By Alex P. Vidal
“Isn’t it the sweetest mockery to mock our enemies?”—Sophocles
PRESIDENT Duterte is using his political sidekicks, Senators Bong
Go and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, as chess pawns in the 2022 Philippine presidential election.
If it is an actual gun battle, they will be considered as sacrificial lambs or collateral casualties if they can’t come home alive.
They are being marshaled and degraded like Aztec puppets without any regard to their present position in the national legislature.
Because they cannot say no to the emperor, these sidekicks end up as jokers; in fact, one of them, Bato dela Rosa, thinks the presidential race is just a big Punch and Judy show.
It’s so obvious the former police general, notorious as the alleged chief architect of the Duterte administration’s bloody war against illegal drugs, didn’t have any iota of sincerity when he beat the deadline for the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) on October 8.
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The neophyte senator showed up smiling and “clowning” in the Comelec-designated area in the eleventh hour and filed his COC for president under the PDP-Laban (Cusi wing).
When asked by alert reporters if he was just being used to fill up temporarily the candidacy reserved for Mayor Sara Carpio, who is expected to file her candidacy as Senator Bato’s substitute on or before November 15, Senator Bato couldn’t even recite the correct script when he responded with a smirk, “eh di mabuti” (it is much better).
In other words, he was never serious when he accidentally gave himself away.
He wasted the taxpayers’ money and resources, including the time of Comelec personnel who facilitated the filing of his COC.
Senator Bato and his fellow chess pawns in the Duterte administration think the presidential race is a children’s party, thus they openly mock the country’s electoral system by filing their COCs even if deep inside their hearts they are aware they are only apparently being controlled and manipulated to say “amen.”
They are also probably fully aware that in every scenario that they are—and will be— involved during the election period, it will all be a comedy show.
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We know only the marines will believe that Senator Bato is serious about his presidential quest.
If he is not master Digong’s protégé, some people might think he will run for president to confirm the satire and polemic that PDP-Laban, which used to be an illustrious party before the Davao boys’ grand invasion, is now sinking into the deep blue sea.
But we can’t blame the political clowns as they are only doing master Digong’s bidding.
Without master Digong, Senator Bato knew he wouldn’t be in the senate. Sidekick forever?
Ditto with Senator Bong Go, Bato’s running mate, who thinks everything that master Digong touches turns into gold, thus he must remain a sycophant for his own political survival and otherwise.
Mayor Carpio or Inday Sara is also dancing in the same tune as Salome.
Didn’t we write here only recently that they are “like father, like daughter”?
That they will first deny they are interested to run for president, and deny once more like members of Milosevic’s execution squad during the war crimes trial, and “change our minds because it’s the will and insistent demand of the people that we run (for president).”
If they are hellbent to service the public, they don’t need to hide their plans until the last day of the filing of COC.
Only fools don’t change their minds?
But fools don’t become presidents unless the electorate is fooled once more.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)
