LETTERS FROM DAVAO

By Jun Ledesma

Bikoy is as farcical as his story

‘BIKOY’, the phantom character conjured by the opposition to demonize the family members of Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte, reflects the desperation of the vanishing Yellow generation of politicians in the Philippines. Yellow is associated with the Aquino political block whose image diminished progressively along with ineptitude and corruption which, during the reign of the Benigno S. Aquino III, pushed the country on the abyss of a failed state. 

The Yellow politicians are facing total extinction. Even the critical Rappler cannot suppress the rising tide of the popularity of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago senatorial bets. In its post on Facebook, writer Pia Ranada gives a spotlight on the latest Pulse Asia survey her lead paragraph reads “A little over two months before the May 2019 elections, 10 out of the 14 probable of the senatorial race are Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HnP) candidates-a virtual domination of administration allies. 

Giving focus on the unprecedented rise of former Special Assistant to the President, Bong Go, Rappler quoted Pulse Asia’s research director Ana Tabunda as saying she “has not seen anything like it. Nothing like his spectacular rise. That’s unique”. 

Bong’s performance is indeed one for the Guinness book of record. From a virtual tail-ender in March 2018 with 5.9% when he was perceived to be a candidate for the senate, he did a sharp vertical rise to 53% in February 2019. Pulse Asia predicts that given that trajectory it is not farfetched that Bong Go will topple Grace Poe and Cynthia Villar.

Let’s face it, Bong Go’s unparalleled record in the surveys reflects his boss popularity and trust rating which sustained either at “very good” or “excellent”. This, despite the concerted denigration of the Yellow opposition. With 10 HnP bets leading the pack in the May 13 senatorial race nothing can save the Liberal Party from extinction except by demonizing who else but Duterte.

There is a popular adage in Tagalog which says, “hampas sa kabayo sa kalabaw ang latay”. Assailing Duterte and family to inflict damage and hamper the foray of HnP senatorial bets to victory will not help the Yellows. The desperate political opposition which had been joined in by hypocritical clerics, legal fronts and armed New Peoples Army of the Communist Party of the Philippines have ran out of legitimate issues and are now using rehash issues among them questionably high bank deposits of the Duterte and his children and linking them, including an innocent Kitty the youngest of the brood of the President, to drug trade. This time the cabal employed a hooded ghost they called “Bikoy” to spell the beans on the family but even with the dirty craft they commit all the funny snafus. Hooded “Bikoy” produced a document but with the signature of HnP Rajah Buayan Mayor Zamzamin Ampatuan appended to it. Mayor Zam can only helplessly express his astonishment on how and why the spooky “whistle blower” got wind of his signature. ‘Bikoy’ is as stupid as his creators because aside from using the signature of Mayor Zam, he impleaded Kitty, a minor and an unknowing kid.

The opposition have ran out of credible gimmick. Otso Diretso which had disentegrated early in the race, recently posted photos on FB touting President Duterte to ride a jetski to the Scarborough. It’s a moronic display which utterly lacks savvy but funny. The sinophobia failed miserably in putting the blame on Duterte on the issues of the West Phillippine Sea disputes. The nation had read enough of the bungling of the Aquino regime. They opposition stonewalled the fact President Noynoy Aquino and the DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario abandoned the Spratlys group of islands and fhe secret mission of Sen. Antonio Trillanes whom they dispatched to talk with China was a multi- million dollar flop.

The apparent agenda of the opposition to subject Duterte and his family to an unkind and crass black propaganda to erode the people’s trust on the President and diminish the winnability of the HnP senatorial bets had failed miserably. In the case of Bong Go, even Rappler acknowledged that Bong Go is “his own campaign manager. Go’s organizing skills had already been tested in 2016 when he was campaign sortie manager of Duterte’s wildly successful presidential campaign”.

‘Bikoy’, just like the compendium of issues leveled against Duterte and his family, is nothing but a farce.

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About the Columnist

Image of Jun Ledesma

Mr. Jun Ledesma is a community journalist who writes from Davao City and comments from the perspective of a Mindanaoan.