Bato could not be serious

By Herbert Vego

THIS writer agrees with fellow columnist Alex Vidal, who wrote that Senators Christopher “Bong” Go and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa are “chess pawns in the 2022 Philippine presidential election.”

When Bato filed his certificate of candidacy for president last Friday, the press naturally pressed him for an explanation. Was it not a mockery of the electoral process that he was apparently standing in for someone else who would replace her on or before the substitution deadline on November 15?

“Why, do I look like a mockery to you?” Dela Rosa asked back, reminding the media that he had been elected as a senator with 19 million votes.

If Bato felt insulted, he knows he deserves it. He knows in his heart he had never dreamed of running for president.  In fact, he also said that his party, PDP-Laban (Cusi wing), had chosen him at the last minute to run, with Bong Go as vice-presidential running mate.

On that same day (October 8) Bong Go was also there at Sofitel Hotel to file his certificate of candidacy (COC) for vice-president.

But weeks had already gone by since the party, in a national convention, unanimously chose the reluctant Go as a candidate for president and outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte for vice-president.

The prevailing public opinion is that Bato, whose six-year senatorial term would expire in 2025 yet, was trying to stir “excitement” out of the eventual entry of presidential daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio into the playing field.

But that’s already lumang tugtugin resorted to by Duterte before substituting for a retreating candidate.

Bato never agreed to that comparison.  He would not like to anticipate the next move of Sara,  who has the option of running for re-election as Davao City mayor or withdrawing her COC for mayor to run for president.

Under Comelec Resolution No. 10717, an aspirant who is a member of a political party may withdraw his or her COC, and be substituted by another member of the same party until Nov. 15.

Alas, Sara is not a member of PDP-Laban.  But as the saying goes, kung may gusot, may lusot.

Presuming she was not lying, let us hark to what she said after filing her COC for mayor of Davao City: “I am presenting myself to the Davaoenos as mayor for the third and last time in my life as a politician.”

That’s a big surprise, considering that her group had printed thousands of life-size posters screaming, “Run, Sara, Run!” Has she changed her mind in the wake of the growing public adulation for opposition candidate Leni Robredo?

That public clamor could hype up to such a crescendo as to belie the contrived surveys of the three commercial pollsters – SWS, Pulse Asia, and Octa Research – which had placed Sara “No. 1” in advance surveys giving her 20 to 28 percent of respondents’ votes, and Leni on the tail end with only 5 to 6%.

How could she top the survey without a plausible explanation?  What has the Davao City mayor done to deserve nationwide popularity?

She could not even bask in the shadow of his dad, the President, whom Senator Richard Gordon has accused of “lawyering” for his Cabinet and the Chinese syndicate behind the anomalous importation of overpriced and substandard face masks, face shields, and other medical equipment from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation at the cost of P8 billion. Ironically, the company remains in the heat of a Senate probe. Where else does a small corporation capitalized at only P625,000 engage in a multi-billion-peso deal?

Presuming Bato would stay put on the notion that he would remain senator if he loses, therefore a mere sacrificial lamb, it is possible that one, two or more of the other presidential candidates are actually Manchurian candidates “planted” by Malacañang, hence would be protective of the outgoing President if elected.

Among presidential candidates Bato dela Rosa, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Leni Robredo, Isko Moreno, Ping Lacson and Manny Pacquiao, sino sa kanila ang hindi naging tutà ni Digong?

Your guess is as good as mine.

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TREÑAS CONFIDENT OF RE-ELECTION

MAYOR Jerry Treñas (National Unity Party) believes he would overcome lesser obstacles on the road to his re-election for mayor of Iloilo City against broadcaster Jun Capulot and Vicente Ang in May 2022.

He said he had fought his “hardest fight” in 2019 against then incumbent Mayor Joe Espinosa III, who is now running for congressman against incumbent Congresswoman Julienne Baronda.

Capulot belongs to People’s Reform Party, which was founded by the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago in 1991.  However, the party has been dormant since her death in 2016.

Ang is an independent bet.

Treñas thinks his track record will catapult him to re-election. He is the Western Visayas regional winner of the 2021 Search for Outstanding Government Workers under the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award category.

For the first time, he is fielding two of his children in politics – Miguel for councilor and Raisa as nominee for party-list under the Uswag party, together with Jojo Ang as co-nominee.

Capulot, on the other hand, counts on his thousands of “fans” that had accumulated in the past two years of his “bombastic” program on radio station RMN-DYRI.

Unfortunately, the station management has become his big headache. His hitherto “kasamas” have accused him of spreading false “transaction” rumors against them.

Ay ay, kasubo kay amigo ko man sila tana.