Does Duterte really want a new FM?

By Herbert Vego

THIS writer has repeatedly made his disbelief in paid political surveys, which have sprouted to the max.  There are now at least six of them showing parallel results but with various numbers of alleged respondents ranging from 1,200 to 2,400.  They appear to have succeeded in projecting the image of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio as presidential and vice-presidential frontrunners, respectively.

Their “Uniteam” allegedly enjoys the support of at least 55% of the survey respondents here and abroad. Only God knows how they have convinced some of us 67 million voters that such a percentage among so few respondents could mirror a nationwide trend.

Poor Leni Robredo and Kiko Pangilinan, their tandem ranks 2^nd and 3^rd, respectively, despite the hundreds of thousands of energetic warm bodies attending their rallies.

To reiterate what the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said about surveys for sale, they induce the voters into voting for their “winning candidates” that should include their clients; and they facilitate a “convincing” automated dagdag-bawas via Smartmatic counting machines based on survey results.

If the Commission on Elections (Comelec) were not blind, this supposedly independent body should have enforced the law — the Fair Election Act of 2001 (Republic Act No. 9006) – which requires polling firms and media organizations to fully disclose the identities of survey sponsors, among others.

The cancellation of the Comelec’s April 23 presidential debate at Sofitel Hotel just because the contractor, Impact Hub Manila, had not paid its P14-million debt to the venue was a poor alibi.  The Comelec could have paid the hotel directly.

In a sense it benefits Marcos who probably wants to avoid duplicating his poor showing in the vice-presidential debate of 2016 against Robredo and Alan Peter Cayetano.

Because of the above “sins of omission,” we have doubting Thomases pointing to the government of China as the big bankroller behind the surveys, the corrupted media and the trolls who glorify the “son of the dictator”. There were times when he said he would ignore the historic arbitration win of the Philippines against China because “they are already here” – no doubt referring to Chinese presence in our territories at the West Philippine Sea.

There are also those who think it’s President Duterte himself who spends generously for the surveys, Sara being his only daughter. He could have influenced the Comelec’s final decision dismissing the disqualification cases against Marcos.

Head-scratching?  Could Duterte trust Bongbong, whom he once described as “a weak leader”.

But wait, there’s another legal argument that if Marcos wins the presidency but is later disqualified by the Supreme Court, the person who wins the vice presidency in May would succeed him.

In that scenario, Sara appears to be the only one her father could trust to “cover” him in the next six years.

In contrast, the International Court of Justice (ICC) would naturally prefer a non-Duterte to be next President to facilitate its trial against him for “crimes against humanity”.

-oOo-

NO BAD BLOOD BETWEEN LOREN AND ADE

READERS of this column are asking why this writer has written well of Antique Congresswoman Loren Legarda who is running for senator. Isn’t she the brother of former Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) national president Abdiel Dan “Ade” Fajardo who is running for congressman against her brother Antonio Agapito “AA” Legarda?

True, but so what? I have not reneged on my commitment to support Ade — the “tumandok”  son of my former employer, the late Danny Fajardo.

I am therefore meeting them half-way, since there is no bad blood between them. In fact, Loren was among his well-wishers during the proclamation of Ade as IBP president.

It is now up to AA himself to overcome negative criticisms.

Loren had done so for herself.  While running for the House post in 2019, she had to prove her ascendancy – that her maternal grandmother, Carmen Gella Bautista, was born in Pandan, Antique; that great grandpa Ariston Gella, was a member of the Malolos Congress that created the first Philippine Constitution; and that great granduncles Vicente Gella and Pedro Gella were governor of Antique and mayor of Sibalom, respectively.

However, the only time I had a coffee talk with her was in 2010 at Hotel del Rio when she was running for vice-president against Jejomar Binay (the eventual winner) and Mar Roxas.

She could have become “guest senatorial candidate” in the Loren-Kiko ticket but circumstances intervened.

Anyway, I am sure she is no advocate of the incumbent government’s pro-China policy. As a full Colonel of the Philippine Air Force Reserve Command, she recently said in a speech before the Office of the Dean, Corps of Professors (ODCOP) at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City:

“We have a rich pool of talents in the Corps, and it is our duty to expose these intellectual capacities to local processes and integrate these with global development by providing all opportunities that would enhance their [the soldiers’] skills and knowledge,”

Loren Legarda and Ade Fajardo know that they are not enemies of each other.  Their common enemy is the persistent poverty of the masses in Antique, notably the plight of exploited farmers and fisherfolk.

Don’t you agree, Inday Sally?

-oOo-

TREÑAS WANTS FACE-TO-FACE CLASSES BACK

ILOILO City Mayor Jerry Treñas, who is confident of getting re-elected on May 9, has a victory wish he is working for – face-to-face classes in the elementary and high schools.

In fact, he encourages the school heads to submit to him their applications for face-to-face classes.

I agree, the past two years of online and modular classes have failed to accomplish the results that had kept face-to-face classes successful.

For instance, most first-graders now barely know how to read and write.

As of now, the mayor has approved the applications of four private and eight public schools for face-to-face classes.

If I heard it right, however, City Schools Division Superintendent Ma. Luz M. de los Reyes remains hesitant to recommend the back-to-school classes because 66 schools have not yet complied with certain requirements.

We have had enough of the pandemic that led to “bobonic” classes.