Multi-Colored Opinion: Bring Him Back… Then What, Exactly?

Eury Peralta
May 3
2 min read

‎In a country where politics already feels like a loop on replay, it takes something unexpected to make people pause mid-scroll. This time, it wasn’t a policy announcement or a headline from a seasoned protester— it was an 18-year-old, openly part of the LGBTQIA+ community, passionately arguing for the return of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

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‎And just like that, the internet did what it does best: react first, reflect later.

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‎At first glance, the moment feels almost contradictory. Duterte’s presidency was marked by strongman policies that drew criticism from various sectors—including human rights advocates and, at times, members of the LGBTQ+ community. So seeing someone who was once criticized by the same person feels.

‎like a plot twist no one ordered.

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‎But maybe it’s not confusing—it just has deeper reasons behind it.

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‎Young people today are growing up in a hyper-connected world where identity, politics, and personal experience collide in real time. An 18-year-old forming political opinions is not unusual. What’s more revealing is how those opinions don’t always follow the neat expectations society sets. Being part of a marginalized group doesn’t mean someone will think the same way politically. People are not just labels—they are shaped by their family, surroundings, media, and life experiences.

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‎Supporting a political figure—especially one as polarizing as Duterte—deserves more than passion; it demands awareness. What policies are being endorsed? What consequences came with them? And, most importantly, who is affected and how?

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‎Not whether Rodrigo Duterte should be brought back or not—that debate has long outgrown a single Reel—but why unexpected voices are emerging, and what that says about the current state of political awareness among the youth.

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‎Because in the end, this isn't just about one person's opinion.

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‎It’s about a generation still figuring out where it stands—sometimes in ways that challenge everyone else to think twice.