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Philippines
Friday, April 26, 2024

Running scared

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It’s confirmed – the yellow administration is running scared after the latest surveys showed Senator Bong Bong Marcos or BBM emerging as the top pick of voters for the position of vice president. No wonder, the yellow minions are resorting to harassment, filing a case of plunder before the Office of the Ombudsman for—of all things—the Priority Development Assistance Fund a.k.a. pork barrel that pork queen Janet Lim Napoles allegedly masterminded. But the hilarious thing about it is that Napoles herself has cleared Senator Bongbong of any involvement in the pork scam, as attested to by the judicial affidavit she submitted at the height of the Senate hearings.

We can only surmise that Malacañang’s “Plan A” (Leni Robredo) and the so-called “Plan B” (Chiz Escudero) for the vice presidential race don’t look so promising anymore so they have launched “Plan C” which is to go after Marcos. But then again, President BS has only himself to blame for the surging popularity of the Ilocano senator, because every time he opens his mouth to speak ill of BBM, he gives the latter free media mileage and publicity.

Ilda Ilda, the grand doyenne of the Get Real Philippines community, put it very well when she wrote (http://www.getrealphilippines.com/blog/2016/02/bongbong-marcos-has-become-popular-because-noynoy-aquino-sucks/): 

“Why has Senator and vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos become so popular with Filipino voters? There are plenty of reasons why but the number one reason is because of his Number One critic, current President Benigno Simeon Aquino.

“A lot of voters have become disillusioned by BS Aquino’s performance over the six years he’s held office. They realize that he is quite an unpleasant man who is only good at blaming other people for his own failures. His character is such a turn-off. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t have a face that could launch a thousand ships. It is a cringe-worthy experience watching the president speak in public.

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“BS Aquino is just so uninspiring. He has never been one to inspire unity in Philippine society anyway. In fact, his speeches are quite often about how ‘evil’ his rivals are compared to him. People have noticed how hypocritical he is by casting himself as pious while throwing negative propaganda against his political enemies. A truly pious person will never speak ill of others.

“Because Marcos Jr. is a threat to the so-called Aquino ‘legacy’, BS Aquino has shifted to full gear in trying to knock the senator’s popularity down. BS Aquino, the son of the late ‘democracy icon’ and former President Cory Aquino would be a laughing stock indeed, when the Marcoses return to Malacañang.

“Ironically, the more BS Aquino talks negatively about the Marcoses, the more people give Marcos Jr. a second look. It appears that BS Aquino and his supporters do not understand the concept behind public relations. They inadvertently help give Marcos Jr. free publicity at the height of campaign season for the presidential elections. As they say, all publicity is good publicity.”

That the plunder case was filed at the height of the campaign season should tell you that this was timed to derail the vice presidential campaign of Bongbong Marcos – which is all the proof you need that BBM is definitely winnable.

Asean Law Association calls for resolution of issues

Asean Law Association chair for legal information Atty. Mike Toledo shared that ALA president Avelino Cruz has announced a resolution from the 10-nation organization that calls for the “amicable resolution of all existing issues in Asean through the rule of law” at ALA’s annual Governing Council Meeting held on April 2 in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. 

The compromise resolution was reached following Vietnam National Committee’s call for a strong resolution by ALA against possible transgression of international law in the South China Sea. Philippine National Committee chairman, former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban said this compromise was reached after Brunei, along with other national committees, cautioned the group against politicizing its action beyond the scope of the ALA Constitution. 

The substitute resolution initiated by ALA Singapore and later concurred by ALA Vietnam referred to all issues including those on international law amongst the Asean countries, ALA secretary general, Atty. Regina P. Geraldez, noted.  During the meeting, Philippine Senator Edgardo Angara, founding oresident of ALA, suggested that the organization consider conducting a separate in-depth study of all the legal issues undertaken in the deliberation.

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