“Proxy elections” refers to the grapple between the United States and China to put up their Manchurian candidate to be our next President. It will be a stormy one, two giants manipulating our elections for their vested interests.

They will choose their candidate, not us. They will manipulate us, take advantage of the utter poverty of the masses to get the all-important grassroots votes. They will buy every influential politician, every local leader with unquestionable charisma for the all-important votes.

China’s CIA is called MSS or Ministry of State Security. There will be an underground mobilization by both the US CIA and the MSS. Their roles are critical in influencing elections. They will be silently in every sitio and barangay without using megaphones.

On the cyber level, huge funds from both the US and China will attempt to revive the deadly Cambridge Analytica monster, which manipulated many elections worldwide in the past. Our next President may be appointed by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

AI will play a critical role in brainwashing voters. AI can analyze each voter’s (among millions) way of thinking and values and subtly “suggest” whom to vote for. We live in a strange age of the digital manipulation of the minds and hearts of voters, a new powerful election campaign tool.

Every street corner campaign will be well-funded. That’s how important the Philippines is geopolitically to the US and China. We Filipinos are mere pawns in a game between giant predators, the Eagle and the Bear. They will use our votes to gain the throne, and attempt to make a puppet of our President.

But there is a dark horse emerging, a third force, a people’s movement wanting to challenge the giant proxies, someone who can replace the charismatic Leni. This “people’s candidate” needs total charisma, unquestionable leadership, on top of a credible platform, to sway the grassroots, to make up for the lack of campaign funds. It will be a giant feat for a poor David to win over two rich Goliaths.

Remember the massive rallies in the last elections? The Leni movement was so sure it had the ball in hand. They were elated by the massive turnouts in the streets, until the Comelec manipulation, shown by obvious damning evidence, reversed the results. And no one could file a case in the controlled Supreme Court.

There are three critical factors needed to achieve electoral victory: control of 1) Comelec, 2) Supreme Court, and 3) cyberspace. Actually, if we revert to analog elections, massive invisible electronic cheating can be avoided and will never happen.

The Manchurian candidates

The US Manchurian candidate is tentatively PBBM, who has set up through EDCA the military infrastructure against China. The mutual defense treaty is in place. PBBM’s alliance with the US is solid.

As the US clandestinely arms these bases with missiles and drones for a future war, China uses “friendly” governors to “surround” the EDCA bases with Chinese “students.” If there is an all-out US-China confrontation in the WPS, these US bases surrounded by Chinese elements is a dangerous fire zone, a source of collateral damage for Filipinos living near the bases.

China’s Manchurian candidate will perhaps be a Duterte, whether Sara or Digong himself, or someone else. We really do not know yet for sure. Sara is scary to many voters because of her confidential-funds image. Digong still has many followers. The problem is the ICC human rights case against him may pre-empt his being China’s Manchurian candidate if he is arrested. He may seek asylum in China if cornered. China will keep him for future use.

So for now, there are possibly two Manchurian candidates and a people’s candidate — 1) US- supported, 2) China-supported, and 3) people-supported. The rest are “nuisance candidates.”

Warning: these are theoretical scenarios that may not even happen.

Finally, divine intervention is the magic formula. Prayer is the powerful weapon of the people’s candidate, which the US and China forces do not have. Prayer can work better than the most ingeniously creative strategies of Man. Prayer can bring the peace we all yearn for. A massive prayer campaign is the magic formula but only for believers. The Lord will decide what to do, if we pray hard enough to Him as one people.