We beg to differ.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was known to common Filipinos when he made the announcement about a possible Presidential run back in 2016. His “speaking tour” about federalism was actually a listening tour. He wanted to get first-hand information on the people’s gripes. More important back then, the public had had it with then President Noynoy…
Political scientists should be objective and pragmatic. If you dump both and pick a side, then you’re not a scientist anymore because your analysis is not based on evidence. A breath of fresh air is Cleve V Arguelles’s East Asia Forum piece “Can a new Philippine ‘popular front’ defeat Dutertismo?” where he ponders the question…
Read More “1Sambayan fails to measure up to opposition camps of previous elections” »
I hate Mondays. This what beloved 1980s comic strip character Garfield declared. The first half of 2021 is about to end. It will be June by Wednesday and the last half of the year begins. 2021 is our first full year in the pandemic environment. It’s also an election year. The jockeying should’ve begun in…
Talk of a “meeting” between Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte and former Senator and 2016 vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos is raging across social media. This follows a tweet issued by a media organisation known as SMNI News Channel. According to SMNI News as indicated in the above tweet, the meeting occurred Sunday, the…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is the political equivalent of Dolphy whose comedic timing was impeccable — so unlike comedians of today who rely on their gender and insults to get laughs. The idea of Duterte as Vice President was first floated by Bong Go. It didn’t resonate with voters. Even the so-called “Duterte Die-hard Supporter”…
Read More “Inday Sara – Digong “Daughterte-Duterte” tandem puts 2022 in the bag for admin camp” »
I don’t think there was a group of anti-vaxxers in the country pre-Covid like what they have in the Western countries. Anti-vaxxers came about because of the fiasco around dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, as I recall. I’ve written about why the government of former President Noynoy Aquino approved Dengvaxia even if it hadn’t undergone the last…
“Dutertismo” is supposedly a label coined by the Philippine Opposition to encapsulate the character of the administration of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. It is, of course, widely known that the character of the Duterte presidency is marked by strong words, a cult of personality, and a virulent nationalist sentiment. The latter — strong nationalism —…
Read More “Philippine Opposition still lacks a POPULAR united front critical to a 2022 win” »
Less than 12 months to the 2022 presidential election and the first major Opposition presidentiable bid — one coming from former “senator” and convicted mutineer Antonio Trillanes — sets back rather than progresses efforts to unify the Philippine Opposition against the camp of popular incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte. In an announcement Trillanes issued over Twitter…