‘We hold fast to the belief that elections are a more peaceful way of deciding conflicts, but we must not forget that Hitler was elected as a member of Parliament and affirmed as Kanzler before he transformed into the Führer.’
ELECTIONS on the cusp of a global war. When Manuel L. Quezon defeated Emilio Aguinaldo and Bishop Gregorio Aglipay for the presidency of the Philippine Commonwealth, it had only been four years after the Tayug uprising, Sakdalism was a phenomenon, the former Mrs. Andres Bonifacio (Gregoria De Jesus) was still alive, China had undergone a currency crisis, King Prajadhipok had abdicated the throne of Siam, General Tsai Ting Kai (a participant in the Fukien separatist movement) had already visited Manila, Mussolini had signaled his determination to establish an Italian protectorate over Ethiopia, Pope Pius had attacked Berlin’s program of the sterilization of the unfit, Hitler had proclaimed general military conscription throughout Germany, Japan had officially ended its membership in the League of Nations, and the Moscow Daily News had predicted an ultimate imperialist war in the Pacific over the Philippines. [Philippine Magazine, 32 (4, 5, 6, 8,11), 1935]
After Quezon’s electoral triumph over Aguinaldo and Aglipay, a papal decree released in Manila declared the Lady of Guadalupe as the patron saint of the Philippines, Rep. Julio Nalundasan (reelected to the National Assembly) was shot by an assassin while standing in front of his window after dinner at his home in Batac (Ilocos Norte), and Resident Commissioner Pedro Guevara in Manila advocated once more for American protectorate over the Philippines. [https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1935/11/01/news-summary-philippine-magazine-september-18-october-17-1935/] The loser cried foul, appealing to Uncle Sam.
[https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/22/archives/aguinaldo-sends-plea-to-roosevelt-defeated-filipino-presidential.html]
Moreover, this particular loser was the standard-bearer of a Philippine Partido Pambansang Sosyalista at the time when Gryshemde (South African Gentile National Socialist Movement), the Svenska nationalsocialistiska partiet, the Nationaal-Socialistische Nederlandsche Arbeiderspartij, the Elliniko Ethniko Sosialistiko Komma, the Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Arbejderparti, and the Movimiento Nacional Socialista de Chile, among others, walked the Earth alongside Hitler’s Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei .
Elections in the shadow of war. Based on initial reports from Lakas-CMD Executive Director Anna Capella Velasco, the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats are asserting their position as the dominant political force in the Philippines: 1 seat in the Senate, 104 seats in the House of Representatives, 15 governors, 22 vice governors, 24 city mayors, 23 city vice mayors, and 385 municipal mayors.
[https://congress.gov.ph/media/press-releases/view/?content=9321&title=Lakas-CMD+sweeps+local+elections+nationwide]
Philippine polls came in the wake of the latest deadly India-Pakistan confrontation over Kashmir: “The Resistance Front (TRF)–the most active militant group in Kashmir since 2019, which Indian security forces regard as a proxy of the Pakistan-based outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyaba–claimed responsibility for killing 26 civilians in Pahalgam, a popular tourist destination in Indian-administered Kashmir.” In Africa, Burkina Faso accused Cote d’Ivoire of harboring the masterminds of a coup plot. In Latin America, Peru extended the state of emergency for 30 days in the capital Lima and neighboring Callao province, first imposed mid-March to tackle the rise in organized crime. [https://www.crisisgroup.org/crisiswatch?utm_campaign=cw_menu_link] President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. called on all newly elected officials: “Governance is a shared responsibility, a mission that requires unity and burden sharing for the common good.”
[https://pco.gov.ph/news_releases/pbbm-to-newly-elected-officials-let-us-move-forward-together/]
Three days prior, however, Jiangkai II-class frigates (bow numbers BN 554, BN 573) and China Coast Guard vessel 5403 subjected patrol ship BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS35) to “aggressive and dangerous” maneuvers some 11.8 nautical miles southeast of Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag Shoal).
[https://malaya.com.ph/news/national-news/ph-navy-ship-harassed-by-chinese-vessels/]
Kontra Daya and other poll watchdogs are calling for legislative and judicial reviews of the automated election system and exploring the possibility of filing cases against the Comelec.
[https://www.bulatlat.com/2025/05/13/election-watchdog-questions-automated-election-transparency-after-poll-results-are-in/]
Meanwhile, in Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin told members of the Delovaya Rossiya (Business Russia) Association that the Kiev authorities are conducting forced mobilization, “with people are being caught on the street like dogs” and that “The world’s leading economies are sliding into a recession, just to harm us.” [https://tass.com/politics/1957351; https://tass.com/politics/1957281] And in Northeast Asia, MOFA in Taipei urges the international community to oppose China’s continuing effort to distort historical facts and misrepresent United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 to change the status quo (that neither side of the Taiwan Strait is subordinate to the other) and calls on nations worldwide to jointly condemn China for again resorting to blatant provocations… Only the democratically elected government of Taiwan has the right to represent the 23.5 million people of Taiwan in the UN system and the international arena. China has no right to interfere. [https://en.mofa.gov.tw/News_Content.aspx?n=1328&sms=273&s=119821]
As Filipinos digest the results of the recent elections and mull their place in the multi-polar world, their government and those of the other countries grapple with legacies. Yes, the month of May is National Heritage Month and we recall the Liberation of Baguio (27 April 1945) and Davao (03 May 1945) as well as the Battles of Balete Pass, Malepunyo, and Ipo Dam (13, 14 and 17 May 1945, respectively). We also note that last week the German Parliament commemorated the end of World War II and of Nazi tyranny in Europe 80 years ago: “On 08 May 1945, the German Wehrmacht surrendered unconditionally–following 2,077 days of war and the deaths of more than 50 million people. In the official calendar of remembrance, the 8th of May stands for confrontation with the National Socialist period, the Second World War and the post-war era.”
We note as well that as many as 120 nations participated in the Immortal Regiment commemorations whereby descendants of the victors carry the portraits of those who had fought against Nazism. [https://tass.com/society/1956479]
We hold fast to the belief that elections are a more peaceful way of deciding conflicts, but we must not forget that Hitler was elected as a member of Parliament and affirmed as Kanzler before he transformed into the Führer.
