Music to Pacquiao’s ears

By Alex P. Vidal

 

“Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.”—Bill Bradley

 

THE announcement made last week by President Rodrigo Duterte that “the presidency was no job for a woman because of their emotional differences to men” was music to the ears of Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, who is rumored to be eyeing the presidency of the Philippines.

Pacquiao, 42, probably was thinking that Mr. Duterte hasn’t changed his mind when the President predicted during the world boxing champion’s 39^th birthday party on December 17, 2017 that “he would become the next Philippine president.”

The former eight-division world champion’s confidence must have been boosted when he was chosen as the new head of President Duterte’s political party, PDP-Laban, in December 2020.

Pacquiao has neither confirmed nor denied he was seeking the highest position of the land, but some of those who have been following his political career have noticed the sudden “mushrooming” of his videos in the social media showing him apparently “appealing to the people’s emotions.”

Based on some of the videos where he appeared, Pacquiao wanted to be known as a religious person who is against graft and corruption and abuse of power.

He has advocating for a tough solution against criminals parroting the revival of death penalty for heinous crimes.

It was his promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who first announced in December 2008 during Pacquiao’s scintillating TKO win over Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vegas that the buzzsaw from General Santos City in Mindanao “would be the next Philippine president.”

 

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Mr. Duterte has dismissed speculation that his daughter, 43-year-old Davao City Mayor Sara, would succeed him next year.

“My daughter is not running. I have told Inday not to run because I pity (her) knowing she will have to go through what I am going through,” Duterte, 75, said at the launch of a highway project, referring to his daughter Sara by her nickname.

“This is not for women. You know, the emotional set-up of a woman and a man is totally different. You will become a fool here. So… that is the sad story.”

The Philippines has had two women presidents, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from 2001 to 2010 and Corazon Aquino from 1986 to 1992.

Mr. Duterte has been known to be notorious for comments often deemed offensive, sexist and misogynistic, but his apologists typically regarded his remarks as harmless jokes.

According to surveys, Mr. Duterte allegedly remains hugely popular among female voters in the Philippines.

Daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio, 42, who succeeded him as mayor of Davao City, came top in a recent opinion poll that asked the public to choose a preferred candidate from a list of possible contenders for the 2022 elections.

Two other women, Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Grace Poe, were considered to be “hypothetical contenders”, according to Reuters.

Philippines Presidents are allowed only one, six-year term in office. Mrs. Arroyo’s was longer as she took over from an impeached former president.

“What matters most especially when we talk of the presidency and public office is if the interests of the poor majority are upheld,” said Cristina Palabay of human rights group Karapatan who considered  women as “capable as men in any job” in reaction to the President’s remarks.

 

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President Donald Trump’s controversial Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, has reportedly decided not to stick around until the end of the term and packed up her office January 15.

Except when she allowed herself to be used as a comical tool to lie repeatedly to the American people that the November 3, 2020 presidential election was fraudulent, I personally admired her especially the way she parried difficult questions from critical White House reporters.

Although McEnany will continue officially holding the role, she will reportedly no longer be at the White House, or even in the nation’s capital.

McEnany will reportedly be working remotely from Tampa until January 20, the inauguration of day of the incoming Biden administration.

McEnany actually sent out a tweet acknowledging that after some reports came out she was leaving.

She tweeted: “As I leave the White House, I have the privilege of reading notes from incredible servants to our country.”

Amid the packing up she also had time for one last tiff with a journalist, pushing back against a tweet from the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, who first reported the news that McEnany was leaving the White House.

 

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Haberman had tweeted that “the last time McEnany responded to a question from me was when it was a story about herself.” The press secretary said that “with one exception, the last time she emailed me was July,” speculating that was because she “refused to be an anonymous source for her.”

McEnany took on the job of press secretary in April from Stephanie Grisham, who served for nine months and didn’t hold a single news conference.

She had been a staunch defender of Trump on cable news before joining him in the White House.

Ever since Trump moved into the White House, his press secretaries often made news themselves as they tried to speak for a president who often liked to talk for himself via Twitter.

Sean Spicer was the first press secretary and he only lasted seven months. Then came Sarah Huckabee Sanders who was in the role the longest, serving for almost two years until June 2019. In her first news conference, McEnany famously told reporters, “I will never lie to you. You have my word on that.”

 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)