#KwentongTibak: Jhay De Jesus

Listen to Jhay’s Kwentong Tibak.

Polarizing effect of political campaigns

Intentional misinformation seems to have fueled peoples’ conversations online, its polarizing effect were felt more so after the filing of certificates of candidacy. Instead of talking about their candidates’ platform, Filipinos talk about whether or not a meme is fake, the voting public are being swayed away from discussing matters affecting their lives. The massive impact of fake news became the white noise dominating different online and offline spaces.

It is crucial that the next leaders share the same values of justice, equality and non-discrimination. We want leaders with integrity, who abide by the principles of democracy and good governance. Filipinos are all aware of the horrors of martial law, Philippine presidents who served after Marcos’ regime failed at pulling the country out from the rut the dictator left us in. Duterte sank us even deeper, and Marcos, Jr. has not made progress from where his predecessor left off. The next generation suffers its effects, though it seems it becomes more difficult to surface the root of everything that is plaguing the country because of fake news and misinformation, another leader who disregards human rights will further bring us to our knees.

Too many politicians are answering legitimate economic and security fears with a poisonous and divisive manipulation of identity politics in an attempt to win votes. Divisive fear-mongering has become a dangerous force. More and more politicians calling themselves anti-establishment are wielding a toxic agenda that hounds, scapegoats and dehumanizes entire groups of people. The trend of angrier and more divisive politics starts with poisonous campaign rhetoric, and many political leaders wager their future power on narratives of fear, blame and division. This rhetoric is having an increasingly pervasive impact on policy and action, with the passage of laws that violate free expression, inciting murder of people simply because they are accused of using drugs, justifying torture and mass surveillance, and extended draconian police powers.

We cannot passively rely on governments to stand up for human rights, we the people have to take action. With politicians increasingly willing to demonize entire groups of people, the need for all of us to stand up for the basic values of human dignity and equality everywhere has become clearer and apparent in the past few years. In dark times, we make a difference by taking a stand and exercising our right to vote in the most powerful way possible by weeding out the rotten from the not.

Jhay De Jesus

Jhay is one of the founding members of the True Colors Coalition (TCC) and currently serving as its national spokesperson. He was one of the many advocates who helped Jennifer Laude’s family during their struggle for justice in 2015. A former national coordinator for In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND), a broad grassroots Philippine human rights movement campaigning against impunity, the “war on drugs”, and social justice and human dignity. He is also a member of the national secretariat of KILUSAN.

Jhay started as a student activist in 2004 during his university days at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) when he joined Teatrong Bayan, a cultural-political organization. He is one of the founding members of the Nuclear-Free Bataan Movement Youth Network (NFBM Youth Net), and one of the conveners for Kabataan Kontra Krisis (Youth Against Crisis) – a broad alliance of different school organizations and student councils in 2005.

He was a participant in the Community Theater Workshop of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) in 2006, and one of the participants in the Asian People’s International Fiesta in Manila for Solidarity and Cultural Exchange in 2011. He was one of the authors of the LGBTQIA’s first-ever report inclusion to the Philippine NGO Beijing+25 Report 2020. His article “Kung Bakit ang Social Distancing ay Hindi na Bago sa mga LGBTQI+” was included in the Metro Manila Pride’s feature articles and stories for the launch of their website and digital magazine in 2021.

Jhay was also a participant in the 2nd ASEAN Human Rights Academy organized by FORUM-ASIA in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2023. He was one of the Philippine delegates to present the country’s human rights and political situation to the Southeast Asia Young Activists Regional Exchange in Bangkok in June 2024. Currently, he is a fellow at the ASEAN Fellowship for Social Justice Leaders sponsored by FORUM-ASIA in Thailand.