Steven Pabalinas is a political cartoonist employed by The Manila Times. Encyclopedia Britannica has this to say about political cartoons:
A political cartoon is also an artistic vehicle characterized by both metaphorical and satirical language. It may point out the contexts, problems, and discrepancies of a political situation. Although a drawing reflects a cartoonist’s judgment and point of view and the visual commentary often exaggerates circumstances, responsible editorial standards do not allow the artist to alter facts.
In this article I will be looking at a few drawings and demonstrate that far from being political cartoons the work of Steven Pabalinas is partisan propaganda that alters facts and does not give an honest look at the political situation in the Philippines. In fact most of his political cartoons of late are nothing more than anti-Leni Robredo doodles. These cartoons can all be found on Steven Pabalinas' Facebook page. I will also be translating his Tagalog comments to English so everyone can read along.
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| https://www.britannica.com/topic/political-cartoon |
In this cartoon Leni says, "The Philippines, like Ukraine, must rely on strong alliances, like America and the EU, to stand against a bigger enemy." All the while America, a staunch Philippine ally, is refusing to help Ukraine against Russia. The message seems to be that the Philippines cannot rely on the USA. Everything about this wrong. The USA is indeed doing much for Ukraine in the form of sending weapons and imposing sanctions against Russia. Some US lawmakers even want to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine which would be a foolish declaration of war against Russia. I could not find Leni making this exact quote but if she did she is not alone in her sentiments. The Philippines does need strong alliances to stand against foreign threats.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2022/03/20/next-president-must-prioritize-strong-alliances-amid-chinas-maritime-claims-say-experts/ |
The strongest threat the Philippines faces is China. They continue to encroach on Philippine territory and build military bases in the West Philippine Sea.
Further complicating the message in this cartoon is the following post from Steven's Facebook page.
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| https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158043448436841&set=pb.661241840.-2207520000..&type=3 |
Russia donated weapons to the Philippines during the siege of Marawi
Yes, Russia donated weapons to the Philippines which arrived towards the end of the siege in September 2017. So what? It seems Steven is saying that the Philippines should strengthen their alliance with Russia. But why? Because they donated weapons at the ned of the siege? The USA was there from the beginning.
Does Steven not know that China is allied with Russia? That if war broke out in this region, say an invasion of Taiwan or a major escalation in the WPS, Russia would side with China? Maybe he thinks the nation should continue the Duterte policy of appeasement?
Just in this one cartoon we can see that Steven Pabalinas is not representing reality factually. It is not a funny or insightful cartoon whatsoever. It is nonsensical garbage.
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| https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158056961081841&set=pb.661241840.-2207520000..&type=3 |
Real talk lang ba……
Real talk Leni will welcome drug lords with open arms. More like trash talk. This is close to libel. It is also exclusive to his Facebook page and not a Manila Times cartoon. Why is it that people think only Duterte can defeat the drug lords? Did everyone forget that the PNP, NBI, PDEA, are all tasked with fighting the drug problem? The job falls squarely on their shoulders. Of course when those who are supposed to be fighting the drug war are so incompetent and/or criminal what can one expect?
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| https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158055512746841&set=pb.661241840.-2207520000..&type=3 |
Nothing. I'll just share again the behavior of Leni and the wokes during the height of covid. Coz i never forget.
Look at this. More distortion of the truth. This cartoon is dated 4/26/20. Why was anyone calling for Duterte's ouster in April 2020? Because he issued shoot-to-kill orders of quarantine violators!
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| https://interaksyon.philstar.com/politics-issues/2020/04/02/165579/shoot-them-dead-duterte-says-wont-tolerate-lockdown-violators/ |
Does Steven Pabalinas have any biting satirical cartoons about the way the Duterte administration bungled their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Doubtful. I rather doubt he would even consider that they messed up royally at every turn.
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| https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157966947421841&set=pb.661241840.-2207520000..&type=3 |
Tsk tsk. Looks like Monica Lewinsky Saga continues
What does this cartoon even mean?
Former cabinet members of Fidel V. Ramos are supporting Robredo. In response Steven draws a picture of Robredo sitting on a cigar being smoked by FVR and says "Looks like the Monica Lewinsky saga continues." Huh? What? For those who may not know US President Bill Clinton had an affair with a young intern named Monica Lewinsky back in the 90's. During one of their trysts in the Oval Office he stuck a cigar in Monica Lewinsky's hoo-hah and smoked it. What does that incident have to do with former FVR cabinet members endorsing Robredo? Nothing! This is a complete non-sequitir. Is he going for absurdist humor? There is no humor here. Maybe that's the joke?
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| https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158032393216841&set=pb.661241840.-2207520000..&type=3 |
This cartoon is incredible. The artist is completely out of touch with reality. The gist of this cartoon is that the Marcoses have forgiven their enemies while the Church has not forgiven them at all. But wait a minute. The Marcos family continues to deny any wrong doing during martial law. In fact Imelda is a convicted criminal who is out on appeal but who should be rotting in prison. If the Marcoses deny they did anything wrong then why does the Church need to forgive them? They wouldn't need to if such were the truth!
It seems Steven Pabalinas is confusing forgiving with forgetting. They are not the same. To forgive the Marcos family and move on is not to forget what they did and elect them back into power. Immediately upon their return from exile Imelda threw her hat in the ring for the 1992 elections. That is not the action of someone who is apologetic. That is the action of someone who full of hubris and pride and who only cares about holding to power. And let us never ever forget that Ferdinand Marcos was willing to finance a full-scale invasion so he could regain power!
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| https://apnews.com/article/1b750440d5a491184f5b2a91533774c1 |
″I am going to land there, I don’t care who opposes me,″ Marcos said, according to the tapes. ″And if they oppose the landing, that is when we start the battle.″
Never, ever forget that story. Marcos was so desperate for power that he was willing to spend millions to invade the nation. He did not care about the people. If this story does not red pill you about Ferdinand Marcos then you are a lost soul.
This is just a sample of Steven Pabalinas' work. Much of it features Leni Robredo who is living rent free in this man's head. It is quite apparent that Steven is unaware of the real political situation in this nation. Therefore I want to end with my very own political cartoon. More like a collage since I cannot draw.
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