To some extent, it is no surprise how the closer we are to the May elections, the deeper we are into our echo chambers. This is, after all, what it means when more people agree on something. After all, the number of people it takes to disbelieve Covid numbers is also the same number of people you need to debunk Presidential surveys; the number of people you need to start believing SMNI would be the same number of people you need to start championing Google trends as the basis for “real” presidential survey numbers. The more you are in a bubble of a rally, the more you believe this is it, the election can be won by this.

That we are mirroring the actions of the other side should be no surprise, but it also bears articulation.

Here, a basic lesson in gentrification. The spaces we inhabit are based on our privilege, as it is based on the lack of it. Our access to certain areas of a city dictates the same. Places within the same city, even in the same zipcode, can completely disenfranchise the poor. Emerald Avenue, Ayala Avenue, and all the “business districts” do this. This is why the same stretch of JP Rizal that ties together Cembo, Pembo, Rembo is a space as fancy as Rockwell and Powerplant mall.

This is not the time to problematize gentrification. The point is only to acknowledge that the choices made for where the big Robredo rallies are held is indicative of the audience it caters to. 

And that audience is us, people who are already voting for VP Leni, who are already voting for the 1Sambayan slate, who are already in the echo chamber. We are the ones who would not think twice about going to the business districts, who would not feel out-of-place in these spaces, and might even have friends and family who live in the area. The question really is why VP Leni is spending time and energy still talking to us, the people who are already on her side?  

And this is really on the Robredo campaign strat: campaign rallies are supposed to introduce your candidate, sell your candidate to an audience of possible voters, to the undecided, to the uninterested. This is why we bring celebrities and known personalities to our campaign rallies—so that even uninterested and maybe even antagonistic voters might be reeled in by the star power and decide in favor of the candidate(s) on stage. Those rallies happen in the communities, in spaces that are accessible to that voter who has yet to decide in favor of us. And those rallies are necessarily small, not a show of force or power, but a show of compassion and care that is bound to a community’s needs, that tells them, here we are taking time to talk to you. It’s targeted and specific. And it is in the space where the majority of voters are found—that mammoth 90% from D and E.

The thing is, VP Leni is the perfect candidate for this voting demographic. Community work is something she knows, it is what’s familiar. This is where her voice is unique, as that persona who seeks dialogue, who listens, who solves urgent problems even as she sees bigger pictures. Robredo can navigate the community like the back of her hand, and this is her one-up against all of the candidates. It is a conundrum that her campaign has not used this to their advantage.

Instead, this official campaign has become a very strange flex of rally numbers in city centers, spending time, energy, and resources on gathering crowds that are already for Robredo to begin with. Imagine how many small rallies and events near palengkes or in communities could be done on the funds used for big city rallies, which is a performance of our echo chamber and not much else? And no, stop using the “this is a people’s campaign” excuse, “this is what the volunteers want” excuse. We all know by now that this is not true. The official campaign is dictating the moves of “official” volunteers. 

And it’s not just the hours and funds spend on these big rallies. It’s the optics. Yes it looks good to us, and sure you get really good media mileage. But the enemy has already built solid propaganda against Robredo as elitista-dilawan, and these rallies just provide fuel for that propaganda. It’s not just where the rallies are held, it’s the fact that they see us partying and having a good time, in a time and place of crisis. To us, it looks like hopefulness. But what does it look like to the majority of voters who have not decided who to vote for, but are hearing “Bagong Pilipinas” and “Umagang Kay Ganda” on radio and Tiktok, and have already gotten propaganda against Robredo-Pangilinan as “pang-mayaman”?

And maybe you don’t care about those voters, because you don’t believe the surveys. But the numbers do not lie: we are but 10% of the vote. You need at least 31% from D2 and E to convert to Robredo-Pangilinan. These rallies are not talking to that demographic, and worse, is further disenfranchising our slate from this campaign and these candidates. Let’s not even start with the wealth flex that we can’t seem to get rid of.

What can official campaign still do with 47 days to go? A radical shift.

(1) Let go of these mammoth rallies in city centers and just plan one big one for the end of the campaign. And of course the street party when we finally win.

(2) Spend the rest of this time mounting smaller rallies and events in communities, near palengkes, and barangay halls, and go back to caravans. Have those artistas get in the caravan with VP Leni and Senator Kiko—reel people in, take them out of their homes, introduce VP Leni by bringing her closer to the demographic disengaged from those massive rallies.

(3) All hands on deck: VP Leni doesn’t always have to be around, and her slate doesn’t always have to be together. Team-up the senators (INCLUDE NERI) with celebrities and have them do the palengke tours and caravans, giving away flyers and posters, with VP Leni’s face plastered everywhere. Spread them everywhere.

(4) Social media is good, sure, but as we know by now with the big rallies, seeing the bands and performers we like onstage is special—it is the same for everyone else. I mean imagine if Melai and Jolina spent time in palengkes just distributing flyers? Or those artistas in a moving vehicle with a senatorial candidate?

(5) Spread out those celebrities and musicians and known personalities who are speaking for the Leni-Kiko slate and 1Sambayan slate that includes Colmenares and Labog. Bring two or three to communities with one or two senatoriables. Do a small quick program in barangay halls, on make-shift stages, on a truck!

(6) Huwag maliitin ang maliit na komunidad. Meeting artistas and candidates will be told and re-told in homes and communities, and if connected to a massive ground campaign of posters and flyers and stickers, will not be forgotten until May 9.

I know this campaign likes to sell itself as a volunteer-driven one, and yes many initiatives are. But the official campaign is the one running this show, and right now, those shows are catering to a demographic that it already has in its pocket.

47 days to go, and the mantra should be: Bring Back Leni. Bring her back to the communities, bring her back  to her element, to her best most familiar self and persona. That’s where this battle’s always been. And that’s where she can still win this battle. ***