Six years ago, under the aegis of the Comelec, three presidential debates were held to allow the electorate to make informed judgments of their choices.
Debates and interviews are very useful remedies in the age of trolls. They help counter manipulated public opinion based on false and twisted information and expose the true worth of the candidate.
We have graduated from just the Comelec-sponsored debates. GMA7 television network broke the ice with its Jessica Soho interviews of the presidential candidates. A new player, the Duterte crony Apollo Quiboloy-owned SMNI television, also entered the playing field. CNN Philippines will have its own presidential interviews scheduled at the end of this month. Showbiz talk show host Boy Abunda tried his own interviews.
The next administration takes over six years of Duterte governance that saw many of our democratic institutions bulldozed by his politics of hatred and vendetta. The police was abused and retooled as a killing machine. Extrajudicial killing became the norm of governance and a way to instill a climate of tyranny. Check and balance was effectively thrown out the window by inventing false accusations against a critic like Leila de Lima to put her in jail. Press freedom was slain. These are just some of the hideous features of Rodrigo Duterte’s foul-mouthed governance that only divided the nation into two false dichotomies, the DDS and the “Dilawans.”
In many countries of the world, Rodrigo Duterte is seen, at best, as a laughing stock or at the very least as a pariah in the civilized world. Tyrants have never enjoyed a lovable relationship with the world’s publics.Against this backdrop, pressure must be impressed upon the candidates that a great part of their task is to do the necessary damage control of the Duterte misgovernance. What kinds of expectations are anticipated of them?
Will their government cooperate with the International Criminal Court to bring Rodrigo Duterte for trial in The Hague in the event it rules for his prosecution? That was already asked in the Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews and for which only Isko Moreno answered No, the only candidate who agreed with Duterte who has already said that he would rather die than face the ICC. No, there are many who want to see him alive in the next few years on trial in The Hague and then if it is so warranted, in Scheveningen Prison. The families of the more than 30,000 victims of his extrajudicial killings would want that. That is on top of the need to know who among the candidates will use extrajudicial killing as a principal mode of governance. It must never happen again.
Will their administration restore the Philippines’ membership in the International Criminal Court? All had answered Jessica Soho in the affirmative, except for Bongbong Marcos who was absent in the interview.
Duterte had treated the law on his mere whim. Will the next president restore the rule of law? On the matter of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, the law that obligates all public officials and employees to submit, under oath, their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, all four candidates (again except the absent Marcos Jr.) disagreed with the sitting president. It is fatally important that the next president will not see an Ombudsman pliant at his every wish and fancy, another Duterte mockery of the law.
It was of course a pity that Marcos Jr. was absent in the Jessica Soho interviews. All candidates agreed to have tough action against trolls and fake news. The camp of Marcos Jr. is perceived to be the only one among all candidates using troll armies peddling disinformation. Deny to death they can but, as of this writing, Marcos Jr. has been endorsed by New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, Pope Francis, and the Taliban. These trolls do not even realize that Taliban endorsement is a kiss of death.
Rodrigo Duterte is effectively a lameduck. His late night gibberish on television is now ignored by many, his nonsensical pronouncements no longer listened to. Presidential interviews should have no fear of revenge if they ask critical questions.
Will the next president free Leila de Lima from jail? The lady was never found guilty of any crime. She is a prisoner of conscience. Set her free.
Will the next president deliver the extradition to the United States of Apollo Quiboloy? Quiboloy must be brought to the US as a matter of justice. As delicadeza, government must remove his construction company ACQ Solomonic Builders from public works projects in Mindanao.
Will the next president discontinue the favored treatment of Duterte crony Dennis Uy? Tangential to Uy is the question of the Malampaya deal – will the next president nullify that deal?
How will the next president do damage control and restore the psychology of all members of the Philippine National Police who were distorted to become killing machines?
Will the next president stop the Duterte practice of asking Congress for humongous intelligence funds not subject to audit? Will it stop the practice of using these funds as reward money for the kill quotas of the PNP?
Will the next president investigate the alleged ties of Duterte family members to drugs and crime syndicates, including smuggling at the Davao city ports?
How will the next president deal with a whole horde of Duterte fraternity brothers, San Beda Law classmates, Davao region compatriots, and Chinese friends in the Supreme Court and the judiciary, Comelec, Ombudsman, National Police Commission, Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management, and presidential consultants who become fugitives?
Will the next president grant a new franchise to ABS CBN? The candidate who answers this last question negatively is automatically an enemy of freedom and democracy.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
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