I don’t want Leni to run for President.
At this point, she deserves to rest, takes care of herself, and get out of the toxicity of Philippine politics.
She is too pure and humble to be tainted by a people who seem to not care about their future by keeping Duterte in power.
What’s the use of saving the country if, in exchange, we lose Leni by having her work to the ground?
We don’t deserve her, and she belongs with the great people of our history.
However, people believe that she is the best candidate to run against the government who’s placing all their bets against a Sara Duterte – Rodrigo Duterte tandem.
As of the current time, Leni Robredo’s ratings are way down that it doesn’t even compare to Sara Duterte’s or the Marcoses (both Imee and Bong2x)
The opposition argues that a lot could happen between this year and the next, as proven by Leni Robredo’s win in 2016, where she began with very dismal ratings.
But one can also argue that this could be attributed to the novelty created around her being a political outsider like Duterte, as they were considered outsiders in philippine politics. (well, one can say that the illusion of Duterte being an outsider was created as an answer against the backdrop of trapo’s or traditional politicians, when in reality, Duterte was the prime example of what a trapo is. As opposed to Leni who’s number of the year holding office in government is way smaller)
The main problem is Leni is perceived to be weak, and no matter how the opposition tries to sugarcoat it, that is what comes across to the masses.
History has proven that the masses want a person who is an underdog but never let bullies get away with it. (Fernando Poe Jr. and his movies come to mind)
Since 2016 the amount of abuse online and offline that Leni failed to address compounds the perception that when push comes to shove, she will not react the way Miriam Defensor Santiago (MDS) reacts where she uses her words and actions to stand up against anyone tarnishing her good name. (I’m not too fond of MDS, but I will give her credit for handling her opponents and how she demands respect when she isn’t afforded one.)
It also doesn’t help that Leni’s support base only encompasses a particular sector of society, and she lacks the number of allies all over the country. (given that most LP politicians jumped ship after 2016)
In doing organizational work, one must be present in every conversation, in every organization. If one is planning to lead the nation, one has to stand towards specific national and local issues. (Leni’s been doing this recently)
This is the grassroots level of work Duterte and his minions worked on even before the election and have been working on ever since.
Duterte went around the country, going to different Universities and creating the hero myth of trying to go around spreading his message of hope through federalism. (Or selling the idea that “Imperial Manila” is not looking out for their excellent)
Leni has no time and workforce to do these things, and the number of allies she has, aren’t that gung-ho to support her in the open. (hopefully this changes)
And to be honest about it, she also doesn’t have any money. (But given that the best interest of the U.S. lies in the oft-chance of a candidate whose sympathies align with theirs, then perhaps they would be willing to support her candidacy.)
However, what could change everything is who the business sector would support to further their agendas.
It is no secret that most businesses in the country support all winnable candidates regardless of principles to be on the good side of whoever wins the elections.
Another problem of Leni, other than lack of influence and money, is the backing of Duterte by China and local politicians who are keen to keep their power.
It also doesn’t help that Leni Robredo’s party, The Liberal Party, is facing near-extinction levels of membership; after the massive jump to the ruling party by their former members, they are left to recruit new members to ameliorate their losses actively.
Please make no mistake about it, Leni is the best choice to run for President, but she fell short as a politician.
To summarize:
Leni is perceived to be weak.
Leni has no money.
Leni only has a small number of allies. (the left is almost virtually silent about her)
Leni has a minimal amount of political machinery. (provided that the machinery we’re talking about is the same machinery that handled the Otso Diretso campaign)
Another problem that she has to grapple with is her choice of Vice-President.
Suppose a Duterte-Duterte, Go-Duterte, or worse, a Duterte-Marcos tandem pushes thru the Marcoses with their bottomless cash reserves from the late dictators’ plundering days, plus the money from China and the hidden wealth of Duterte’s. In that case, one can only hope for a miracle to beat such a tandem. (By the way, there are even talks of Pacquiao running for VP)
The only good thing perhaps is that Digong seems to mistrust the Marcoses because of Bong2x; however, if it means that Duterte would stay in power under their partnership, then one can expect a Duterte-Marcos tandem.
Another name that comes to mind for the VP position would be Grace Poe, and it’s no mystery how she made a considerable dent in the last elections and took a lot of votes from the opposition.
Grace Poe has been playing the waiting game and is perceived to be on the fence for many issues. However, her influence on the masses can never be ignored. With her deep roots with ABS-CBN under her mom and the support of followers of “Ang Probinsyano,” and the definite endorsement of Coco Martin, one can only imagine how much power and votes she can muster in 2022.
While I am not sure if Grace Poe has the money or the political machinery, one thing is for sure, it would be in her best interest to run alongside Leni as her Vice President, if only to secure her ambition to be President in 2028.
So if you’re wondering who’s the best winnable alternative to run for President, instead of Leni based on the issues I raised above.
The only person that comes to mind is Sonny Trillanes.
And for one reason: Discipline.
It is said that a well-disciplined military can take on even the biggest and most dangerous enemies; the movie 300 comes to mind when one thinks about it.
But first of all, why Trillanes? And why discipline?
Let me give a thorough explanation.
First, Trillanes is the only person out there aside from Senator Leila Delima, Risa Hontiveros, and Kiko Pangilinan, who, time and again, has been consistent in his criticisms of Duterte backed by solid evidence and has never been intimidated by the false bravado exemplified by Digong.
Trillanes is courageous enough to even go to Davao himself and face the charges against him by Polong Duterte.
He has a good name recall that made him win elections after elections, and he also has an exemplary record in the senate to prove how well he does his work as a statesman.
Overall, the man is the complete antithesis of Duterte. He can never be intimidated, and he has the bravado as MDS.
Perhaps the only problem is his relationship with the left. However, the left is still trying to collect their wits after they supported Digong.
But how about money? I can imagine that the U.S. will support him, being one who belongs to the culture of PMA and is also one of its top graduates.
How about allies? Trillanes has Magdalo, and if there’s one thing that Magdalo is good at is consistency and its discipline in moving and uniting people. It also matters that the PNP would never cross the line against members and followers of the military after they murdered in broad daylight members of military intelligence.
Trillanes is an astute politician and can play politics while maintaining the integrity of his principles.
And yes, there was that instance when he wanted to run alongside Duterte, but I like to think that it was a way for him to learn about the person intelligently, but yes, that is not one of his proudest moment.
Still, his determination to maintain the highest standards for the most powerful leader of the land puts to shame Duterte’s backwardness, and that means a lot.
However it is important to note that Trillanes supports Robredo and wants her to win as he himself believes that she is the best candidate to topple Duterte’s dictatorship.
And if that doesn’t account for humility, then I don’t know what is.