It would be slap in the face of President Aquino who refuses to see that the Filipino people’s attraction to the putang-ina talking Duterte is an expression of their disgust for his government.
On the 30th anniversary of People Power revolution last Feb. 22, Aquino warned against electing the late dictator’s son. But Sen. Marcos popularity continued to surge even as the administration’s candidate, Leni Robredo, tries to catch up close.
Aquino is too engrossed trumpeting the 6.2 percent economic growth under his administration ignoring the frustration and anger of the people who have been derailed and missed by his “Tuwid na Daan” program.
His anointed, Mar Roxas, also misread the public pulse and promised the Filipino people of a continuation of “Tuwid na Daan.”
This was Roxas’ huge mistake. Journalist Junep Ocampo captured it in his succinct Facebook post: “If Mar loses in this election, it is only because of this: He tried to sell continuity to voters who were crying for change.”
Drastic change was what Duterte offered: eliminate criminals, the corrupt and illegal drug dealers in six months. How? He will play God and kill everybody he suspects as criminal. Anybody who resists, he will kill. If Congress opposes his extrajudicial acts, he will close Congress, he said. If they refused to be closed down, he said he will burn Congress.
At the end of his term, he will issue a pardon to all who violated human rights of those they killed including himself.
Duterte has mesmerized not only the poor but also the rich and the middle class who have long suffered the administration’s inefficiency most exemplified by the daily horrendous traffic, trains that breakdown frequently, and proliferation of snatchers and holduppers.
Everybody knew the call was directed to Grace Poe, who is running a far second to Duterte in the surveys. Nobody thought of Vice President Jejomar Binay who is facing plunder charges together with his son, who has been ousted as Makati City mayor and replaced by Aquino’s partymate. Maybe Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who is waging a valiant campaign despite being under treatment of cancer.
“I am trying to get all of these different voices together and in that sense, perhaps help our candidate get together and have that united front,” Aquino told CNN Philippines.
Aquino’s mathematics: “Mayor Duterte has roughly 30 percent. That means he doesn’t have the 70 percent. …if it’s Mar or Grace that unite, we have more than 40 percent. That defeats the 30 percent.”
Roxas followed this up the next day through the media by inviting Poe to a talk on unity. Seeing through the trap, Poe nixed the Roxas’ publicly announced call to talk. She doubted the sincerity of Roxas wondering why Roxas didn’t just text o call her when he very well knew her number.
Poe said she will continue with her candidacy because of the commitments she made with her supporters.
Fellow Malaya columnist JB Baylon, a communication executive said it best in Facebook with a post titled, “A hopeless lot whose time is up.”
“The President and the Secretary are a hopeless lot. Time and again they have shown their propensity to misread the public. And in their scripted call to Grace Poe to in effect back out ‘to save this country from dictatorship’ they again demonstrate that ‘skill’. One they have mastered in the last six years.
“It was a neat attempt to try to pin on Grace the ‘blame’ of a Duterte win. But it was stupidity 101 from the moment the Secretary opened his mouth.
“First, survey after survey show that Grace and not Mar is the preferred second choice of voters. Which means more Mar voters will go to Grace than Grace voters to Mar.
“Second, the reason why Duterte is up and Grace is second is simple: it is a protest vote against the status quo. To ask one candidate for change to back down and support a candidate for the status quo is idiocy.
“Third, and this is my personal take: you ask this woman to be your VP; when she spurns you, you throw the book at her forcing her to subject herself to the legal processes. She wins. And now you want her to back out? To save your necks?
“Tama Na. You’ve been “sure” all these time that the public loved Daang Matuwid. Why the panic now?
“Your time is up. Read the tea leaves.
“I support Grace Poe. All the way.
“And I support the will of the People whatever that will be.
“This is democracy. Even if heavily tinged with karma.”
To this, I say, Amen.
Mar Roxas is losing the presidential elections for two reasons: his continuation of Noynoy’s Daang Matuwid that ordinary people do not feel; and the yellow’s too much hate for Grace Poe that consumed them to no end. The LP has been too focused on terminating Grace’s candidacy and that of Binay as well that they ignored darkhorse Duterte until too late.
You lose, Mar, I am not sorry.
