A nation on edge

A similar column, "A call for dialogue to heal a divided nation," which we wrote in December last year, is being revisited today in light of the increasingly venomous political exchanges, deepening national divides, and the seismic controversies now shaking our country.

- PEACE-MAKER JOSE DE VENECIA JR. FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

What was once a call for prudence and unity has become even more urgent — a plea for national stability.

The Philippines stands once again at a precarious crossroads. We are being torn apart, not by foreign threats, but by the acrimony we direct at one another. The escalating tensions and bruising political confrontations among our leaders, magnified daily in the public sphere, are polarizing our people to a dangerous degree. This relentless cycle of accusation, retaliation, and recrimination erodes public trust, weakens our institutions, and diverts energy away from the real challenges that demand collective leadership and national resolve.

The wounds inflicted in recent months have deepened longstanding divisions. The mistrust and hostility between political factions have hardened into what seems like an unbridgeable gulf. Yet our history teaches that even the most entrenched conflicts can be resolved when leaders choose dialogue over demonization and statesmanship over spectacle.