Pacquiao is the Philippines’ pride. Apart from Pacman, PRRD is also a bunny rabbit. He keeps going and going and going. Despite all the insults and lack of appreciation of the things he has done in the past three years, he just keeps on bouncing and moving, which should be the right attitude since there is much work to be done.  

There is no stability, predictability, and sustainability in the three-year term of the bigger chamber. The Speaker has to be first among equals, has to be the stabilizing force, and has to crack the whip and push the legislative agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Redemption is atonement but if a politician does not see it as such and merely spins it for purposes of repositioning and marketing his brand, what is there to redeem? We have seen politicians come and go and there are really good ones who, after a stint, decide to leave politics. And still there are those who will continue to try believing they can do better or do more.

In a joint report by the WEF and Asian Development Bank based on the International Labor Organization’s estimates, 56 percent of jobs in five Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, are at high risk of automation in the next few decades. Legacy countries need to avoid getting squeezed between more advanced leading countries, which can offer more advanced manufacturing, and nascent countries that can offer lower cost labor. 

In 2016, Duterte threw away the existing campaign playbook. After 2019, he wrote the rules of campaigning with a lot of shadow boxing and double talk. Those unable to decipher were left at the starting gates and those whose hubris flew high, ate humble pie.

The Philippines has been having automated elections since 2010 and the only thing that Comelec releases are gender and age. Electoral history analysis cannot be made because there is no effort on the part of some people at the Comelec to actually close the record every election. 

The last three years of President Rodrigo R. Duterte won’t be a walk in the park. He will have to stay the course and would need seasoned hands to help him get the ship across and ready for the next able hands. 

CEBU: Down to the last 20 days and national candidates will have to put in more last-minute strategy, for some to go over the top, while the rest will need cement to latch on to that slot or rank and hold on as strong winds try to unseat them with the final offensive.

Reading political plays is not mere speculation. Reading and interpreting political plays are both a science and an art. 

When could be the Philippines have its infrastructure development plan, especially now that Filipinos are facing a water crisis?

We have missed the boat and the remaining years of the Duterte administration is very tight to get electoral and political reforms done.

Who will be the “smart” candidate or candidates would be interesting to watch since that will be reflected in the pre-campaign surveys.