Pro-Administration Pinoys heaved a sigh of relief yesterday morning when the Lakas-CMD announced that Sara Duterte was filing her certificate of candidacy for Vice-President. At the same time, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas issued a resolution adopting Sara Duterte as their candidate for Vice-President under Bongbong Marcos. Everything was well in the world of the administration, or so everyone thought until President Duterte and Bong Go’s arrival at the Comelec a little past 4 p.m.
Coming on the heels of Sen. Bato De La Rosa’s announcement that he was withdrawing his certificate of candidacy for President upon party instructions, it became apparent that something was brewing. What if the original plan for a Go-Duterte ticket was to push through? 4 p.m. came and the Presidential entourage arrived at the Comelec with Bong Go, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, PCOO Chief Martin Andanar, Energy Secretary Al Cusi and Bato in tow.
When asked by media present, Duterte played coy. It was Andanar who let the cat out of the bag; SBG was filing a COC for President. Bato was withdrawing. The President will be back on Monday to file a COC for Vice-President. Social media suddenly became abuzz with bewilderment. Those who thought that everything had been settled between father and daughter were shocked at the possibility that the two would clash for the Vice-Presidency. One question remained unanswered; what the fuck happened?
It would appear that all is still not well between the President and Daughterte. The feud between the siblings and the loyal aide continues. It doesn’t help that the siblings are now in open defiance of their father as both Pulong and Baste have been taking instructions from Sara. What is evident also is the Davao Origs aren’t in favor a Marcos Presidency. The original plan was for a Cayetano-Go tandem but Cayetano crashed and burned with his open defiance of the President’s wishes when he was House Speaker. What this confirms also is Duterte is also not keen on a Marcos Presidency.
What happens next? There are some Pinoys who will take offense at this brazen display of power plays left and right. These Filipinos will now think long and hard for whom they will vote for. They will decide after the debates are over. Those who have had enough of the opposition and the administration have Lacson-Sotto as their best option. No political drama. Excellent track record and experience. They can hit the ground running if they win in 2022.
What of the administration and the opposition? The opposition has been largely left for dead. Not one of them can come up with a credible platform of government. Leni Robredo has been going around the country like a circus performer this early. The only thing she hasn’t done yet is sing. I wouldn’t put that past her.
Isko has been going around also in what’s being described as a listening tour. Really? After his formal declaration? Isn’t this doing everything half-assed backwards? No platform. Only sound bites. About the only time there was a hint of a platform was the speech he made accompanying his declaration.
What happens now if Go-Duterte is a go tomorrow November 15? The advantage is on the side of BBM-Sara as they’re the top choices in the surveys. But with the election seven months out, a lot can still happen. SBG is hardly Presidential. He isn’t a lawyer like Duterte. He doesn’t have the experience. His performance in the Senate is lackluster, to say the least. He only makes up for it with the Malasakit Centers and the dispensing of Presidential largesse to politicians allied with him and the President.
The administration vote would be split between Go-Duterte and BBM-Sara. But why would Go-Duterte make the path to victory for themselves if it can be easy? By February 2022, the Comelec Commissioners will all have been appointed by PRRD. This is bad for BBM because disqualification becomes a reality. He can be disqualified even before th ballots are printed which takes him out of the race leaving the field open to SBG. The Vice-Presidential race is between father and daughter but it could also result in Pinoys going for Senate President Tito Sotto if they are fed up with the antics of Duterte pere’ et fille’. Too much bullshit and drama in the time of the pandemic could work against the favored in the surveys.
Aside from the Comelec, there is also SmartMagic, which could also be used to ensure an administration victory. This is feasible because it will not happen that the opposition is in any position to win. It can be used to facilitate control of the Senate to carry out the legislative agenda of the Davao Origs. Think of newbie administration Senators with the 3/4 majority needed for charter change.
This amounts a to coup however you look at it. If this scenario unfolds, this is a blatant manipulation of the electoral process. The operative question is, why would Duterte go to great lengths for SBG over Daughterte? We’re not privy to how Duterte’s mind works along with the other players but if this issue isn’t resolved within the week, it puts the whole nation on edge.
The election isn’t over even with the BBM-Sara ticket being finalized. The main issue in the disqualification case against Marcos is what constitutes moral turpitude. The Civil Code has a different interpretation as opposed to the Election Code. Both Commissioners in the Second Division are Duterte appointees. Should they rule against Marcos, the case would go up to the Supreme Court. The court would have to resolve the case in the soonest possible time so that the people will not be deprived of a Marcos candidacy if there is no basis for it.
We have to wait until tomorrow to find out what Duterte’s final decision is. If he decides to run for Vice-President and Go-Duterte becomes a reality, it is going to be a very contentious election. But at the end of the day, it is still in the hands of the people because any act of fraud has to have a semblance of plausibility and probability. This is what happened in the Vice-Presidential race in 2016.
For now, the Duterte family drama has cast a dark shadow over Philippine politics. For sure, PRRD will have an explanation about his decision if he shows up at the Comelec tomorrow. About the only certainty now is Bong Go has definitely gone a long way from being the loyal alalay as he has now become a power bloc on his own, which is not good at all for the Filipino people.
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