Dear GRP Insiders,
100 days of campaign to go. Short of disqualifying Bongbong Marcos from the elections or even assassinating him as rumours have it, is there anything left that the Opposition can do to improve their prospects?
Meanwhile, hope springs as the COVID omicron variant is being touted as Mother Nature’s “herd vaccine” (no intent to give medical advise on my part as I am not qualified to do that) by some quarters.
Get your booster shots!
Regards,
benign0
In review and in prospect
Last week, Filipinos were treated to excellent interviews of the top presidential aspirants in this year’s elections conducted by ABS-CBN talk show host Boy Abunda. The interviews were generally fair and Abunda did a good job steering the conversation within the guardrails of time and topics he had set up. The most interesting topic that best highlights difference in core personal values among the candidates is the controversial issue of abortion that Abunda raised with all of the candidates. Just about all of the Opposition candidates were visibly conflicted in their regard for the matter. Leni Robredo, Manny, Pacquiao, and Isko Moreno each deferred to their religious faith as a source of guidance for how they plan to approach the subject. Administration candidate Bongbong Marcos while exhibiting exceptional clarity in articulating his path forward on the matter of abortion stopped short of the prize most feminists would use as an argument — personal choice. Marcos, as such, while offering a more lucid position was not that much different to his rivals in that he also seemingly remained encumbered either by religious faith or a fear of antagonising the Roman Catholic Church.
With less than 100 days before election day, there still seems to be no sign of any fundamental change in the substance of the Opposition campaign. Though the same could be said of the campaign of administration tandem Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte, there is not much onus to change on a camp that is way ahead of all the rest. The Opposition, on the other hand, are hard-pressed to reform their campaigns if they are to lend bases to any hope of gaining ground from the Marcos-Duterte tandem. The only major development was the renewed alliance between Robredo’s Yellowtard bloc and the communist Makabayan camp and it remains to be seen how well such a rickety alliance would hold. Both camps had, over the last several months, exchanged bitter words over petty differences and Robredo, for her part, has so far shown little ability to instil discipline and maintain consistency of messaging across her small but diverse supporter base. The communists, on the other hand, maintain ideological purity and consistency unmatched in the Philippines’ political landscape. They also have the means to effect physical action on account of their terrorist asset, the New People’s Army, and their base of warm bodies in the Philippines’ major universities that they are able to rapidly mobilise to populate “activist” events.
Over the coming weeks expect the Opposition to continue to bait the Marcos-Duterte tandem into venturing to hostile ground such as those public debates hosted by Big Corporate Media. While it is fair to expect presidential candidates to subject themselves to public scrutiny and exhibit their ability to think and speak on the fly in competitive environments like debates and live forums, onus is on moderators to earn the confidence of the public that these events harbour sincere agendas to inform the public about issues pertinent to the challenges faced by the nation over the next six years and beyond and not any dishonest intent to propagate any sort of vindictive Yellowtard narrative.
Last week’s blog posts
Rowena Guanzon a hypocrite for leaking her decision on Bongbong Marcos disqualification petition
January 28, 2022 by benign0
"The same Inquirer report notes; 'A violation of this rule is punishable under Rule 71 of the Rules of Court', suggesting that Rowena Guanzon could be in contempt as it applies to quasi-judicial bodies such as the COMELEC."
January 27, 2022 by benign0
"Yellowtards expect Filipinos to vote for Robredo just because she is a woman and women 'shine' during crises. If this isn't the single biggest insult to the intelligence of the Filipino Voter yet, it is hard to imagine what will top that..."
Leni Robredo desperately stammers her way through a good Boy Abunda GRILLING!
January 26, 2022 by benign0
"Leni Robredo’s revelation that she consults a lot with Catholic priests is a red flag. Catholic priesthood is Western civilisation’s most ancient boys’ club. To be consulting men on a matter to do with a woman’s body is a grave mortal sin as far as the feminist movement is concerned."
“How the hell do you reverse a perception of being dumb in just three months?”
January 26, 2022 by benign0
"It’s time Leni Robredo pull the biggest feat of transformation of her career. She has, after all, gone through many wardrobe changes over the last several years..."
January 25, 2022 by benign0
"What really happened in 2016 and what accounts for the discrepancy between Leni Robredo’s apparent performance in the 2016 elections and her dismal preference ratings today?"
Bongbong Marcos need not attend any debates either
January 24, 2022 by benign0
"Big Corporate Media personalities can no longer act like gods who presume to summon politicians to their lairs. The Filipino public have taken back that power from them and they only have themselves to blame..."