One president told Filipinos, “I cannot.” The other tells them, “We will not yield.”
One called our legal victory garbage; the other calls it an intergenerational mandate.
One said asserting our rights means a massacre; the other has shown it means turning on the lights.
Defeatism in the West Philippine Sea was taught from the top. It is now being unlearned the same way — through a commander in chief who consistently says the right things, implements policies grounded in principle and supports a transparency initiative that has allowed Filipinos to rediscover something intrinsic to our national character. Filipinos are not cowards.
“Ang mamatay nang dahil sa ’yo,” declares our national anthem.
Defeatism is never Filipino
