By Atty. Farah G. Decano

           

 OF course, I am talking about portmanteaus of possible team-ups for the two highest elective posts in the land. SAPAQ refers to Mayor Sarah Duterte and Senator Manny Pacquiao. SAGO pertains to Mayor Sarah again and Senator Bong Go while SABAW just sounds good with SAPAQ and SAGO in the title of this article.  In street linggo, “sabaw” means ridiculous sense of humor.

Will SAPAQ or SAGO be a likely combination in 2022? I guess not. Senators Pacquiao and Go are both from Mindanao.

Without doubt, Senator Bong Go will not add to the vote of Mayor Sarah. The support he garnered for his senate run were from President Rodrigo Duterte’s political capital. He certainly won’t be the anointed one.  I believe his name is being floated in order to do a possible Martin Diño.  (The latter filed as PDP Laban Presidential candidate in October 2016, only to withdraw two months thereafter and give way to the ascent of Mayor Digong.) The importance of this strategy was to save Mayor Digong from the demolition jobs, suspected to  come from Liberal Party strategists

Unlike Senator Go, Senator Manny will definitely be a plus for Mayor Sarah. However, his clout will be among the masa. He has a similar thug appeal like Mayor Sarah. Image-wise, Mayor Sarah won’t stand out.  Worse, Senator Manny might even outshine her. She would not want that. She needs someone who could boost her candidacy, of course.

The fact that Senator Manny is publicly expressing disappointment about President Rodrigo Duterte’s management of the West Philippine Sea issue is an indication that he is not the chosen one of the Dutertes.  I sense that Senator Manny was not shooting from the hip when he did that. It was a calculated move to increase his value.  Will Mayor Sarah Duterte change her mind about Senator Manny?  I doubt it. This young lady seems to be decisive and will not backtrack on whatever decision she may already have arrived at. Most likely, Mayor Sarah may offer Senator Manny, a cabinet position in order to keep him within the solid Mindanaoan fold and promise political support when the senator vies for a higher position.

Circulating over social media is SABONG.  This is the combination of Mayor Sarah and Former Senator Bongbong Marcos.  I guess, Mayor Sarah has some hesitation over Senator Bong for the reason that he lost the Vice- Presidential bid in 2016. No one wants a loser in his/her team.  Worse, he did not appear in most national debates in 2016. This will weaken Mayor Sarah’s chances if she could not make her VP candidate brave enough to answer the queries of the public.

Recently, there have been insinuations that SAGIB is in the offing.  Representative Rolando Andaya just posted on social media that former Secretary of National Defense, Gibo Teodoro bagged the much-coveted slot.  The possible choice of Gibo makes sense.  Mayor Sarah who is a Mindanaoan, robust in her actions, and a voice of the common-tao must get a Vice-President who represents the other sectors. Gibo is from Luzon, has an elitist flair and can very well represent the wealthy and the oligarchs. He is also eloquent on issues that are more intellectual in nature such economics, international affairs and defense strategies.  This team-up will definitely make both candidates noticeable.

Here is a disclaimer though. There are still more than four months to go before the filing of candidacy. As of this moment, everything is volatile. Let’s wait, watch and see.

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