the roots,
06:07.4
to the radics. It has to go
06:09.0
back to the values it's been fighting
06:10.9
for, that history. But reinvented
06:12.8
for the 21st century.
06:13.7
It can't be the same
06:22.7
a hopeless case for them because the current
06:24.7
administration is looking for allies.
06:27.1
And the current administration might
06:28.9
actually, if they're wise,
06:35.1
Yeah, realignments. For convenience,
06:37.2
yeah, okay. But the thing is,
06:38.9
that's what politics is all about in some
06:40.7
level, the art of the possible.
06:43.6
And I think there's a space
06:44.7
for the possibility of this
06:46.8
administration aligning with the yellows.
06:49.4
With the dilawas.
06:50.3
And how do you see,
06:51.9
in a way, success of people like
06:54.8
Riza Ontiveros, very much progressed,
06:57.1
Very much attached to more left than
07:00.5
Back to back. She made it
07:02.9
in a very, very tough race. I mean, the
07:04.5
Senate race, the only one.
07:06.8
I mean, do you think that the Riza
07:08.4
precedence kind of
07:10.9
tells us the way forward for the
07:14.7
Or is it that's the way it generates?
07:16.4
Or is it the Riza?
07:18.7
Yeah, but I think
07:20.5
to a great extent, it's the distinct
07:22.2
style of Riza and how she captured.
07:24.5
But I don't know.
07:27.1
If we can recreate Riza
07:29.9
in particular. But what we do
07:31.9
know is that we have
07:33.4
the Dutertes arguing
07:35.4
a particular worldview, a particular
07:39.9
a particular style of governance,
07:42.8
this administration can
07:45.9
counter by, again, presenting
07:48.0
a counter-argument. And that counter-argument
07:50.0
would require them to align
07:51.4
with the progressives
07:55.3
people like Riza on
07:58.9
Tiberos and the so-called
08:01.2
Dilawans. I think
08:03.0
there's a genuine opportunity
08:04.4
because of the situation
08:07.1
where, the unique situation where
08:08.7
we have to deal with superpowers
08:10.9
playing, you know, a puppet master
08:14.7
the progressives and the administration
08:18.9
convenient to help each other
08:20.7
in the 2025 elections.
08:23.5
These are numbers
08:25.7
that might be formidable.
08:28.4
And people will see the counter-argument
08:33.2
that counter has been made stark
08:36.6
to our electorate.
08:38.2
Sino yung pro-China? Sino yung anti-China?
08:41.2
Sino yung pro-WPS?
08:44.6
Sino yung makatao?
08:46.2
Maka-Diyos? Maka-Bayan?
08:48.4
Sino yung pro-human rights?
08:49.9
Sino yung anti? These things can be
08:54.3
It can only find its
08:56.4
legitimacy if the administration
08:58.2
aligns with truly progressive forces
09:00.7
who have a history of
09:02.5
advocating these values.
09:04.7
And I think there's an opportunity for that
09:06.3
in the 2025 election.
09:08.2
If the administration is wise, they're not gonna
09:10.3
go with their regular slate.
09:12.3
They're gonna be including
09:18.0
But then again, if...
09:19.2
I'm not sure we're gonna be shocked. I mean, this is Philippines.
09:24.3
if the progressives
09:26.8
are wise, they'll
09:28.6
take up the opportunity,
09:30.7
the tactical alliance, because
09:32.6
it would mean preventing certain forces
09:34.5
from coming into power again.
09:36.6
On that note, thank you very much
09:38.5
to Professor Ranjit Rai of UP
09:40.6
Department of Political Science, and of course
09:42.8
the President. I mean, the President
09:44.7
of the OCTA Research
09:46.7
Group, which has been doing very, very
09:48.4
well. I'm very glad that we had
09:50.7
I mean, one hour, parang wala lang yung
09:52.6
one hour sa atin.
09:54.3
But I'm very proud of you,
09:56.8
Richard, as my student doing this
09:58.6
show, no? And I also want to let the
10:00.7
people know, these are my personal
10:02.4
opinions, not opinions of OCTA or
10:04.5
the university I belong to.
10:06.4
And I'm very happy that
10:08.4
you invited me in the show. Hopefully
10:10.6
we'll have more banter
10:12.5
and discussion in the future.
10:14.4
Yes, I hope this is a good warm-up, so
10:16.4
expecting that hopefully we'll have
10:18.2
more of you gracing our little
10:20.4
show here to discuss next big surveys.
10:22.8
Kasi, nga, I think people,
10:24.3
most appetites has been wedded by
10:26.2
yung idea na, who knows, maybe the next
10:28.3
survey ganito, ganyan. So the trend lines
10:30.3
are very important to make a proper
10:32.2
political analysis. Maraming salamat, Professor,
10:34.6
and have a good day. I know you're very busy.
10:36.4
You're getting texts and all of that. I'm sure maraming
10:38.2
talaga tayo. Thanks
10:40.0
for inviting me, and good luck with your show.
10:43.1
God bless, and talk to you soon, sir.
