Gaslit Nation: When Filipino Politics Makes You Doubt Reality

You ever had that moment when you’re dead sure about something—something you saw, something you heard, something you lived through—only to be told, “Hindi naman ‘yan totoo.”

At first, you brush it off. Maybe they just remember things differently. Maybe you are being dramatic. Maybe you are overreacting.

But then it happens again. And again.

History books start changing. The crimes you grew up learning about suddenly didn’t happen. The suffering you saw with your own eyes becomes “fake news.” The leaders who once ruled with an iron fist? They were misunderstood. Biktima lang sila ng media.

You tell yourself, No, that’s not right. I remember. I know what happened.

But the louder voices drown you out. The TV, the radio, your own neighbors—everybody is telling you something different.

And you start to wonder.

"Baka nga mali ako."

That’s gaslighting. Not in a toxic relationship. Not from a manipulative partner.

But from the very people running our country.

Gaslighting thrives in the dark, and the only way to fight it is to drag it into the light. The more we expose it, the less power it has. The sad reality is that many Filipinos don’t even recognize political gaslighting for what it is. This article attempts to explain it—but let’s be honest, how many will actually read it?

Manipulation, Gaslighting, and Control: A Process of Political Power

I showed this draft to my 17-year-old, and she had one reaction: "You're using gaslighting, control, and manipulation interchangeably." And she’s right. She’s smarter than me, and she caught something important—these aren’t the same thing, but they work together in a process.

Gaslighting is just one piece of a larger system. Politicians don’t just deceive—they make people question their own reality until they give up resisting. It’s not just about lying; it’s about conditioning people to accept the lie as truth.

Manipulation is the broader strategy—the plan to distort public perception. Gaslighting is a specific psychological tool that makes people doubt what they see, hear, and remember. And when it works, the result is control—a population too uncertain or exhausted to push back.

The Slow Unraveling: Seeing Gaslighting in Action

It starts small.

A Facebook post here, a casual comment there. Someone says Martial Law wasn’t that bad. That the country was disciplined back then. That the streets were safe.

You scroll past it, shaking your head. People are really out here rewriting history.

But then, you hear it from your uncle. From your coworker. From the tricycle driver you casually chat with. The same narrative, word for word.

And then you notice something else—whenever someone speaks up, whenever someone questions it, they’re shut down.

"Drama mo naman."
"Puro ka reklamo."
"Bayaran ka ba?"

The message is clear: Stop asking questions. Stop doubting the official story. Stop thinking for yourself.

It’s frustrating. And confusing. Because you know the facts are out there. The testimonies. The documents. The photos. The bodies.

But none of that seems to matter.

Because those in power have mastered the art of making Filipinos doubt reality.

And it’s not just the politicians doing it. It’s the people around you—your friends, your family, even strangers on social media.

I have this friend on Facebook—a hardliner Duterte supporter. He will post anything he thinks supports Duterte and hits Marcos. One day, he shared a video of Prof. Cielo Magno questioning the national budget. I had to laugh—because he genuinely thought Prof. Cielo Magno was pro-Duterte and anti-Marcos. He didn’t realize that the same economist had been critical of Duterte’s administration, too.

That’s how gaslighting spreads—not just from the top, but from ordinary people conditioned to see everything in black and white. If a politician they like is questioned, they dismiss it. If a politician they dislike is criticized, they amplify it. It’s not just about control from above—it’s about the millions of voices that unknowingly keep the cycle going.

And before you know it, they’ve made Filipinos believe:

❌ “That never happened.” (Martial Law wasn’t that bad.)
❌ “You’re just overreacting.” (Extrajudicial killings? This was the time I felt safety and security for me and my family.)
❌ “It’s your fault.” (You’re poor because you’re lazy.)
❌ “Everyone else is lying.” (Journalists? Bayaran. Historians? Dilawan. Critics? Rebelde.)

And if they say it long enough and loud enough, people start to believe it.

Even worse, they stop believing anything at all.

Gaslighting is just like a demon in an exorcism: it loses power the moment you name it. The second you recognize what’s happening, it stops working the way they want it to. That’s why exposing it is so important. The more we call it out, the weaker it becomes.

The Election Cycle of Manipulation: Why We Keep Falling for It

Every election, we tell ourselves, “Hindi na tayo magpapaloko.”

And yet, somehow, the same tactics work. Over and over again.

Why?

Because political gaslighting doesn’t just happen during campaigns—it’s a slow, long-term conditioning.

Step 5: Weaponizing Fear—Marcos Jr.'s Budget Shutdown Statement

Sometimes, gaslighting doesn’t stop once elections are won—it continues to justify decisions and suppress dissent.

Take, for example, President Marcos Jr.’s recent statement regarding the 2025 budget controversy. When the Supreme Court was asked to rule on the budget’s constitutionality, Marcos warned:

"If the Supreme Court says, 'No, that budget is no longer in effect,' we shut down everything."

This is a perfect example of political gaslighting—it forces the public into false urgency by making it seem like there are only two options:

✅ Support the budget → Everything runs smoothly
❌ Challenge it → The government collapses

It’s a classic manipulation tactic: make people believe that questioning the budget is dangerous, irresponsible, or even unpatriotic.

But here’s the truth—even if the Supreme Court ruled against the budget, the government wouldn’t actually shut down. It could still operate using a reenacted budget from the previous year.

So why frame it this way? To silence critics before they even speak.

Because if people are too afraid to challenge the government, those in power can do whatever they want—without accountability.

What makes gaslighting even more dangerous is that it doesn’t just come from politicians. It seeps into everyday conversations, passed around like secondhand smoke—barely noticed but just as toxic. Misinformation spreads not because it’s convincing, but because people repeat it without thinking. The real tragedy? Those who recognize the deception often stay quiet, watching as the cycle continues. And in the end, silence becomes complicity.

Reclaiming Our Truth

Political gaslighting, manipulation, historical revisionism, conditioning—call it whatever you want, but recognize it for what it is. Whether it comes from leaders, the media, or even people around you, acknowledging it is the first step to breaking free from its grip. Because silence only feeds the cycle, and the only way to stop it is to expose it.

Gaslighting only works when people accept it. And we don’t have to.

We can question. We can fact-check. We can choose to see clearly, no matter how much they try to blind us.

Because the truth is more than just facts. It’s memory. It’s lived experience. It’s the stories passed down by those who refuse to forget.

And the moment we refuse to forget, they lose their power over us.

So let’s remember. Let’s keep talking. Let’s refuse to be silenced.

Because at the end of the day, truth isn’t a political stance—it’s our right.

And it’s time we fight for it.