Sarazuela begins?

Sara Duterte’s commercial aired in a popular noontime show the day after her father withdrew from the vice presidential contest. To many people, it looks like the Duterte family sarazuela has unfolded.

Actually, Sara’s campaign people had been actively working as if they didn’t believe her claim she is out of the race. She has up to Nov. 15 to be a substitute candidate, the route her father took in 2016.

It didn’t help Sara’s credibility when President Duterte said Sara would now run for president with Bong Go as vice president. In pushing Sara to run with Go, Duterte must be desperate to have cover from the International Criminal Court.

Sara, who said she is not running for president, filed her certificate of candidacy for re-election as mayor. Will she change her mind? It is likely the Sarazuela script is just in the imagination of PDutz.

It turns out PDutz didn’t talk to Sara before saying she is running for president now. Sara’s brother, who is running for Davao City vice mayor, told newsmen making Sara change her mind about not running for president will take a miracle.

PDutz must have felt lost after he was forced to prematurely announce his withdrawal after Senate President Tito Sotto defeated him in a Pulse Asia survey. A majority of respondents also told SWS that PDutz running for vice president violates the Constitution.

Sen. Bong Go, who was nominated by PDP-Laban for president, filed to run for vice president. But he is largely seen as a placeholder, probably for Bongbong Marcos in case Sara decides to run.

But the junior Marcos is now more ambitious, specially after one survey showed him slightly ahead of Sara. BBM has announced his presidential bid and indicated he wants Sara to run as vice president in his ticket.

But Politiko, a political news website, reports that President Duterte is now disgusted with the Marcoses and wouldn’t even let BBM get an appointment to see him. According to Politiko, President Duterte was not happy with Sen. Imee Marcos’s questioning of the Pharmally witnesses.

If Sara stands true to her word not to run, PDutz may have to convince Bongbong to take his loyal gofer in his ticket. But PDP-Laban is the political party that fought the Marcos dictatorship. It would be ironic if it is used to bring the Marcoses back into power.

Sara is still the frontrunner for the presidency, although her recent ratings have declined. But that’s probably only because she said she is no longer running.

BBM is now emerging as the dark horse. If both Sara and BBM run, they will divide their votes. But if only one of them runs, chances of victory are stronger.

The possibility of a Marcos comeback will be a major source for instability. A strong Marcos candidacy would be extremely polarizing and introduce uncertainty for the country as our economy struggles to recover from COVID.

Will Marcos Jr. move against major conglomerates that openly supported the anti-Marcos uprising in the 1980s? Does he have his own set of cronies to take over conglomerates like his father did?

Foreign investors will be scratching their heads: what do you make of people electing to the presidency the son of a president accused of massively plundering the country?

What kind of people are these with short memories and no sense of right and wrong? How can an investor expect fair treatment and stability of policies?

In the meantime, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s candidacy has gained traction. A recent survey shows he is in a dead heat with Sara in a four-candidate race and can beat her in a head-to-head contest.

Mayor Isko has been attacked as Duterte’s secret candidate because he is reportedly being helped by an assistant of Bong Go. But in the light of the Marcos threat, he may emerge as the lesser evil.

Indeed, even Sara may be seen as more acceptable to Marcos. She doesn’t have the vulgar image of her father. And if Joey Salceda is to be believed, she is surrounded by young progressive technocrats who can usher in needed reform measures.

Then there is Dick Gordon who may be gearing up for his last one big fight. His readiness to fight fire with fire with Duterte on the Pharmally case has caught national attention. Duterte’s bullying is helping Gordon project a fighting underdog image that the masa loves.

What happens to VP Leni now? She is the most desirable candidate, but she is not taken seriously because of her survey numbers. Her supporters say she was underrated as a VP candidate in 2016 and still emerged a winner. Also, early survey leaders in October often lose the election in May.

She has not made her announcement as this is being written, but I hope she runs. We need an alternative who represents good, not a lesser evil or evil incarnate.

There is no doubt that her temperament and experience make her the ideal candidate. She can clean the political environment of the toxicity of the last five years to unite our people to focus on urgent problems.

A reluctant politician, VP Leni has stepped up to her responsibilities as a public official by defining the vice president’s role. She is also in the mold of her late husband, a servant-leader who does not see public office as an opportunity to get rich or establish a family business. She has no personal vested interest nor baggage and lives a simple lifestyle.

The supporters of VP Leni must reach out to the mass base who are inclined to vote Marcos or Duterte or Isko. They can take inspiration from the Obama grassroots campaign that was marked by a lot of legwork and technology.

They must also pray hard because God answers prayers. God has intervened before. Even when none of us expected EDSA, it happened and sent a dictator packing. Pray that God may now keep the dictator’s seed at bay.

A miracle can happen. Voters who are exhausted with Duterte and mistrust the other candidates must simply work and pray to make Leni our next president.

Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco