By Gonzalo Duque

 

I’M sorry, I missed my last week’s column because the extremely high heat index at 54.39 degrees made me feel a little weak. So, I decided to have a complete rest.

I fear that the high heat index we’ve been experiencing over the past weeks, may not only be due to the usual summer heat but is portent of an extra-ordinary natural occurrence that may happen in the coming days owing to the worsening effects of the El Nino phenomenon. It could be a sign of a destructive storm that could happen in the days ahead.

I remember Typhoon ‘Cosme’ that happened right after the Bangus Festival during the administration of then Mayor Al Fernandez. I fear that this unusually high heat index hitting us today will soon cause a weather disturbance as strong as ‘Cosme’. Let’s us pray hard that it does not hit us as much as Cosme did in the past.

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And speaking of typhoon, allow me to digress to another typhoon – politics – which is in-season.

I know that the handlers of Bongbong Marcos at this stage may be getting worried because Leni Robredo is already gaining more support especially from young people who are seen campaigning house-to-house, appealing to motorists to honk their horns as a sway of joining the “busina for Leni” and serving what they call “Lugaw ni Leni”.

But if Leni loses, we should not blame Leni herself or Duterte’s camp. The pink opposition did not prepare well enough against Marcos instead the opposition focused on how it can destroy or make DU30 ineffective since the start of the Duterte administration. 

While Marcos appeared to be busy with his 2016 vice presidential election protest for the last six years, he was actually already organizing and preparing, visiting various places, reaching out to our people under the guise of seeking support after being cheated of his election by Leni. And he was able to make people believe that he was cheated.

In tandem with Sara Duterte, who at first was bent on running for president, but ultimately slid to vice president, they succeeded to set  up the UniTeam that invited all sectors of society of different persuasions. 

 If Duterte endorses BBM (and this is what he is continuously salivating for), it could mean that Robredo is going up and Bongbong is going down, but BBM will do all to stop Leni’s ascent to the presidency at all costs. 

 As to the vice presidency, it will be a toss-up between Sara and Tito Sotto. Many think that at this stage it will take a miracle for Kiko Pangilinan to catch up and overtake the two. 

 My theory before, which was validated by political scientists is, if there is one administration candidate and the other candidates are all gunning for the same post, that would be disastrous for all of them since they would only be dividing the remaining votes among themselves.

 Recall what happened during Easter Sunday when Ping, Isko and Bert Gonzales held a joint press conference. Both Isko and Bert called for Leni Robredo to withdraw from the presidential race and that boomeranged on them. That pulled their popularity down the gutters.

 They tried to repair the damage but it only exposed their fragmented minds and the division in the opposition. Well, let’s see what comes next. Miracles can still happen but as my good friend Digong Duterte said when he was campaigning for the highest post of the land in 2016 could be a food for thought: “ The presidency is a matter of destiny”. 

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I have not commented on the cases filed before the Ombudsman against Mayor Brian Lim. because I have not read any of the complaint against the mayor.

While the cases filed by the Fish Market Vendors Association president Marietta Barrientos have been filed officially, I still cannot comment on it because hindi ko pa nakita yong audit report used as the basis of the complaints, as reported by The PUNCH.

I want to be fair with Brian. You know, there are always three sides of the coin in any case: the side of the  complainant, the side of the prosecutor and the side of the defense.

Suffice it to say, the cases have been filed and the respondents were identified. If it was duly received, the thing speaks for itself. Period. Whether it is politically motivated or not, is none of my business!

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