Whatever doesn’t kill you ... nearly does

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

- RONALD LLAMAS

The American stand-up comic Conan O’Brien offered a witty comeback: “What Nietzsche failed to tell us was that it almost killed you.” This best describes the precarious situation of President Bongbong Marcos Jr.

Although Marcos Jr. survived the latest test of his presidency, a 600,000-strong rally of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), he did so in a politically diminished state. The protest had originally been planned for three days and was widely expected to be a massive rallying point for all the president’s opponents, even calling for his resignation and withdrawal of military support.

If reports are to be believed, the INC concluded its protest early after the administration yielded to many of its demands, concessions that were likely the product of negotiations conducted before and/or during the rally itself. This may explain why the INC dialed down its rhetoric, focusing its message on “transparency” and repeatedly emphasizing that its mobilization was not an endorsement of calls for Marcos Jr.’s resignation, removal from office or any extraconstitutional initiative.

INC organizers went as far as barring Duterte groups from the Luneta grounds, citing incompatible messages. We can only imagine the heartache of the DDS, who had spent months fantasizing about a coup that never materialized. And while Senator Imee Marcos was allowed to rant and air her family’s dirty laundry in public, the outburst marred the rally’s final moments. Her message seemed less an INC political endorsement and more a concession granted to an “outside the kulambo” sister desperately seeking relevance.