‘But, what does Bongbong have to gain politically if and when he does not deny the ICC…?’
PDEA takes pride in its recent seizure of P11.4B worth of shabu as its Director Wilkins Villanueva still grapples with neutralizing the demand for the drug at the barangay or community level. As the smuggling seems unabated, it is likely that more drugs or shabu are sneaked in through the various ports and coastlines of the country. The PNP has been strangely quiet on its local operations against drug smuggling in these areas. After lying low at the height of this COVID-19 crisis, the drug syndicates have been back with a vengeance. For his part, the new PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos seems to backtrack from the ugly narrative of the drug war and would rather focus on rehabilitation and reformation.
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Senator Bong Go withdrawing from the presidential race may have splintered President Duterte’s political base, half of which may have gone to Bongbong Marcos. Go is aware of his slim chances of winning the presidency against Marcos Jr. even if Duterte fully backs him during the campaign.
And, it’s amazing how Marcos Jr.’s fortunes are being reversed by the family name, its stigma gradually turning into charisma through propaganda and revisionism. The President is not convinced that Marcos Jr will protect him from prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC). But, what does Bongbong have to gain politically if and when he does not deny the ICC from investigating and prosecuting him? Is that a lofty political agenda — to ignore Duterte’s financial empire and adopt and pursue honesty and clean governance?
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Vice President Leni Robredo’s pink caravans have created a sense of winnability for her candidacy as president, and they seemed to project a mounting contradiction to at least two major surveys that named Bongbong Marcos as the front runner. The massive crowds that would even surprise Robredo could still swing the voters’ preferences if they continue to swell as the elections approach. The “kakampink’s” stretching motorcades now present innumerable graphic and physical presence of warm bodies behind the Vice President, reversing the conditioning and trend formulated in the surveys. Marcos Jr. may yet get the biggest shock of his life when the surveys,despite their ostensibly proven science, will manifest differently and bring Robredo to the top.
