Wasting their time

Perennial critics of President Duterte have been itching to get him ousted from the presidency and have Leni Robredo propelled to the presidency via a coup as quickly as possible.

The Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), given the many ballot irregularities found in the ongoing manual recount by revisors, may just declare Bongbong Marcos as Vice President.

The criticisms are now more strident and louder, with the help of the yellow media and the focus is on the just released Social Weather Station (SWS) with its net ratings on Duterte being made to appear that the satisfaction score is now 45 percent, which has dropped from 56 percent. That is instead of highlighting the non-net percentage obtained by Rody in that survey which is 65 percent that any which way, translates to the majority of respondents still satisfied with his performance as president.

The 65 percent is a drop from the first quarter’s 70 percent SWS rating, which is a five percentage drop.

Is that something to be alarmed about, considering the fact that Duterte is now into the start of his third year in office?

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, a certified Rody critic quickly jumped on the net 11 percentage drop, immediately concluding that Filipinos have finally “seen the light,” adding that “the Duterte myth is gone. The novelty of his crass behavior is gone too. The people have finally seen the light. It took the rising cost of living to expose Duterte as nothing more than a one-trick pony,” the Trillanes statement sent to media said.

Other opposition senators said the drop in rating during the second quarter of the year pointed to the high inflation rate and the disappearance of “the Duterte myth.”

Trillanes, Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV and Rep. Gary Alejano (Magdalo party-list) said the rising cost of goods and services was a major factor in the decline of Duterte’s net satisfaction rating using the net percentage of 45 percent.

Aquino, who is running for reelection but may lose his seat, since he is at the bottom of the senatorial magic 12 survey, was more objective in his criticism. He said Duterte’s percentage point drop was a “cry for help” from Filipinos and urged the chief executive to provide them some relief by supporting the suspension of the collection of the excise tax under Duterte’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

Alejano, who is also seeking a Senate seat, said the issue that affects the public’s satisfaction of Rody is his soft stance on the South China Sea conflict, where China had been aggressive in flexing its military muscle, saying Filipinos are concerned about the country’s direction under Duterte’s leadership.

“We only see an administration with a soft stance against China’s incursions in our territory, economy, and culture,” he said without basis.

But it is not only the known opposition senators who want Rody out of the presidential seat. Even the clerics have been blasting away at Rody, with priests and especially bishops, using the pulpit for political purposes along with their pastoral statements. Worse, they have been deliberately goading Rody, knowing that he flares up and hits back.

They even use the God issue which they certainly know is Rody’s way to hit back at his Church critics.

The commies, since the President canceled the talks with them, have been using every opportunity to destroy him, although their criticisms go from one ear to the other, as more and more Filipinos reject them.

Leni Robredo herself has become a strident critic of Duterte, as she sees herself as inheritor of the presidential seat. She also seems to think that it will soon be vacated by Rody, with the aid of the American government, the human rights groups and others.

Leni may be disappointed, as the opposition today may not have the same group configuration that it ousted then President Joseph Estrada.

The 2001 fake people power mounted against Estrada isn’t going to succeed ever again.

These same groups failed to oust then vice president Gloria Arroyo with even Trillanes and his Magdalo group, which counts Alejano, being foiled completely.

It is almost certain that should they try to oust Rody, they may fail in their bid and the future for them may lie in their transfer from their homes to their jail cells—and remain there for a long, long, time.

And to think they can’t even get a 65 percent rating for themselves—and for Trillanes, not even after two terms as senator can he ever dream of obtaining a 65 percent performance and trust rating from respondents.