The latest survey from Publicus Asia is out and it has Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte with commanding leads over their rivals.
However, with a good seven months to go before the May election and three months before the official start of the campaign period, a lot of things can still happen so it’s not safe to think that both will be runaway winners as President and Vice-President. There can be sudden developments such as the withdrawal of candidacies and revelations in the nature of skeletons in the closet which can impact voter preference substantially.
But logically, the likes of Leni Robredo, Isko Moreno and Manny Pacquiao should withdraw from the Presidential race. All three have ragtag tickets and don’t have good chances of improving their standings between now and May 2022. Robredo’s campaign would’ve been dead in the water if not for the gimmickry while Isko’s and Pac-Man’s are. It just confirms that Isko was better off finishing his remaining two terms as Manila Mayor while Pac-Man would’ve won reelection to the Senate easily. Moreno may have the widely rumored “for the funds of it” reason while Pac-Man heard god’s voice about his destiny. However it looks more and more like it was a wrong number call.
One also has to note the 8% undecided. That’s not a small percentage if the race goes down the wire come April 2022.
As for the Vice-Presidential race, it will be between Sara Duterte and Tito Sotto. You can’t count out Tito Sen yet because track record and experience counts. The debates will test the mettle of Sara who is running for national office for the first time. She’ll need to be prepared to respond to issues of national importance. Definitely, she’s an improvement over Leni Robredo but Sotto isn’t a pushover given his long experience in the Senate where he started out at the bottom rung of the leadership ladder and worked his way up to Senate President despite the handicap of not being a lawyer.
The same is true for the Presidential race. The debates will be a battle-royale between Lacson and BBM but the former again holds the advantage because of his track record in the Senate as the budget and pork barrel hawk. Marcos will need to prepare for the debate as well as the voters will be looking at the plans of action of the two upon which they will make their decision going into the homestretch.
Marcos begged off from the Philippine Business conference forum. But up to this writing, BBM hasn’t presented a governance platform owing to the delay and drama accompanying negotiations with his running mate. Now that it’s over, the voters expect nothing less from him and Daughterte. Both will have to be prepared because Lacson and Sotto have the numbers committed to memory.
SBG is the question mark. His performance as a legislator is wanting. During plenary debates he has been seen relying on his aides for answers and tips. A neophyte Senator should have an excellent staff and take his work seriously as his not doing so would leave him at the mercy of the senior members of the Senate such as Lacson, Sotto, Drilon and Angara.
Go also cannot make as his platform “ipagpapatuloy ko ang nasimulan ni Pangulong Duterte.” This would be true if the pandemic didn’t rear its ugly head but he would need to be more specific in his governance platform as Lacson has shown in the several fora he has attended where he has presented his governance platform, plans of action and answered questions asked of him by businessmen and civic leaders.
The public will perceive him as a Duterte proxy but this will not work to his advantage because again, it can’t just be a simple continuation of what worked before the pandemic. The disruptive force of the pandemic is still being felt and even the more developed countries have been forced to innovate in their own efforts to jumpstart their economies. The global economic environment is rife with risk in terms of high oil prices, rising interest rates and supply shortages which have driven commodities prices up.
SBG isn’t particularly articulate in spoken English. He has to learn to strike a balance between Englisha and Pilipino because that is what is expected of a President. He will need to polish his image and demeanor. It can be compared to Tito Sen, whom much wasn’t expected of when he first ran as Senator, but managed to prove his detractors wrong with his rise to become the leader of the upper chamber.
SBG has the vast resources of the administration and the endorsement of PRRD working in his favor. But his biggest challenge is becoming a contender in the same league as Lacson and Marcos who have years of experience on him.
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