What We've Been Writing #19: Caught in the middle
When we find ourselves in the middle of everything, what do we do? Where do we go? This month, pieces on everything from political chaos to creative futures.
So much has happened since our last digest—and I’m not just talking about our first Stack Natin Hangout at the end of last month. There’s the political chaos that’s consumed the country—whether it likes it or not—for the last few weeks… and then there are the sad stories from last week, first of the strong earthquake that struck southern Mindanao, and later, of the deaths of two student-athletes and the disastrous attempt of their home university to manage the story and make them look, err, less bad.
You may have noticed that I try my best to be topical with these digests, to reflect the stories we live in this particular moment, but to be honest, how exactly do I? Sometimes it feels like we’re just caught in the middle of things happening left, right and center. Aha—that’s the loose theme I’m looking for. (And besides, not everybody is writing about what’s going on in the news.)
A Pasay face-off
But first, politics. The chaos unfolding in recent weeks in our legislative branch—essentially, the Senate was split into two blocs, each asserting they’ve got the numbers and should get their way, just as the House elevates an impeachment complaint against vice president Sara Duterte, which itself was marred by a fugitive senator showing up to cast a critical vote and then disappear again after actual gunshots—has put into sharp focus the very difficult position of the… do we call them the left-leaning bloc? The “good governance” bloc? The “morally better” bloc? Considering how tight the grip of the “traditional politician” has become across our government, things do look bleak.
The first piece I’m highlighting is from Libra Tendencies, the current positioning of this bloc—against the vice president in this moment, and Dutertism in general—is not sustainable, especially with the somewhat polite squabbling amongst their ranks as to who should lead them.
The opposition keeps searching for a perfect unifying figure, someone who can miraculously gather liberals, progressives, centrists, civil society groups, youth organizations, sectoral movements, and disillusioned voters under one banner. We keep looking for someone familiar, someone proven, someone who has already sacrificed enough for the country. We call on leaders who have already devoted their time, energy, and lives to other endeavors, whether in governance, advocacy, family, private life, or personal healing. We ask them to return, to save us again, to carry the burden again.
Yet, in doing so, we continue to turn a blind eye to those who have already offered themselves for the responsibility.
One of those who has seemingly put her name forward is senator Risa Hontiveros. A rare progressive (albeit closer to the center than her colleagues) in the Philippine Senate, her name has come up as a contender when the nation returns to the polls in 2028. But there are still calls for former vice president (and current Naga city mayor) Leni Robredo to reconsider her pronouncement of focusing on local politics and try once again for president—a race she lost in 2022.
Back in 2020, Gian Lao profiled the lawmaker for the now defunct ANCX website. (It was one of the victims of the broadcaster ABS-CBN being denied the right to use the airwaves.) The senator came into age during the height of martial law imposed by Ferdinand Marcos Sr., and found herself moving from pursuing her dreams of acting on stage.
She sang in glee clubs from grade school until high school. She went to auditions. There is that video of her floating around the internet, promoting Repertory Philippines’ Sound of Music with a tiny Lea Salonga, Monique Wilson, the Lauchengco siblings, and other future stars.
In a different Philippines, perhaps she would be a theater mainstay. After Sound of Music, she was preparing to audition for the next musical, South Pacific. But, in her words, “something happened.”
“The summer after sophomore year of high school, mommy brought me to the symposium of the Nuclear Free Philippines Coalition,” she says. “I was so inspired by the tres marias there—Sister Mary John Mananzan, Nini Quezon Avanceña, and Mary Concepcion Bautista. They were talking about their campaigns about the US military bases, the docking and landing of nuclear powered ships and planes, and the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.”
Fast forward to now, and she’s figured in… let’s call it a side story that somewhat distracts, but ultimately contributes, to the overall messy picture that is the Senate. True to the Filipino’s tendency to make ships—love teams, in our parlance—out of anyone, the senator has become one half of WinRi, paired with current acting Senate president Win Gatchalian. cc. notes that it’s not just playful fun, but a sign of our never-ending yearning for change in the Philippines.
The WinRi phenomenon is borne out of organic support of netizens. Imagine, some would pay and establish machineries i.e, troll farms, vloggers, etc, for this kind of clout, but this particular internet fixation started as a reaction to Sen. Win’s video of reacting to TikTok videos which included two videos of him and Sen. Risa interacting in senate sessions and on a chance encounter through shared love for fur babies.
Honestly, I found it just a bit cringe that we are shipping real people; public officials at that, but chronically online Gen Zs have a talent of making something out of nothing. Hence, the edits and the AUs, and a power couple in the Senate was born.
A Makati triptych
Okay, enough about politics. Let’s talk about the city, and a trio of posts that seem to be responses to each other, but not really.