Hold your horses….too early to tell as I see wholesale cheating in VP race where Leni is being pushed to win at all cost..remember Noynoy is against MARCOS …LP gave up on Mar Roxas as Du30’s lead is unsurmountable….but even then there are already sign that vote to Du30 is going to Roxas….these yellows are really cheaters and black propagandists…they did it to Marcos in 1986 and now to Du30 ..
Sa pagkapanalo ni Duterte at Marcos walang ibang dapat sisihin kundi ang mga umaatake sa kanila para siraan. Pero hindi epektibo. Likas na sa mga Pilipino na ang inaapi ay kinakampihan. Ang talino din ni Duterte, wais talaga siya. Ang ibang mga kandidato pagka Presidente matagal pa ay sinabi ng tatakbo pagka pangulo at ayun maagang inaatake para siraan. Si Duterte ay ibang iba, pag umpisa file ng candidacy ay hindi siya nag file. Pagka December na siya ng file ng candidacy. Kung siraan man siya ay ilang buwan na lang ay halalan na. Hindi na maging epektibo kahit ano pang paninira. Kailangan talaga ng bansa ang isang tao na magiging lider na wais, matapang at may malasakit.
#3 Arvin, obvious na malaki ang karanasan at tuso si Du30. Tama ang kaniyang mga adhikain na inaasam ng mga tao sa isang lider. Si Roxas talaga ay palpak pati sa pagbasa ng sasaloobin ng mga mamamayan. May pagkatanga pala talaga si Roxas, alam niyang galit ang mga tao sa gobyerno pero pinilit pa rin niya ang TUWID na DAAN…dapat inilayo na niya ang kampanya niya sa mga di popular na tao gaya ni KORINA, NOYNOY at KRIS pero sige pa rin….
Nagmilagro na ang HOKUS PCOS…maaabutan na ni Leni si BBM habang ang mga tao ay natutulog…ang COMELEC naman ay busy manipulating the results….nagkatotoo ang sinabu ni BBM na si Leni ang papanalunin para paupuin after Du30 is impeached….DEJAVU all over…repeat ng istorya ni Estrada / Arroyo…hay naku…talaga ang mga MAYAYAMAN sa Pinas pinaglalaruan lang ang buhay ng mga Pilipino…
PPCRV headed by certified yellow Tita De Villa is hell-bent on ensuring Marcos’ VP bid is thwarted at all cost. The “padding” of Leni votes were steady and quite consistent starting from 10PM until the lead changed hands at around 4:40AM. Like thief in the night. By “Padding” I mean selective processing of data from the Transparency Server choosing to report only those wherein Robredo leads Marcos thus giving an impression that Leni is stable in the top position such when PPCRV decides to stop the updates once the Senate count begins, it would seem to be almost mathematically impossible to overturn the lead. I estimate PPCRV will stop at 93-94%.
I’ve seen Namfrel use this technique in the snap polls. Even saw Mel Lopez (who I believe was head of the Namfrel canvass in Manila) alter a report actually padding Cory’s vote as reported by Namfrel Student Volunteer now TV host Arnold Clavio. What the yellows were complaining that Marcos votes were padded, they themselves were doing in their “honest” quick count.
PNoy must have declared more than a dozen times in no uncertain terms before the election proper that Bongbong Marcos must be stopped from winning at all cost. In fact, did he not mobilize the entire government machinery helped along by the old anti-Marcos allies to pound on him non-stop, only to find that surveys still show him on the lead?
He might yet succeed in the last line of defense. To him and his believers, it is about saving the Philippines from “shame” because Bongbong represents everything that is contrary to the so-called Spirit of EDSA.
Indeed, Leni Robredo must be wondering where she is getting all the numbers because she does not seem to incite frenzy or stir in a magnitude a major candidate typically does. It looks all too contrived, well, at least to me.
But then, as they say, everything is fair in war and politics.
Right, ricelander. The bombardment of EDSA reminders about the evil Marcos extended far beyond the February celebrations and well into election week. Of course nobody paid for it, it was ABS-CBN’s own initiative. The anti-Marcos ad campaign probably cost hundreds of millions and should be added to Roxas’ and Robredo’s campaign expenses divided equally.
And yes, the Leni “clamor” was neither felt or heard, if at all. It does look contrived.