The die is cast

ONE consummation devoutly wished by the presidential aspirants is to be endorsed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte. Even the most rabid critic of Duterte among them cannot hide her wish. Well, she may deny it but when the President said he would prefer a lawyer to be president her camp cannot suppress their glee.  t was actually just a pipe dream. 

Why would the President’s endorsement matter? The opposition is stuck with the traditional belief that one year prior to retirement,  a president becomes a virtual lame duck. Well, they got it all wrong. This President still enjoys the unprecedented trust and approval ratings his endorsements undoubtedly matter. This is the reason why there is no let-up in the cabal of opposition demonizing him.

In the presidential debates, Duterte is still the favorite whipping boy of, thank goodness, a fractious opposition. They tried every trick, fakeries, and even prayers to discredit him. Detained Senator Leila de Lima accused him of extra-judicial killings. Later she and fellow senator Antonio Trillanes attributed to him the organization of Davao Death Squad which they claimed was behind the alleged EJK. Some pious men in the frock indict him for human rights abuses.  1Sambayan coalition belittled his achievements and denounced his administration of corruption, incompetence, and even sideswiped Davao City Mayor Inday Sara saying she does not qualify under their criteria. The group led by ex-Justice Antonio Carpio imploded as quickly as when it started because everyone hankered for power.

The Philippines had been hit badly by the crippling coronavirus pandemic. Like every country on this planet, the government was moving with urgency for protective equipment needed by medical front liners and later for vaccines. The opposition in the Senate led by Dick Gordon and Frank Drillon to include Manny Pacquiao who shoots from the hips cried corruption and overprice! Yet the three stooges never came out with a bit of suggestion where to buy those items and were quiet when the Commission on Audit reported that the price the government paid was half the price the Aquino government acquired. 

The public however is the better judge. The dark alleys had been cleared of criminal elements and all forms of crime syndicates. The trains and railways had been efficiently restored, new MRTs and LRTs hand been delivered,  highways,  bridges, airports, and seaports done while others are in the works. Today, with the intensive and extensive vaccination campaign,  the Philippines is among the countries in the world ravaged by  COVID-19  to have the lowest cases reported. In Davao City the report if any is down to a single digit. 

So how can you not trust and approve of President Duterte? That is why the electorates are waiting for his choice. He knew who among the presidential and vice-presidential will continue to nurture the legacy that he will leave to his countrymen. His "BUILD, BUILD, BUILD" program. 

The night before PDP-Laban National Executive Council passed the resolution declaring the party’s decision for former Sen. Bongbong Marcos to be its candidate for President of the Philippines, President Duterte and BBM met in Malago Clubhouse adjacent to the palace. I need not say more about what took place in that March 20, 2022 event as the picture plastered on Facebook says a thousand words. All I can say, however, is that the die is cast.