Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia is back to singing songs, and this time, he’s asking all of us to choose between a “pangulo” and a ”panggulo” in his eye-opening track, “Metro,” released on Tuesday.
At a time of great political divide, Metro comes timely to remind us that the path to change starts with choosing for ourselves. While the song doesn’t name names, it banks on our daily ordeals, which should be more than enough to make anyone decide differently in the upcoming 2022 elections.
For its nationalistic tone and calls for efficient leadership, Buendia’s jingle gained the validation of many viewers online. However, some remained skeptical over the timing of it all. Practicing the same value of critical thinking that the song preaches, some social media users looked into how the song saw light.
As it turns out, they might be onto something.
Brandished across the YouTube page that uploaded the song is the slogan “We Need A Leader.” A quick Google search of the term will reveal that it pertains to a campaign launched by Former House Speaker and Davao del Norte 1st District Representative Pantaleon Alvarez, who was booted from the speakership in 2018 due to presidential ouster rumors.
In 2020, Alvarez resigned as the Secretary-General of the dominant party, Partido Demokratiko-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) to pursue his advocacy of establishing a “voter’s education campaign,” which, incidentally, is the same thrust that We Need A Leader 2022 has. On the campaign’s website, its manifesto reads that a “real leader” should have “the brains, the heart, the balls, and the fortitude” to serve.
Currently, there are numerous pages and accounts across social media platforms bearing the “We Need A Leader” name and hailing from different provinces.
Suddenly, the song sounds like a familiar record.
One Twitter user speculates that Alvarez’s sudden change of colors is “all part of a show,” while another eagle-eyed user shared photos of a tarpaulin already depicting the campaign’s slogan beside Alvarez’s face.
While the presidential campaign is still a good year away, it pays to stay critical of campaigns and initiatives coming from all fronts.
To translate the hard-hitting lyrics of Buendia himself, “don’t let yourself be fooled again,” folks.