First off, i don’t really write talks about her day. Or is she?
my alarm wakes me up at 8:30am. i snooze it like my tarot reading for the month intended. i wake up at 9:18 instead.
i go through the rounds: instagram, then tiktok, then bumble, then my calendar– as if that last one is the switch that turns me into a functioning member of society. i charity-like a few photo dump carousels and breadcrumb Joaquin from bumble, who has the personality of vinegar cosplaying as mirin.
i make matcha at home. i whisk it in a bowl i bought because someone online said it makes you slow down in the morning, which i liked the idea of. i don’t even know if i like matcha that much. i just know i like being someone who drinks it.
Next, bee—I met her during the hangout, and when someone at the table realized it was her, she shouted, “ikaw si ‘Salcedo girl’!” Well, she isn’t. She wants to be. She tries…
pero some days i yearn for hev abi and hellmerry in my earbuds habang naglalakad papunta sa office. may mga araw na gusto ko mas maangas ako manamit na naka-boxy polo at trousers. kulang kasi ako sa palda, at binabagay ko rin sa mga araw na gusto ko makinig kay hev abi. malayo sa pagiging aesthetic at curated yung mga journal ko. may vice ganda movies at tanging ina trilogy sa letterboxd ko. ang hidden talent ko ay kaya kong gayahin si rufa mae quinto. secondary diyan ay may mga famous filipino movie lines na kaya kong irecite from memory (“tortang talong na naman ang ulam?” from anak at “catch catch with the tv! duh!” from girl boy bakla tomboy). magaslaw ako gumalaw. malakas ako magsalita. mas malakas ako tumawa. mas malakas sa pagtawa ko yung pagngawa ko sa inuman kapag nakarami na ako ng mule. ang pagiging balahura ko ay entertainment for friends and prospective friends. unfortunately, not for someone i would like to date.
Finally, s(p)amie talks abut how absurd all of this is.
I wonder if all the other people like me who’ve been to Makati ever felt like they adopted a version of themselves that felt hard to stomach, but have to become anyway. It comes with noticing the luxury that people in this city can afford. The one that doesn’t need to be tacky or loud. When you’re in the Makati scene, it almost makes you believe in the illusion it offers: poverty does not exist. In here, poverty can’t get its dirty hands on your perfectly pressed linen clothes. But no matter how well cities like this and their inhabitants hide destitution, I was constantly reminded of it by the subtle anxiety buzzing in my chest as the faint glow of my phone reflected the ₱600+ fare back home since the country’s trains are not 24/7 in operation. Now I’m forced to touch my savings account just to get a ride back to España. May choice pa ba ako?
I mean, of course there’s the… less high-rise part of Makati, not to mention the parts of Makati that are now part of Taguig. But unless you knew someone who lived there—and I did—do we even know they exist?
A virtual, but actual, existential struggle
This being Substack, there’s a lot of talk about the impact of artificial intelligence—and, depending on which corner of this platform you’re in, it could be fawning endorsement or vehement opposition.
Me being (mostly) on the creative side, I see the latter more—but I believe there should be a middle ground, and we won’t get there if we keep on being stans or haters about it. This piece I came across from the design studio Dapat, and specifically from one of their designers Nicole Datlangin, attempts to make sense of it all.
[Participants] were divided on whether they felt they could shape how AI evolves in the Philippines. In a discourse dominated by state and corporate actors, many felt that the idea that creatives might meaningfully influence its direction was more aspirational than real.
[…]
What we found was that the low agency that creatives felt was actively constrained by economic precarity, institutional pressures, and the sheer speed of AI adoption. Rather than leveling the playing field for creatives, AI has become a shortcut, a coping mechanism for conditions we didn’t choose.
Individual diskarte can navigate these pressures, but it cannot resolve them—not without holding government and regulatory bodies to account.
A way to go
Finally, a piece from ATASKA. Yes, I first knew her as one of the actresses from the streaming service Vivamax, although I now know she also is a musician, and has been for quite a while. (See, I do live under a rock—and I write about music.) Her piece talking about why she pursued that direction in her career is, to me, a nice way to cap this digest on being caught in the middle. At some point you take control and you move one way or another. She did.
i’m an aquarius. whether you believe in astrology or not, people always describe aquarians as independent, rebellious, impossible to box in. i’ve always related to that. whenever someone tells me who i’m supposed to be, a part of me immediately wants to question it.
some people assumed my decision was a publicity stunt.
others thought management had convinced me to do it.
but the truth is far less dramatic.
it was entirely my choice.
for most of my life, i had been carrying the pressure of being “good.”
Before I go, let’s say hello to the newest additions to our directory: cricket, DJ, Drvx, Hanna, Hannah Paguila and Rudie Pelaez—and hello again to Josette Canilao! You can be part of the Stack Natin list by signing up through this form, or you can poke around the directory to see your next favorite read from the Filipinos of Substack.