PRESIDENTIAL sister Sen. Imee Marcos expressed her full support to Vice President Sara Z. Duterte and her father former President Rodrigo R. Duterte in the former’s squabble with House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the Senator’s cousin, over the controversial Confidential and Intelligence Fund issue. Immediately, speculations fly here and there that a Sara-Imee tandem in the 2028 National election for President and Vice President is in the offing.
Wow! How active the country’s political pundits are in putting meaning to such alignment of support despite the fact that the national election is still five years away. Of course, it is not surprising as even the opposition and just those plane haters of the Dutertes and Marcoses are similarly busy finding ways to destroy the apparent influence of the Vice President and her perceived advantage over other potential aspirants for the highest office of the land.
From the posts in social media apparently coming from the opposition as early as after President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and VP Sara were proclaimed, it was clear that defeated Presidential bet Leni Robredo is still the one that the anti-Marcos, Jr. and anti-Sara Duterte are hoping to become their standard bearer in 2028. And from the way opposition senator Risa Hontiveros is comporting herself, either she too is aspiring for the Presidency or Vice President to Robredo.
Assuming that a Sara-Imee team for the administration and a Robredo-Hontiveros or vice versa tandem will materialize, then it would be the first in the history of Philippine politics that all-women protagonists will be fighting for the top two positions in government.
But of course that is a nebulous scenario as of now. However, it cannot be totally ruled out considering that women these days are getting more active in politics and leadership positions. And many have been successful in their fields.
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How true are reports that some losing re-electionist candidates during the last Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) have literally bled dry the coffers of the barangay? Meaning, that activities in the barangays scheduled for implementation in December this year can no longer be undertaken because there are no more funds left to foot the bills,
How did it happen when supposedly there is a ban on spending funds immediately prior to and days after the election? Did the outgoing barangay officials led by the barangay chairmen withdraw the funds through cash advances? If they did who is or are the approving officers? From the looks of it, it now appears that even barangay officials have their way of circumventing rules on spending government funds. Will they get away with it? “Let us to see,” according to the late Davaoeno Senator Landring Almendras.
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The most likely to be affected by big-budgeted infrastructure projects in Mindanao with the souring relation between the Philippines and China because of the West Sea issue are the Davao-Samal Island Connector Bridge and the Mindanao Railway System.
The reason is simple. The two projects are to be funded with loans from China. And with the failure to have the bridge started as scheduled the loan has to be renegotiated. On the other hand, the railway project, just like the Samal-Davao bridge is also slated to be funded through another loan from China. And it looks like another renegotiation has to be done because even after several years of working on the right of way, nothing positive is attained. And it is already overtaken by the straining of relations between the two countries.
Indeed, the hope is that all the two important projects that are expected to boost Davao’ and the whole of Mindanao’s economy are now slowly drifting towards the drain.
If the two did not materialize during the incumbency of a Mindanaoan President how can people in this southern Philippine island expect that these be given priority by the incumbent who is from Luzon? Will the two infrastructure projects become collateral damage?
Lucky are the people in Misamis Occidental and Lanao del Norte that the bridge traversing the Pangil Bay is now about 80 percent complete. And the project is funded through a loan from South Korea where we have no problem with our diplomatic relations.
There is no doubt that it will be completed to the fullest.
