The Best Source for Filipino Anti-Constitutional Reform People is... TSISMIS?!

PhilStar Life

September 2026 is almost over. Robin Padilla's decision not to run for politics anymore had me thinking, "Just because I'm not qualified or don't have the time for politics doesn't mean I can't speak up!" I'm not a political analyst, a lawyer, or an economist. However, it doesn't mean that I couldn't start citing them to defend my stance. Citing a Filipino economist like Andrew James Masigan (who's very pro-reform) is one. I also did research with sources like From Third World to First by the late Lee Kuan Yew. 

However, when it comes to the anti-constitutional reform people in the Philippines, one must wonder what their source is. I have even tried asking pages about who their source is, while purposely using the word "sauce" instead of "source." I usually get insults, and when I do start posting sources, I get the "mercy" of the block button, when the insults only make me reply nearly non-stop with factual data. Again, I'm no fact-checker myself but that doesn't mean I can't fact-check with some sources. I may just be a regular citizen in the Philippines, but I want to say, "May I know who your source is?" However, I tend to mockingly use sauce in place of source because the gossip was like a common dipping bowl

Some time ago, I remember writing about the mysterious CTTO Merkado. The merkado (marketplace) is also a place where street food is commonly bought. One of the most common street foods is ngohiong. I thought about how people tend to share a big dipping bowl. In my case, I always ask for a small personal dipping bowl when applicable because I have the tendency to double-dip. In my case, I mockingly use the word "sauce" in place of source, it's because a lot of gossip happens while sharing a communal meal of ngohiong or fried chicken at a market eatery. Some people eat the pungko pungko, which I personally refuse to recommend for safety reasons, and people tend to share one common bowl and even contaminate the bowl by double-dipping into it. Restaurants tend to offer dipping plates for customers so customers can double-dip. 

The double-dipping causes contamination. In the world of information, we have the contamination that comes with the chismis of "I'm sure..." but one can be dead wrong. One bad example of that case is the Chiong Sisters Case. The "I'm sure..." claim went from proving that Francisco Juan "Paco" G. Larrañaga was guilty to the Chiong Sisters being "still alive". Some say that they were sure that Debbie Jane Chiong-Sia was "really Jacqueline". However, a simple trip to the Philippine Christian Gospel School in Junquera could prove that Debbie was an elementary student based on their academic records! However, even after I showed records that Debbie isn't Jacqueline and that Paco was in Manila, several camps still insist that Paco was in Cebu at that time or that Jacqueline is Debbie. 

Honestly, the level of contamination may have spread much faster than a COVID-19 droplet ever would! We could develop vaccines against COVID-19 to end the pandemic. Sadly, we couldn't develop a vaccine against gossip. In fact, the COVID-19 vaccination drives were also hampered by a series of gossip, such as several unverified claims. 

The logical fallacy behind the tsismis examined

The contamination is related to the Just Because Fallacy. It's described as:

(also known as: trust me, mother knows best fallacy, because I said so, you’ll see)

Description: Refusing to respond to give reasons or evidence for a claim by stating yourself as the ultimate authority on the matter.  This is usually indicated by the phrases, “just trust me”, “because I said so”, “you’ll see”, or “just because”.  The just because fallacy is not conducive to the goal of argumentation -- that is coming to a mutually agreeable solution.  Nor is it helpful in helping the other person understand why you are firm on your position. “Just because” is not a reason that speaks to the question itself; it is simply a deflection to authority (legitimate or not).

If someone used to think Santa Claus was real and I did, the problem was the "Mommy would never lie!" fallacy. Basically, when a person gets mad when they are told Santa Claus isn't real, it's usually because they are defending the parent. Unfortunately, such lies don't go away with the child discovering that there was no Santa Claus. It goes from "parents said so, so it must be right" to actually people learning to use themselves as the ultimate authority. A child may have subconsciously learned that they could do the same, after being lied to about the Aswang, Santa Claus, Boogeyman, etc., growing up.

As I thought about it, the same goes for opposing constitutional reforms. Right now, one of the worst offenders for me is Silent No More PH, run by Cocoy Dayao. Other pages like La Verite, which, ironically, has its own profile picture of Pinocchio, shows its lack of credibility while claiming to fight for the truth, and also operate on that same level. It's either the echo chamber of repeating what was said by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (and Socrates Villegas remains my favorite example), Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr., the Monsod couple, Teodoro "Teddy" A. Casiño, Neri Colmenares, Kabataan Partylist, etc. When I ask for other sources, many of them tend not to be able to even cite other sources. The academic research is an echo chamber.

This is probably why the gossip spreads so fast. After all, Mark Twain was right when he said that a lie travels faster before the truth can put its boots on. The Just Because Fallacy is easier because calling someone names if they don't believe you is way easier than digging through sources. It's easier to cite a post from Silent No More PH than it is to actually look for other studies. It's easier to cite Davide than it is to realize that former Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, gave advice far more useful than Davide. It's all about taking mental shortcuts, hence the best source was and will always be, for them, tsismis.