These are young people who are technically no longer Filipino citizens, but are still very much a part of the Filipino nation. President Duterte’s critics have every right to be part of the Filipino nation, as his avid supporters. But tolerance and recognition of rights are fundamental elements of an inclusive process of nation-building. The Filipino nation is not a monolith reserved only for people who agree with each other. The process of nation-building is in fact more challenging because it entails building a community even with those we strongly disagree with.

Source: Manila Times December 29, 2017 17:48 UTC