IN the run up to, as well as after, the Monday, May 9, 2022 national and local elections, we will look back at last Monday, as the historical dividing line between the rise and fall of the House of Duterte.
Previously, I had mistakenly believed many times that the Dutertes had reached their tipping point:
- Before the start of the 2016 presidential campaign, on November 30, 2015, Duterte cursed, while complaining about the traffic generated by Pope Francis’s January 2015 visit, our Holy Father.
- After it was revealed on January 19, 2017 that a Korean Hanjin executive, Jack Ick Joo, had been kidnapped for ransom, brought to Camp Crame and killed inside an SUV in a parking lot near the Civil Relations Office and the PIO by PNP officers.
- After PDU30’s statement on June 23, 2018: “Who is this stupid God?”
- After the initial mishandling of the entry of COVID-19 in the Philippines in January, February and March 2020.
- After a series of scandalous and unpopular events during the relaxation of ECQ towards GCQ in May, June and July 2020:
- On Tuesday afternoon, May 5, 2020 the National Telecommunications closed down ABS-CBN’s TV and radio broadcasting stations after its franchise expired. This was contrary to NTC’s actuations when it allowed the continued operation after their franchises had expired of GMA, TV5, Catholic Radio Network, PT & T, Rinconada and several others.
- On Friday, May 8, 2020 then NCRPO Director and future PNP Director General Diebold Sinas violated health and quarantine protocols on the occasion of his 55th birthday ‘mananita’.
- On Friday, June 5,2020 San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora, his wife and his party of seven cars violated Medical and Quarantine Protocols in Baguio City.
- On Friday, July 10, 2020 the House of Representatives, Committee on Franchises rejected the ABS-CBN franchise application.
All of these were highly unpopular. All throughout PDU30’s five years, he has sided with China not only against the USA, but also against Filipino interests. And yet, PDU30 remained popular and trusted.
In both of 2021’s first and second quarters, in both SWS and Pulse Asia’s public opinion surveys, Davao City Mayor Sarah Duterte led the list of presidentiables.
On the other hand, the opposition Liberal Party’s Vice President Leni Robredo was near the bottom of the list.
Among the other presidentiables as well as vice presidentiables were: former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, Senator Richard ‘Dick’ Gordon, Senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson, former Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Romualdez Marcos, Mayor ‘Iskho’ Domogozo Moreno, Senator Grace Poe Llamanzares, Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III and former Senator Antonio ‘Sony’ Trillanes,
Meanwhile, 1Sambayan, an opposition convenor’s group was organized (since September 2020 and launched on March 18, 2021).
It was led by a triumvirate composed of former Senior Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio ‘Tony’ Tirol Carpio, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert ‘Bert’ del Rosario and former SC Associate Justice and Ombudsman ‘Chit’ Conchita Carpio – Morales, with Jesuit priest Fr. Albert Alejo and La Salle Brother Armin Luistro in the background.
If you are over fifty years old, you might remember that in 1985, there was a convenor’s group for the opposition. Among them were Dr. Alfredo Bengzon, U. P. President Noel Soriano.
According to former President/Dictator Fedinand Edralin Marcos’s 1973 ‘Viva Voce’ Constitution, there were going to be local elections in 1986, presidential elections in 1987 and Assembly elections in 1990.
Since the assassination of former Senator Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Simeon Aquino on Sunday, August 21, 1983, a growing list of opposition personalities and politicians had started to posture as presidentiables.
Among them were former 1971 Concon delegate Teofisto Guingona, Jr., Senator and Assemblyman Salvador ‘Doy’ Laurel, Senator and Assemblyman Ramon V. Mita, Jr. and Aquilino ‘Nene’ Pimentel, Jr.
In late 1985, Marcos suddenly called for ‘snap’ elections for president and vice -president.
With the help of Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, the Cory Aquino for President Movement (CAPM) and the convenors, a Cory Cojuangco Aquino – Salvador ‘Doy’ Laurel opposition ticket was put together.
However, former Senator Eva Estrada Kalaw (with the LP Kalaw Wing) still ran for vice -president.
In March 2021, there was a surge of COVID-19 cases.
We passed the first anniversary of last year’s, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, ECQ.
A seven - week ECQ was reimposed on Monday, March 29, 2021.
This time around both national and local government coffers had been depleted by a whole year of quarantines.
In the past few months, Senator ‘Manny’ Pacquiao, announced his intention to run for president, criticized PDU30’s administration and together with Senator Koko Pimentel engaged in a tug of war within the PDP Laban with PDU30’s men. (To be continued)