Benedict Ignacio is the webmaster and mastermind behind Get Real Philippines. Though his website has been called a source of fake news the articles on his website are all opinion and not news. From the title it should be clear that his website is devoted to the Philippines. Filipino culture and politics are skewered and scoffed at and as a result his website is either reviled and hated or loved and admired.
There is really one and only one problem with his website and that is Benedict Ignacio is an expatriate living in Australia who left the Philippines long ago in 2001 and does not regret a thing.
Here he is doing an interview on a news show.
And here he is proudly declaring that he does not regret abandoning the Philippines.
Of course from reading his website one would think otherwise. It would seem that he cares so much about the Philippines that he is willing to stir up trouble if only to get his kababayans to change their stupid ways. But if he loves the Philippines to the extent that his entire life on the internet is devoted to the Philippines then why does he not live here? Why has he stayed away for 17 years now?
The answer is simple.
The webmaster of GetRealPhilippines, Benedict Ignacio, and his wife Imelda Calaraval-Ignacio, are hypocrites on an grand scale. Take the following for example.
There is really one and only one problem with his website and that is Benedict Ignacio is an expatriate living in Australia who left the Philippines long ago in 2001 and does not regret a thing.
Here he is doing an interview on a news show.
And here he is proudly declaring that he does not regret abandoning the Philippines.
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| http://jimparedes.com/archives/120/comment-page-1#comment-1026 |
The answer is simple.
The webmaster of GetRealPhilippines, Benedict Ignacio, and his wife Imelda Calaraval-Ignacio, are hypocrites on an grand scale. Take the following for example.
You see how much they both deride Atty. Florin Hilbay for blocking them by calling him "a failure and not a real man" and "a pussy" and not a great leader?
I guess that means Imelda thinks her husband is "a failure and not a real man" and that he would not make a great leader because he has blocked me.
And what of Imelda? She must think of herself as a close-minded failure with no capacity to listen since she has also blocked me.
If Hilbay won't make a great leader because he blocks people then what will become of these two? What is the deal with these people anyway? Why are they writing about the Philippines all the time if they, as Filipinos, refuse to live in the Philippines? Go and read their Twitter feeds and you will never see a single post about Australian politics or culture (at least I have not seen one). Why not? It is hypocritical to write about your homeland as if you love it and want to see it succeed but which you intentionally abandoned and where you refuse to live. Neither of these two are in the same situation as Alexander Solzhenitsyn. They aren't in exile. Why not move on and build a life in Australia and never look back?
These two are de facto or wannabe leaders of the Pinoy Ex-pat Political Debate Club.
These two are de facto or wannabe leaders of the Pinoy Ex-pat Political Debate Club.
What is that? I just made it up! It doesn't really exist but it describes a phenomenon I have noticed across social media. Filipino ex-pats, not just OFWs but people who have left the Philippines with seemingly no intention to return and have been gone for years, are very active on Twitter and Facebook defending the current administration, Duterte, and embedding themselves in a political situation of which they know nothing about except through the mainstream media, which they disdain, because they don't live here anymore. I am sure there are other Pinoy ex-pats on the opposite end of the spectrum as well. Loida Lewis comes to mind. But I don't interact with those people and am more familiar with this crowd.
Probably the most well-known and influential voice in this crowd is Sass Rogando.
Of course fame and influence are all relative but this man, yes Sass is a man, has a large following on Facebook and here he is with the two most influential bloggers in the whole nation, RJ Nieto and Mocha Uson. This picture was taken in the Philippines in November 2017. The occasion for his return? To file a defamation lawsuit against Jover Laurio the creator of Pinoy Ako Blog. Here they are eating a meal during this same timeframe.
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| Bloggers who eat together, conspire together. |
Sass has lived since approximately 2010 in the Netherlands. Just like Communist leader Joma Sison.
