By Herbert Vego
ITS organizers might have thought of mobilizing massive public support similar to the bloodless “People Power” or EDSA Revolution of 1986 despite the COVID-19 pandemic. But it was not meant to be.
With only around 300 people who assembled at the Clark Freeport on August 22, their call for a “revolutionary government” under incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte, they ended up embarrassed.
Why not? Speaking from Davao City two days later, Duterte denied knowing the organizers, “Wala akong pakialam diyan, wala akong kilala na mga tao na ‘yan.”
He was obviously lying, since the failed assembly was organized by the Mayor Rodrigo Road Duterte-National Executive Coordinating Committee (MRRD-NECC), which had urged him to run for the presidency in 2016. Among its leaders were former Makati Vice-Mayor Bobby Brillante and Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Martin Diño.
If they were not rooting for Duterte, they could have been arrested by the police for inciting to sedition.
But what if the movement had gained public acceptance in the mold of “People Power”? Would Duterte have reacted favorably to its well-publicized goal of unlawfully junking the current Constitution to fast-track the establishment of federalism before Duterte steps down from office in 2022?
If the President’s past pronouncement were to be the basis, “yes” is the answer.
In a PTV-4 interview aired on October 13, 2019, Duterte warned his critics, “Pag ang destabilization ninyo patagilid na at medyo magulo na, I will not hesitate to declare a revolutionary government until the end of my term, and I will arrest all of you, and we can go to a full-scale war against the Reds.”
Do we hear the senators and congressmen rejoicing?
No doubt. Under the planned revolutionary government, Congress would have been abolished.
-oOo-
The senators and congressmen, however, have never felt threatened by the “insignificant” Brillante-Diño duo. Almost all of the more than 200 congressmen adopt the President’s wish as their command.
A very clear case in point was the overwhelming majority of congressmen voting to junk the application of ABS-CBN for renewal of franchise, resulting in the loss of jobs of 11,000 network employees nationwide.
While the 24 senators are supposed to play “fiscalizers,” only two or three of them oppose his wishes, let alone take up the cudgels for detained colleague Leila de Lima.
Only two opposition senators – Pia Hontiveros and Francis Pangilinan – voted against what used to be the anti-terror bill. Lawyers’ petitions to nullify the Anti-Terrorism Act for being violative of human rights and principles await decision by the Supreme Court.
It is ironic that the legislators seem fearful of the President not finishing his term for whatever reason, as indicated by the unique steps they have done.
Most of us Ilonggos would not have heard of Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo (2nd Dist., Quezon City) had she not withdrawn her “unconstitutional” bill seeking to give the President authority to choose a successor who is not within the succession line provided in the Constitution.
Conversely, on the other hand, Sen. Panfilo Lacson has asked his colleagues to start discussions on his Senate Bill No. 982 authorizing the President to name a “designated survivor” in case of death, permanent disability, or inability of the officials specified in the line of succession by Article VII, Section 8 of the Constitution: the vice president, Senate president and the speaker of the House of Representatives.
As to why they seem wary of Vice-President Leni Robredo taking over Malacañang in the event the President dies or gets incapacitated, our guess is…
Hadlok sila magua ang ila bahò nga ginatagò.
-oOo-
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
The quotation from Spider-Man has become a guiding light for President Roel Z. Castro of MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power). He has allotted himself three years to modernize the power distribution utility that has won the next 25-year franchise for Iloilo City on a capital expenditure of Php 1.8 billion.
We know he is not bragging because he is no stranger to the energy industry. Until his transfer to MORE Power, he had been the pioneering president of Palm Concepcion Power Corporation (PCPC), the owner of the 135-megawatt coal-fired power plant built at a cost of P12.5 billion in Concepcion, Iloilo.
PCPC is one of MORE Power’s generation sources, together with, Panay Power Corporation (PPC), Aboitiz Renewables and Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC).
Castro had also worked for Palm Thermal Consolidated Holdings Corp., Peakpower Energy Inc., Hydro Link Power Corp. and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
He finished BS Agricultural Business at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños and Master’s Degree at Asian Institute of Management.
