Bobotante vs Woke: Why These Labels Are Killing Intelligent Voting
Rodom Fetiza just chuckled when a cousin called him "bobotante" on Facebook for supporting the presidential bid of Bongbong Marcos in 2022 and for voting for President Rodrigo Duterte six years prior. He is a UP Law graduate and bar passer, far from a stupid person who needs to be schooled by so-called wokes.
Another counter-argument to being tagged "bobotante", Fetiza voted for Vice President Leni Robredo in 2016, positioned as the thinking voter's pick next year. Also a UP batchmate of Robredo's running mate, Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, Fetiza is challenging what it means to be branded a stupid voter because it comes from an elitist viewpoint.
"I took the use of the term not as a personal attack but as a generic derisive term to classify Duterte voters or sympathizers for their supposed lack of discernment in choosing the leaders they vote," he told reportr.
"Why BBM? He has survived 35 years of persecution and you can't sense a bitterness in him. He is always positive and upbeat," he said, adding he would also vote for Sara Duterte-Carpio for vice president.
What is Bobotante?
A portmanteau of bobo (stupid) and botante (voter), the pejorative bobotante reflects the frustration of Filipinos who want to blame a sector of the electorate for what they think is an ill choice, sociologist Prince Aldama told reportr.
The thinking has turned the masses into enablers of ineffective leadership, accused of selling their votes and picking gyrating celebrities over candidates with clear platforms, Aldama said. This election, the anti-Marcos side are saying those who pick the late dictator's only son and namesake are doing so because they're ill-informed.
"Tingin natin kapag educated ka, mas pipili ka ng mas magagaling na leaders. Wala kang formal education, therefore kulang ka sa kaalaman. Pero 'di porke wala kang formal education, you're incapable of making good decisions," said Aldama, who teaches sociology of politics.
Are the poor responsible for Duterte's ascent in 2016? According to an exit poll by TV5-SWS in May 2016, Duterte led his closest rival Mar Roxas by 26 points in the A, B, and C economic classes. He led by 17 points in class D, and 7 points in class E, said SWS president Mahar Mangahas.
Duterte's campaign platform -- drug war, ending corruption and criminality -- are all middle-class problems, reflecting the elites' concerns about their security, sociologist Jayeel Cornelio said during a Sept. 24 UP Los Baños webinar.
"Where is the poor or the lower class being accused as being bobotante? They're the ones being blamed for the misery and the problems of the country which the more privileged classes actually made by supporting the wrong choice of leaders," said Aldama.
The bobotante branding is subjective as voting is a democratic right, he said.
"It comes from our individual values. 'Yung preference ko, kung hindi tutugma sa preference mo, likely na tatawagin kitang bobotante, hindi ba?"
Those who voted for Duterte are not bobotante, said Fetiza the lawyer. Proof of which, the President's choice of successor, his longtime aide Sen. Bong Go, is ranked fourth in an online survey "In short, nag-iisip," he said.
Woke as the Flipside of 'Bobotante'
On the opposite end of the bobotante stereotype are the wokes, or those who are "intellectually sophisticated," Cornelio said.
Being woke shouldn't be limited to witty clapbacks and mic drops on social media, he said. If it doesn't engage the masses, it's plain elitism.
"When you analyze the way discourses are deployed on social media, may yabang e. In fact to a certain extent, it is becoming, if it has not yet become, very elitist... In many ways, very condescending and conversation ending."
Being woke, or educated and loud, won't help unless you understand that irrationality also has a role in politics, Aldama said.
"The problem with the academe is that it becomes so detached sa reality na pinag-aaralan n'ya and the solutions that it puts forward are that of the intellectual, palaging appeal to logic," he said.
"The fact na binisita ka [ng pulitiko], nakita mo siya, nakamayan mo siya, meron kaagad feeling. We shouldn't underestimate the power of emotions in our electoral system because no matter how legalistic these things are, charisma and tradition has something to do with the way we select our leaders."
As long as the masses are forced to solve everyday problems like hunger on their own, it will be difficult to ask them to think about the country's future, said Aldama. It's a privilege only those in the upper class can afford.
"Check your privileges. Madali maging kritikal kapag may luxury ka of time e," he said.
Conversation is Key
Instead of "educating" those with opposing views, which feeds the bobotante myth, Cornelio and Aldama said those seeking to convert voters to their fold should take a conversational approach.
"Iba 'yung usapin ng you have the facts and in communicating the facts that you have. We usually fall short sa kakayahan natin to communicate the facts that we have, on how to engage people in conversations. We need to go there and learn how to persuade the public," Aldama said.
If both sides feel their convictions are right, there will be no interaction, said Cornelio. Engage instead in dialogues, not lectures.
"Tayong mga hindi agree sa kanila, mas maiintindihan natin kung saan sila nanggagaling at silang hindi nakakaintindi sa atin, mas maiintidihan nila kung saan tayo nanggagaling. Maybe, those conversations can stir up something more far reaching."
