Monsod is wishing for the moon

Solita Monsod must be talking about a different country in her column “Let’s invest in the right kind of leadership” (9/18/21). She was practically suggesting that people of good intentions invest in the most qualified leader to oppose President Duterte, who has run this country to the dogs and is now hell-bent on perpetuating himself in power via a vice-presidential bid that everyone knows is his backdoor to becoming president again for another six years.

Hoping to raise some P60 billion “from people of goodwill,” including half of the total population at, say, P100 each, and the poor at, say, P5 each, is wishing for the moon. That’s never gonna happen. Monsod would be lucky if she could help raise even just one percent of it, max. But quite frankly, no amount of donation can make any better-qualified opposition candidate more popular than Mr. Duterte, who continues to reap the highest “approval rating” from the greater number of voters whose stupidity has made his public confession to being “inutil” to do anything about the very things he had campaigned for in 2016—and is still campaigning for—seem totally irrelevant.

If the ultimate goal is to get rid of the mesmerizing illusions Mr. Duterte has foisted on this country, only Sen. Manny Pacquiao has the unique kind of popularity and mass appeal to make that happen. Being super-rich himself, he may not even need Monsod’s solicitations to run his own campaign. Sure, Pacquiao may not be able to do much if elected president, given his shortcomings. But right now, only he can neutralize Mr. Duterte and end his mania for power. From an overdrive, it’s prudent to shift back to neutral—or better yet, to “park”—and take stock of the havoc Mr. Duterte has wreaked on the nation’s institutions.

Yvette San Luis-Petrocelli,[email protected]