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Friday, March 29, 2024

Cusi: ‘Desperate attempts’ to bring down Rody begin

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PDP Laban faction president and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi yesterday branded as “desperate attempts to thwart their looming defeat” the “massive attacks” mounted against President Rodrigo Duterte, who has declared his intention to run for vice president in the 2022 elections.

Cusi noted that staunch critics of Duterte abound because the 2022 national elections are only a few months away.

“And President Duterte by far still commands very high trust and satisfaction ratings,” he pointed out.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi

“This is why the opposition keeps on bringing up issues even without concrete evidence. They have to make the people hate this administration for them to have a chance at victory,” Cusi said.

Unlike his predecessors, the President enjoys unprecedented trust and support of the Filipino people even up to the last year of his term, he said.

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In the first quarter poll conducted by a private research company, the President registered an overall approval rating of 65 percent and a trust rating of 55 percent, leading the top five other government officials with high ratings.

A survey conducted by Pulse Asia from June 7-16 showed Duterte emerging as the leading choice for Vice President, with 18 percent of the respondents picking him ahead of other possible candidates, even if he had yet to announce his intention to run for the post at the time.

Cusi also took swipes at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee for its hearings on the alleged mishandling of pandemic funds. Its chairman, Sen. Richard Gordon, who also heads the Philippine Red Cross, earlier admitted considering a bid for the presidency in 2022.

The PDP-Laban leader said the Red Cross also hogged the headlines for its alleged overpricing of COVID-19 tests by almost P2,000 each and its apparent refusal to honor discounts for senior citizens and persons with disabilities as mandated by law.

He noted that several other senators who are openly criticizing the administration have either publicly announced their 2022 presidential ambitions or are reportedly mulling of joining the race too, while the rest are identified with the previous administration. 

Cusi lamented that Philippine political history is replete with cases of credible people being destroyed because of politics, made even worse because the prevailing political system is based on personalities and not on principles.

In contrast, he stressed that PDP Laban advocates continuity, not of personalities, but of programs, governance, and leadership, started by President Duterte.

“The President stands for principled leadership. His advocacy against drugs, criminality, terrorism, corruption, and poverty has resulted in positive changes and reforms. The people felt it, saw it, knew it. No matter what the critics say, President Duterte’s advocacies resulted in positive gains,” Cusi said.

He warned that as long as Filipinos “tolerate personality-based politics, our country would not achieve the success and progress that we all deserve.”

Cusi said PDP Laban chose President Duterte as the party’s vice-presidential candidate to ensure continuity of his administration’s program, particularly amid the unrelenting challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We need stability, we need a steady hand, we need to be resilient. President Duterte has delivered tangible results; President Duterte will continue to deliver tangible results,” Cusi said.

On the other hand, Cusi said PDP Laban chose Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go as the party’s candidate for President not only because of his personal qualities that would qualify him as Chief Executive but also because he works well with President Duterte. 

He said Go is a capable leader who would be able to continue the programs of the current administration.

“A Go-Duterte tandem is the best tandem to ensure continuity of programs, governance, and leadership started by President Duterte,” Cusi said.

On September 8, President Duterte formally accepted the endorsement of PDP Laban as the party’s candidate for Vice President. However, Go has maintained he is not interested in seeking the presidency.

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