Graphic for the final installment of the Edwin Espejo series on Philippine politics and the Duterte social media narrative.

Beyond the ‘Troll’ Label: A Reality Check for the Opposition

March 25, 2024

The anti-Duterte leaders and followers have falsely credited the ‘trolls’ of Duterte as being the reason why president Duterte’s popularity and trust rating remain in record fashion. But they failed to recognize their own deficiency. That is where the opposition is failing in the first place. It arrogates upon itself as guardian of morality and political righteousness. In so doing, it effectively built a wall between itself and the people it purports to serve and defend. Collectively calling Duterte’s social media supporters as trolls is a serious disconnect. Dismissing them as a bunch paid hacks is a middle class arrogance and display of intellectual snootiness. Edwin Espejo addresses this in his last of the seven series of articles originally published on Facebook in June/July

Graphic from Edwin Espejo’s six-part series on the 2016 Philippine presidential election, highlighting the retrospective on the Duterte campaign movement.

Beyond the ‘Troll’ Label: When the Masa Finally Found Their Voice

March 24, 2024

“They like to call us “trolls.” It’s a convenient word, isn’t it? If they label the movement as “fake,” they don’t have to face the uncomfortable truth: that millions of Filipinos were just fed up. Every time someone talks about the 2016 election and tries to dismiss it as some sort of digital manipulation, they’re insulting the very people who built that victory. It wasn’t about bots; it was about the masa finally having a voice. It was about a leader who didn’t speak in fancy, polished lines, but in the language of the streets—someone who actually felt the frustration of the everyday worker, the jeepney driver, the mother trying to put food on the table. Edwin Espejo hits the nail on the head in

Beyond the ‘Troll’ Label: Why the Opposition Keeps Losing

March 23, 2024

“The script is as predictable as it is tired: every time the political season intensifies, the narrative of ‘decapitating’ the so-called ‘trolls’ of the Duterte administration makes its rounds. I have seen these headlines before, frequently filled with malicious innuendos and a desperate attempt to ignore the reality of genuine public support. By dismissing the President’s supporters as mere ‘trolls’ or paid hacks, the opposition only deepens the chasm between themselves and the people they claim to serve. This series examines not just the personal attacks directed at me, but the fundamental disconnect within an opposition that prefers to blame a manufactured villain rather than confront its own political failures.” Nic Gabunada ================================================================================================ Decapitating the ‘trolls’ of Duterte Fifth of a series By Edwin Espejo

A Target Board Over My Back

March 22, 2024

After the 2016 elections, while many of my colleagues transitioned into government, I chose a different path. I focused on establishing my own advertising and reputation management company, buoyed by the genuine success and goodwill we had fostered together. But as that movement grew, so did the misconceptions about my role in it. I maintained connections with the online supporters who had become a formidable social media force, often stepping in as an admin or editor to help manage the noise. However, my perceived influence turned me into a target. I found myself under constant, malicious scrutiny, eventually being branded a “pariah” and banned from Facebook under allegations that I was behind a network of fake accounts spreading disinformation. While reports—like those from The Straits

The Unseen Momentum: Rewriting the Rules of Engagement

March 21, 2024

“They called us many things back then—trolls, hacks, noise. But those labels were just a convenient way to dismiss a groundswell that the established media refused to see. Looking back at the 2016 campaign, what I remember most isn’t the technology or the platforms; it was the sheer, raw passion of the people. In this third installment of Edwin Espejo’s series, he captures that momentum perfectly. It wasn’t manufactured; it was organic. It was the work of groups like CinEmotion and Mugstoria, and the thousands of everyday Filipinos who realized they finally had a voice. My role was simply to help weave those threads together, to provide a structure for that incredible, bubbling energy. This chapter isn’t just about the mechanics of the campaign—it’s about

Aerial view of the massive Miting de Avance crowd for the 2016 Duterte-Cayetano campaign at Luneta Park in May 2016, demonstrating the scale of the organic support.

The Anatomy of a Disconnect: Why the ‘Troll’ Narrative Failed to Explain 2016

March 20, 2024

In this second installment of Edwin Espejo’s seven-part series, “Decapitating the ‘trolls’ of Duterte“, he shifts the focus from the common myths to the actual mechanics of the 2016 Duterte campaign. Much of the public discourse has been obsessed with the narrative of a “troll army,” yet this framing consistently misses the most critical component: the genuine, organic connection between President Duterte’s authentic communication style and the Filipino public. In this post, Edwin breaks down how we actually facilitated the connections that allowed our messaging to resonate, and why the “troll” narrative—then and now—remains a convenient but fundamentally flawed explanation for what was, in reality, a powerful mass movement. Nic Gabunada ——————————————————————————————————————————– Decapitating the trolls of Duterte (Part 2 of a Series) Second of a

Decapitating the ‘trolls’ of Duterte: A 7-Part Retrospective

March 19, 2024

Looking back at the noise and the narratives of the past few years, I’m resharing this seven-part series written by veteran journalist Edwin Espejo. In this series, Edwin meticulously details the period when the political opposition attempted to decapitate those of us behind President Duterte’s successful and innovative campaign—labeling us “trolls” in an effort to discredit the genuine movement that brought him to Malacañang. It’s a perspective worth revisiting, especially when looking at the disconnect that continues to play out in our political landscape today. First published on Facebook, here is the first part of that series. Nic Gabunada —————————————————————————————————————— Decapitating the ‘trolls’ of Duterte: A 7-Part Retrospective First of a series By Edwin Espejo (June 28, 2021) A known communication specialist during the 2016

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