Category: Politics

Opposition “journalist” compares Duterte to Ramos because the Opposition offer nothing

September 3, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 2 Comments

Former President Fidel V. Ramos (FVR) and President Rodrigo Duterte (RRD)? Columnist Boo Chanco compares the two in his PhilSTAR piece “Incoherent” today just for the heck of it. He first issues the tired old critique on Duterte’s form writing how his “streams of consciousness broadcasts” in his national broadcasts “reduce our confidence in government…

Politics

Opposition still using obsolete “good” versus “evil” rhetoric as a lazy alternative to a real campaign platform

September 2, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 2 Comments

PhilSTAR columnist Boo Chanco seems to be losing faith in the youth. But the surveys he cited in his piece today “Faith in democracy” were done abroad, mostly in Europe. It doesn’t automatically apply to Filipinos in the same age group he cites… The Center for the Future of Democracy at the University of Cambridge…

Politics

Opposition MISTAKEN to think winnability of Duterte camp in 2022 goes down with Bong Go

September 1, 2021 Ramon Ortoll No Comments

SBG. Senator Bong Go. The presidential aide who was basically chief of staff/executive assistant to the Mayor, Rodrigo Duterte, became the second most powerful man in the country after his principal won the Presidency in 2016. Aides have a long history of being equally or more powerful than their principals because they are the gatekeepers….

Government, Politics

Could either an Isko-Leni or Isko-Pacman tandem become a reality for the Opposition in 2022?

August 31, 2021August 31, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 2 Comments

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno is back from a Covid-induced hiatus. I don’t think it was really Covid but more of a tactical retreat after having been the subject of a full-frontal attack by no less than the President himself. If you believe his campaign manager Lito Banayo, he gained political points for that. Unfortunately, we…

Politics

Yellowtard “thought leader” Manuel L Quezon III’s flawed wishful thinking that Duterte’s coalition is self-destructing

August 30, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 1 Comment

Leave it to the desperate traditional Opposition to still be hopeful of a sudden change in fortunes at this late a stage in the lead up to the 2022 national elections. In a post on Facebook, former Undersecretary Manuel L Quezon III (MLQ3) thinks he’s smelling blood much like a shark does going after its…

Politics

Controversy surrounding Bong Go “protégé” Christopher Lao highlights Philippines’ dysfunctional civil service system

August 30, 2021 Ramon Ortoll No Comments

The brouhaha at the Department of Budget Management (DBM) caused by Senator Bong Go’s protégé Christopher Lao, former Undersecretary at the Presidential Management Staff–Office of the Special Assistant to the President, has brought to fore the issue of how political patronage and the bureaucracy contribute to the culture of corruption in government. It’s not wise…

Government, Politics

Philippine Opposition petty politicking causing Filipino suffering under COVID-19 pandemic

August 29, 2021August 29, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 6 Comments

Who is really politicking? The administration or the Opposition? Professor Randy David writes in his Inquirer piece “Politicking in the midst of a pandemic” of President Rodrigo Duterte’s address to the nation the other night saying that it is “insensitive, it is irresponsible, it is disheartening—and it leaves one wondering if the country’s highest public…

Government, Politics

The chilling effect on a DESPERATE Opposition of a Duterte-Marcos 2022 bid

August 28, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 2 Comments

A Bongbong Marcos – Inday Sara Duterte or Duterte-Marcos ticket is the most feasible for the administration because of the voter base of each camp. You have the north and the south and everything else in-between. This is true for either the father or the daughter. For the Opposition, pushing for the candidacy of Leni…

Politics