Yes, really exasperating and disappointing. Having observed Philippine politics and the political ideas of average people (admittedly, on an anecdotal basis, not on the basis of scientific research) for many years now, it just seems that Philippine voters possess a sort of "prison yard" mentality, where the candidates who exhibit the greatest propensity toward use of force, no matter how brutal, to solve problems are granted the right to rule the country and rule it however they see fit.
I even had one female friend on Facebook express the belief that women are "too weak to be president". She backed up her point by saying that "women aren't fighters, so if our country gets in a war, a woman president wouldn't be able to help us win because she would be weak and break down". Such a sad attitude. Sad that she's bought into the "might makes right" brainwashing and sad that she holds such a low opinion of her own gender.
And now, those of us still trying to get our partners out of that country will face another six years of trying to cut a path through the corruption, red tape, lockdowns / martial law, enforced systematic poverty, etc, etc simply to be with the ones we love.