He fashions himself a geopolitical analyst and he regularly posts articles about how EDCA is bad for the Philippines and Cory Aquino had help from the CIA and the Americans are bad all around etc. etc. His academic credentials are impeccable compared to either Mocha or RJ Nieto. He is also a Duterte stalwart and loves him so. But he refuses to live in the country. Can you blame him? The Western comforts of the Netherlands are nothing compared to the discomforts of the Philippines.
He fashions himself a geopolitical analyst and he regularly posts articles about how EDCA is bad for the Philippines and Cory Aquino had help from the CIA and the Americans are bad all around etc. etc. His academic credentials are impeccable compared to either Mocha or RJ Nieto. He is also a Duterte stalwart and loves him so. But he refuses to live in the country. Can you blame him? The Western comforts of the Netherlands are nothing compared to the discomforts of the Philippines.
SASS ROGANDO SASOT: Just like any Filipino in the diaspora, I left the country in search of better opportunities. As a transgender woman, part of that search is finding a country where my being a woman is to a large extent validated. I’m not sure how many of my followers relate to me as a transgender woman, but I’m sure a substantial number relate to me as a Filipino in search of a country conducive to the flourishing of our being.
https://forthemotherland.net/2018/03/24/interviews-patrick-symmes-v-sass/
Ah, the Filipino diaspora! So why look back? Why leave home if you love it so much? But I do not want this post to be just about these clowns, Sass and the Ignacios. The phenomenon of politically active Filipinos living outside of the Philippines transcends them.
The Filipino diaspora is very extensive because of OFWs and others who leave because of permanent jobs or marriage or school. It seems these people simply cannot forget about the country they left. It must be a love-hate thing. Like an abusive relationship one cannot leave. They love their country but hate its dysfunction. Maybe they even love its dysfunction! Outside of the Philippines there are a myriad of political groups catering to OFWs and expatriates.
Here are two groups from New York.
The Filipino diaspora is very extensive because of OFWs and others who leave because of permanent jobs or marriage or school. It seems these people simply cannot forget about the country they left. It must be a love-hate thing. Like an abusive relationship one cannot leave. They love their country but hate its dysfunction. Maybe they even love its dysfunction! Outside of the Philippines there are a myriad of political groups catering to OFWs and expatriates.
Here are two groups from New York.
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| https://www.facebook.com/Tapang-at-Malasakit-New-York-114573666040593/ |
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| https://www.facebook.com/pg/DDSNewYorkOfficial/ |
Our advocacy is to promote public understanding and build support for Pres. Duterte's vision by disseminating honest & reliable info on current issues
That is a pretty general mission statement from DDS New York. But why do they exist? Duterte is president of the Philippines not president of the USA. Are these people all going to return to the Philippines and stay politically active? Government officials, such as Dureza, have also visited these groups. Can you imagine if an undersecretary in the US State Dept. held palaver with the many American expatriates in the Philippines? It would be silly and might provoke an outrage but Filipino government officials visit with the diaspora fairly often. Duterte recently did so in Hong Kong and South Korea. Back in the 80's Aquino even visited with ex-pats in Los Angeles and gave a memorable speech.
Australia:
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| https://www.facebook.com/groups/DigongDuterteSupportersAustraliaUnit/about/ |
The official Facebook group of Digong Duterte Supporters in Australia, a recognized coordination unit of the DDS Global Network.
The DDS Global Network? Sounds horrifying. I bet they are all sharing the same propaganda like this:
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| https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1508946492482998&set=gm.645637122300262&type=3&theater |
Incidentally this fake Hontiveros quote comes very close to things Duterte has said.
From my experience DDS and their allies are all too prone to spreading these simple memes or image macros which promote erroneous "facts." Some of them are a little more analytical like RJ Nieto or Sass or GRP but mostly it's memes. If you try to engage them with facts they repeat the same hashtag or slogan in capital letters or point out how many followers you have and tell you to get lost you stupid, evil Yellowtard. Discussion, rational discussion, is impossible and any interaction inevitably degenerates into the internet equivalent of flinging poo.
