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.

It used to be campaigns were all about air war and ground war (grassroots). Today, there is a third type known as cyber or digital war. 

Unfortunately, data management is so bad in the Philippines...

A “Smartmatic” candidate is a person, especially a candidate, who pays a group of institutional operators to ensure his/her victory after 90 days or 45 days of campaigning. 

When you leave, you leave not because of the problems of Facebook but because the herd is not there.