Pacquiao can give Duterte bets a run for their money

In light of President Duterte’s phenomenally “high approval rating” despite his demonstrable incompetence, his choice of the candidate to run for president (if only for electoral purposes) does, indeed, stand the best chance of winning.

Last we heard, it’s Sen. Bong Go, who used to be nothing more than Mr. Duterte’s shadow, perpetually standing by his side and running errands for him. He was a constant photobomber at every photo opportunity his boss was in. When Mr. Duterte pushed him to run for the Senate, 18 million voters ensconced Go among the top five winners!

Go’s record as a senator is just as good as Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s — good for nothing! To this day, both could be wondering what the voters had seen in them that made them worthy to be in the company of lawmakers. They know nothing about the law, much less about making any law.

But Pacquiao, who seems to have lately distanced himself from his own partymates’ idolatry of Mr. Duterte, is infinitely more popular than Go. Elections in this country being what they are (popularity contests), Pacquiao can give Go a run for his (or Mr. Duterte’s) money.

We have had enough of the six-year incompetence of the Duterte administration whose only legacy has nothing to do with any of his 2016 campaign promises (which were all “lies, jokes and bravado”), but everything to do with his total subservience to China.

The opposition no doubt has possibly more competent candidates, but none seems strong and popular enough to capture Malacañang. The only way to get rid of Mr. Duterte and his ilk is for Pacquiao to get in the ring with any of his stand-ins or stooges.

Truth be told, Pacquiao is not really fit to be president either. For one thing, Pacquiao, a gratuitously “certificated graduate” of sorts, hardly speaks English; but neither does Mr. Duterte, supposedly a lawyer, who resorts to a lot of curses and obscenities, and nothing much else if no decent script obliges him to read.

Having thus experienced the worst, what more harm can a simple-minded man possibly do to the country? Letter-writer Arnulfo Edralin was quite right: “If we survived almost six years of Duterte’s ‘Kill, kill, kill’ style of governance, we surely can live with nothing (else) but (Pacquiao’s) ‘good intentions’…” (7/12/21). The upside is, Pacquiao can bring ABS-CBN back to life next year! Hallelujah!

Desperate times require desperate moves — and heaven help us!

ROSE ANNE BARTOLOME
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