The decision of Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte not to join the 2016 presidential derby fits the administration’s plan to get its presidential standard bearer Mar Roxas elected at all costs.
The formidable candidate is gone, leaving only Senator Grace Poe and Vice President Binay for the Liberal Party to worry about. The plan, which according to information is being personally directed by the President, is that ultimately, only Roxas will be left standing before the May 2016 elections.
By that time, Senator Poe would have been disqualified and VP Binay so damaged that he would not be a factor in the elections anymore.
Since Vice President Binay announced his presidential bid two years ago, the administration has been relentless. It seems that contrary to the conventional wisdom that Binay and the Aquino family are quite close because of the services rendered by Binay to the family, President Aquino dislikes Binay intensely and is doing everything to prevent him from being elected President. Even the supposedly independent Office of the Ombudsman is apparently being used to neutralize the VP. Although there is already an accepted legal doctrine that the President and Vice President cannot be criminally prosecuted while in office, the Office of the Ombudsman is now charging the VP for violations of the anti-graft law. It has also dismissed his son, Makati Mayor JunJun Binay; he faces the possibility of being arrested and jailed.
Not satisfied with destroying the VP with record-setting, orchestrated Senate hearings on his alleged corruption while mayor of Makati, even the elder Binay is now facing the possibility of also being arrested and detained, thereby eliminating him as a threat to the presidency.
This conflict between the administration and VP Binay has become very personal to the President. Some might ask why the administration is concentrating only on Binay. After all, his ratings have already gone down and Mar Roxas’ ratings have gone up. It seems that in spite of the success of the demolition job against Binay, the administration is still scared of the ability of the Vice President to bounce back because of his populist programs. The President is also deathly scared of what Binay would do to him and many of his people if he wins the presidency. The element of self-preservation is certainly a big factor in his plans.
But what about Senator Poe who is by far the frontrunner? The narrative is that there is no need for an open and frontal attack on her. The Palace would not like to be seen going after a woman. The administration is confident that the good senator will eventually be disqualified on account of her legal problems about her citizenship. According to one credible source, there are already quiet moves to see to it that Senator Poe is disqualified, if not by the Senate Electoral Tribunal, then by the Supreme Court.
With both Senator Poe and VP Binay basically gone, that leaves Mar Roxas the only major presidential candidate left in the race. The people could, of course, still vote for a jailed VP Binay, if he will in fact be arrested and detained. As for Senator Poe, the voters can no longer vote for her because of her disqualification. But the voters could switch to Senator Miriam Santiago who appears to be throwing her hat into the presidential race for the third time.
The trouble with the President’s plan is that he cannot predict what the people would do or how they would react. The plan could backfire on him especially if the people sense that the neutralization of both Senator Poe and Binay is simply to force the administration candidate on them.
Can the President pull this off? Knowing a little about President Aquino’s thinking processes, I think this is a challenge he would relish. When he puts his mind into something, he tends to carry them out regardless of the costs and consequences. We have seen how he got rid of former Chief Justice Renato Corona. But he should not underestimate the intelligence of Filipino voter.
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Richard Heck, the Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry in 2010 who lived in the country in relative obscurity for years, died recently. He was married to a Filipina, Socorro, who passed away in 2012. His wife’s death may have contributed to the deterioration of his health.
There are now conflicting reports on the quality of care he received prior to his death. There is a report that when he, in a serious condition, was brought to St. Luke’s Hospital, he was refused admittance due to previous billing issues. He had to be moved to a public hospital where he eventually passed away.
It is difficult to understand a hospital operated by a religious denomination turning away a seriously ill patient, and a very famous one at that. It is like one religious landlord I know who always demands prompt payments of rent. Those who are late in paying are evicted without any consideration.
Well, maybe business is business and religious teachings is another matter. If the way this Nobel laureate was treated is true, it is disturbing, to say the least. It reinforces the report that our country is one of the worst places to die in. Only Iraq and Bangladesh are worse than us.
It is a shame that a Nobel prize winner like Heck was treated that way. His case should have been handled much better. As it is, our country’s reputation just took another big hit.