And there is a global network of these people!
“The only people I do not deal with are the criminals and the drug dealers because unlike the revolutionaries who are motivated by their principles and ideology, they are consumed by greed and the desire to gain while causing other people pain. I detest them,” he said.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/727436/duterte-admits-coddling-reds-calls-palparan-a-bigot
Kaya sabi ko I am not including Abu Sayaff dito sa criminality, you’ve never heard me say “mga kriminal.” It is – it is a different set up there because these are the guys who were driven to desperation.
http://pcoo.gov.ph/july-08-2016-president-rodrigo-roa-dutertes-speech-during-the-mindanao-hariraya-eidl-fitr-2016/But DDS will never tell you Duterte said that!
From my experience DDS and their allies are all too prone to spreading these simple memes or image macros which promote erroneous "facts." Some of them are a little more analytical like RJ Nieto or Sass or GRP but mostly it's memes. If you try to engage them with facts they repeat the same hashtag or slogan in capital letters or point out how many followers you have and tell you to get lost you stupid, evil Yellowtard. Discussion, rational discussion, is impossible and any interaction inevitably degenerates into the internet equivalent of flinging poo.
And there is a global network of these people!
As of writing, around 600,000 OFWs have joined 162 “chapters” worldwide all dedicated to Duterte’s campaign and election day mobilization, according to Arnel Corpuz, an OFW assigned to coordinate such efforts by Duterte’s campaign team.
Corpuz said some of these groups began in 2014 when Duterte’s presidential bid was just a rumor. From being groups just sounding the call for his candidacy, they are quickly shaping up to be vital organs of Duterte’s campaign machinery.
Corpuz insists the groups are independent, with no ties to any political party.
According to Corpuz, the OFW chapters have been given these marching orders: ensure that OFWs and their families will cast their votes for Duterte come election day, and that these votes are protected and counted.
The OFWs are also encouraged to “produce 5 more votes from their families back in the Philippines,” he told Rappler.
“We are the breadwinner of our respective families and we will be using it to influence our loved ones to vote for Duterte.”
That sounds curiously akin to vote buying.
The OFW Global Movement for Empowerment is one of those organisations which formed in 2014.
The OFW Global Movement for Empowerment is one of those organisations which formed in 2014.
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| https://www.facebook.com/OFWGlobalMovementForEmpowerment/about/ |
Reading through their page and looking at their photos it's quite apparent that this is just another run of the mill DDS organisation. They have chapters across the world who regularly meet for hanging out and they seem to be geared towards uniting OFWs worldwide into close knit community. But the glue holding them together is obviously Duterte. Does anyone think this group really knows what federalism is and all that it implies? They support federalism because Duterte supports federalism. What will become of this organisation in 2022? Was this the only OFW organisation prior to the 2016 election? Are there any nonpolitical OFW organisations?
The DDS global community is very active. Here is just a sample of their activity in the past two years.
The DDS global community is very active. Here is just a sample of their activity in the past two years.
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| http://usa.inquirer.net/2005/duterte-supporters-sf-bay-area-hold-prayer-meeting |
There are children at this rally which leads me to believe that not everyone here is an OFW. Some of these people are definitely expatriates.
Protesting the "black propaganda" of the New York Times against Duterte.
Here they are rallying in front of the ICC.
Here they are rallying in London.
Posting more of these would be redundant.
Here they are rallying in London.
Posting more of these would be redundant.
As I wrote above the glue binding these groups together is not the Philippines but Duterte. It is a love for that man which has brought them all together.
So what happens when Duterte leaves office? Will they rally around the next candidate as they have done with Duterte? I don't think so. It's the cult of personality and Duterte has it. Like Mussolini and Kennedy. Despite his many faults he remains popular. The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wasteoids, dweebies, dickheads — They all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude.
It will be interesting to see what happens to these groups and their ideology once Duterte is gone.
As of 2022, Nieto is the last man standing among these bloggers, and he's not even from the original expat debate circle.
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