If we are to believe Esguerra and his humble brag coated in sarcasm about his “walang ka-kuwenta-kuwentang podcast” then this is such a small thing, it barely matters. But that’s the thing: he is making it matter, and even his bosom buddy Ronald Llamas can’t seem to stop talking about Esguerra-as-victim at this point, which just makes it matter even more. That a content card was generated to show support for Esguerra as the Marcos vloggers started asking questions of him and his kind of commentary, is also telling: may effect kahit paano ang ganitong pagko-call-out at scale ng mga, as Christian puts it, “kung sinu-sino lang” na pro-BBM vloggers (as opposed to him not being kung sinu-sino lang, kasi nga journalist siya, and therefore hindi “sumasamba” sa pulitiko).

Of course Atty Claire Castro, originally a vlogger, but now the Presidential Spokesperson, is not kung sinu-sino lang, and I sense that it is her engagement with this issue that has gotten Christian and friends all riled up: gawain nga ba ito ng isang Presidential spokesperson? To answer that rhetorical question, it is a yes. Especially in this particular present, after six years of Duterte, and four years into the Marcos presidency, because there is absolutely no other way but to engage across mainstream and social media. Anything less allows for falsity to fester, just like the whole bangag narrative against BBM which the administration responded to too late.

Besides, kapatol-patol naman si Christian bilang vlogger, just like pinapatulan ng spokesperson at ng vloggers across the Duterte-Marcos divide kapag umabot na sa namecalling ang tirahan nila sa isa’t-isa. Pero dahil hindi nga daw “vlogger lang” si Christian, there is a layer here that is about him being attacked as a journalist, in what he insists is coordinated action. The latter is highly arguable and hard to prove. It is also telling that this is exactly the same narrative that politicians use when they are criticized heavily by the public: “Coordinated ‘yan!” they say. “Trolls ‘yan lahat!” they also say. Exactly as Christian says.

It is also telling that few of the ones who have posted supportive statements for Christian are journalists. It could be because those of us in this echo chamber who are more critical and are not clouded by political loyalties can tell there is a big problem with the way he continues to fashion himself as journalist (with ethics, professionalism etc.) even when he also swings quite comfortably to vlogger (namecalling, macho-shit language, usapang lalake, huntahan sa kanto discourse, etc.). And when he swung to using the word TANGA to describe the President, I don’t know that any self-respecting journalist would stand with him on that.

So when he claims “journalist ako hindi vlogger”, what I wonder is whether or not what he’s doing, split personality and all, is problematic to anyone else. Because there is no bigger contradiction than a vlogger and a journalist. At its best, the latter believes and follows and code of ethics, is expected to do research, be careful about what he says and ensure that he doesn’t spread falsity and baseless opinions. At its best, the vlogger wears his heart on his sleeve (in the tradition of Mocha Uson 2016), with no denials of biases, no pretense of being objective and with the general frame of “mamamayan, hindi media” or some such frame that the Duterte era vlogger-propagandists actually used.

And this is why it’s even more problematic to me that Christian has been unable to handle criticism, and has instead doubled-down and continued to look down on the BBM vloggers as a way to dismiss questions and evade accountability. Because what it has surfaced is a very VERY clear return to the discourse that won Duterte 2016. It’s that discourse that is about the elitista(-dilawan) versus the masa; that discourse that is about the know-it-all-dilawans and the rest of us.

It was very clear to all of us in 2016 after all, that Duterte’s campaign fed off the elitism of the Aquino administration, coming as it did from Yolanda and its anti-people relief response, coming as it did from the treatment of the Lumad as nothing more but bakwit, coming as it did from a whole government filled with dominantly male voices, talking about being “on the right side of history”, claiming their governance the best EVER, as its President was incorruptible. But none of the good in PNoy will erase the tone and tenor, the actions and articulations, that were elitist through and through.

If Christian and his bestfriend Llamas think we’ve forgotten all of that, then this takedown of the vlogger-journalist Christian should be a wake-up call. Because guess what: between these two, plus Edwin Lacierda and Barry Guttierez, plus all the macho voices out of Kwatro Kantos to Richard Heydarian — we are reminded every day of how horrible it was to live with an elitist government. That one that looks down on the mass voter and calls them bobo. That one that thinks they are doing sarcasm or irony when they are doing neither. That one that uses namecalling and inuman-sa-kanto discourse, but will insist that they should not be the target of the same because they are better than everybody else.

If at all, what Christian and Llamas are getting a massive dose of what it’s like when THEY are the ones na hindi tinitigilan; when THEY are the ones na pinupulutan (to borrow Sec Claire’s words). And no, saying that ginagamit ka lang for content (as Christian has insinuated) is disingenuous — everyone is using everyone for content. Because if that were not true, Christian would not be spending good money cutting up his full interviews and huntahan with guests. He would just let the long drawn out hour with Llamas where they talk about nothing and laugh about things only they can see, sit on his YouTube page and die a natural death. Instead he USES these interviews and reposts them in snippets. Sure he can say it’s “to inform people”. But it is also, without a doubt, to earn more from this content.

This is why Christian — as with all other vloggers — are most interested in the number of subscribers that he has. This is why it’s become a form of bragging rights (just like his awards — WAW!), as it has allowed Llamas to call him a “significant” journalist. By whose standards, one wonders. When half the time on his page, Christian doesn’t act at all like a journalist, but like a vlogger — he sits in front of his camera, sumasampa na halos walang bitbit, (hindi ko alam ha, pero parang may ganito, siguro may ganyan, puwede bang ganito?) bantering with Llamas, saying that his podcast is walang kakuwenta-kuwenta.

And here’s the thing: when Christian and Llamas insist on looking at the number of subscribers, I would turn the tables on their criticism even of VP Sara, who they say should be held MORE accountable given the 30 million who voted for her. Alternatively, Christian, with his 700,000 subscribers should be held more accountable compared to the vloggers who have 200k, 500k subscribers. You reach more people, the more responsible you should be about what you say. That seems fair.

Ah, but then again, who is Christian responsible to? Who will hold him accountable? Unlike journalists who stick to a code of ethics or else can be reprimanded by the institutions they are part of, Christian is the king of his own YouTube kingdom. He is both content creator and content owner; he is both writer and editor and publisher; he is host and producer and director. There is no one he has to answer to.

And when he is called out, he will look down on his critics and dismiss them as bobotante or kulto or unthinking loyalists.

This kind of elitism won one Duterte an election, and won a Marcos another. What do they say about repeating the same mistakes and expecting different outcomes.