Trump’s wild comeback does not remind so much of the Marcos comeback in 2022 (via the son) as it does WARN of a Duterte comeback in 2028 (via the daughter). What else could the synchronicity of QuadComm hearings and Trump’s victory mean, or portend, if not some corresponding, or similar, outcome for the Duterte dynasty, that is, if they try hard enough (as Trump and the Republicans did). No wonder the DDS camp is overjoyed, may pag-asa talagang makabalik.
But not, it would seem, if the QuadComm can help it. Why else would they be dogging him, as in, hounding him by investigating the extrajudicial killings that the Duterte admin’s drug war wrought, updating nation on the latest facts and figures, and giving voice to the victims and families of victims, not least among them Leila de Lima, if not to remind us of those difficult days when human rights were violently violated left and right and yet martial-law vibes became acceptable daw because, wow, no more drugs, no more crazed addicts preying on women in dark streets, peace and quiet at last, even if of the dark kind.
It’s like the Quad is leaving no stone unturned to uncover as much credible information as possible, hopefully enough to compel the DOJ to file formal criminal charges against the former president and his cohorts. Due process and all that. Meanwhile, Quad chips away at the Duterte brand, rendering it exposed, if not diminished. I suppose the idea is to make it difficult, if not impossible, for DDS candidates to win in 2025’s midterms.
What about VP Sara and her super-confidential confidential funds ? I-i-impeach nga ba ng Konggreso? Makisama kaya ang Senado? I’ve been monitoring the discourse among social media macho pundits and because a couple of reps have said that there’s enough evidence to impeach, there’s a sense na the Lower House will, should, begin proceedings soon or else they’ll run out of time, campaign season na by Feb 11, sayang naman ang momentum, or something like that.
Others think it’s not going to happen yet, let her stew, kumbaga. Tila kasi wala palang Plan B ang Marcos camp nang di nakalusot o pumatok ang chacha-to-parliamentary with House-Speaker-as-Prime-Minister scheme. The Marcoses of course need to be sure that the next president is one of them, if not by blood then by affinity and/or complicity. But Martin simply isn’t simpatiko enough to “win hearts and minds” even of the gullible kind.
A lot will depend on how the midterms turn out. But no-thanks-to-Trump there’s a palpable sense of dread — especially now that we are being reminded of the Digong years — regarding a Sara Duterte win in 2028, and for now we can only hope that the incumbent and his peeps have the smarts to thwart that.
AMELIA HC YLAGAN: “The Trump card wins the election game”
The fatigue and disappointment with the government (i.e., the outgoing Biden administration) has caused widespread “anti-system” sentiment, some socio-political analysts say. And, in the anxieties of the aging Baby Boomers (the US median age is now 38.023 years in 2024 according to database.earth) — income, poverty, and health are critical issues. Life has been difficult, dragged down by the long-staying COVID pandemic that started in 2020. The impatience for relief and deliverance has peaked — perhaps a bad-ass strongman fascist president like Donald Trump can get things done, and fast!
P.S.: Does it not all sound so familiar to Filipinos — that sometime back it was thought that “a bad-ass, foul-mouthed, brusque strongman (bugoy, in Filipino) might be president and solve the problems of the country”? To our American friends: It didn’t work out!
https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2024/11/11/633797/the-trump-card-wins-the-election-game/
AKBAYAN PUSHES FOR URGENT PASSAGE OF KIAN BILL, WANTS DUTERTE, DRUGLORDS AND TOKHANG COPS PUNISHED
Akbayan Partylist today called for the urgent passage of the “Kian Bill” to protect innocent civilians, particularly youth and minors, from the brutal impacts of state-sanctioned violence.
Named after Kian Delos Santos—the young boy whose life was taken by police forces in Caloocan during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s violent anti-drug campaign—House Bill No. 11004 aims to prevent further victimization of innocent people and pivot the government’s approach to a public health framework and bring to justice both the drug lords who have largely evaded accountability and the enforcers responsible for extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the infamous Tokhang operations.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/11/5/-kian-bill-pushes-for-humane-and-health-based-solutions-for-drug-issues-1710