Filipinos are not stupid.

Lately, I've been seeing posts where people criticize our voters for preferring the worst candidates by calling them dumb and stupid. But I think that's a shallow view. As I've said previously in my comments, it's a deeper issue than Filipinos being stupid.

In our social media landscape, trolls and propaganda thrive—people are being fed lies every day. On top of that, Vote-buying is also a big issue in certain communities. If I were a person who is living under poverty, with a family to take care of, barely making ends meet, I would accept the bribes of that loud politician who promises me money and security if I vote for them. To add to that, if everything I see in my social media feed is filled with lies and if I've grown accustomed to using social media for information about what's happening in our country, I would believe every single one of those lies.

The problem doesn't lie with the people. But to those on top. Instead of quarreling with our own, we should address these issues and seek to educate others. I can't deny that most are stubborn and refuse to accept the truth, but I think that it's the only best option we could do.