ANC After The Fact

Chest out.

One motion.

No second, no space for doubt.

And then the win.

Hidilyn Diaz, was the shot in the arm the country needed as the nation continues to find itself battered by the pandemic.

For a moment there, it was as if no virus existed. and instead of hearing the sighs of frustration that have become a droning sound this past year in its place - the beautiful melody of the national anthem. 

Reminding us we’re still here reminding Haidee, the very reason why she was there.

But what happens now, after the fact?

When US gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from events in the Tokyo Olympics due to mental health concerns, there was a collective shock.

How could this happen? 

Althletes - they’re known to be made of tough stuff, right? 

Their genetic make up, coupled with their skills and talents point to being one thing -  unbreakable.

Add passion and grit and you’ve got yourself a winner.

But can all these things that set them apart physically from the rest of us,  also alienate them from us and sometimes even from themselves?

Guests:

Dr. Karen Trinidad, Sports Psychologist 

Noli Ayo, Athletics Director, Ateneo De Davao University

Guests:

Prof. Ranjit Rye, Octa Research Fellow

Dr. Guido David, Octa Research Fellow

Mayor Toby Tiangco, Navotas City

The state of the nation is strong all thanks to Filipina Olympian Hidilyn Diaz.

With every once of grit and determination, she lifted the whole country when she hoisted all of those 224 kilograms… in the Tokyo Olympics breaking Philippine and Olympic records.

The 4-time Olympian  will be coming home to a hero’s welcome, she did after all, ended an almost century-old wait for that elusive gold medal.

Behind the celebration though is a sector badly beaten and bruised - by politics and power play, inequitable distribution of funding and exposure and were going to talk about all that.

President Duterte delivered his Final State of the Nation Address - a mix of fulfilled promises and broken ones and the promise to do more in his last year in office.

It was also a mix of explanations, justifications behind certain highly criticized policy decisions like why he dealt the way he did with China or why he caused the shut down of ABS-CBN. 

One thing was clear though — he kept going back to his comfort zone, the issue of drug and criminality issues that ate up much of his nearly three-hour SONA.

This final SONA was supposed to communicate Duterte’s  legacy. But what kind of message actually came across to millions of Filipinos reeling from the pandemic?

President Duterte's administration, his presidency, this period in our nation’s story will be discussed long after he’s gone. 

Question is, what will history say about the Duterte regime? 

If we let the country’s past be our compass how might he be judged?

Election season 2022 is slowly creeping in and you can almost hear the wheels of political machineries slowly coming into life.

The battle for the vote though will be strongly dictated upon by the state of the political parties. 

In a nutshell: the PDP Laban Party- which one are we talking about? The Hugpong Ng Pagbabago slowly gaining mass through alliances with Lakas CMD, Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino, and Nacionalista Party among others. The NPC, just announcing their Lacson-Sotto tandem along with familiar names in their senatorial slate and the Liberal Party which appears to be in limbo. So what should the voting public brace for? 

President Duterte’s political party is now finalizing its list of senatorial candidates in next year’s elections. The list a mix of his cabinet secretaries, incumbent lawmakers, an action star, TV hosts. Now, how much the administration’s selection process is driven by competence, the genuine desire to serve, the ability to win, or avowed loyalty to the president? On the other hand, how is the opposition’s own selection process going especially with Vice President Leni Robredo still reluctant to jump to a decision on whether to run for president?

A number of politicians have been clearly positioning themselves for a shot at the presidency in next year’s elections though many of them understandably are still playing coy or, in the case of Duterte in 2016 milk the “reluctant candidate” strategy dry.

Speaking of Duterte, the president has announced that he’s now open to running for vice president if only to enjoy supposed immunity from suit. His daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, is also eyeing the presidency raising the prospect of a daughter-father tandem elevating the political dynasty they long built in Davao City to the very top of this country's political structure.

In the meantime, we’re still battling a raging pandemic with millions of jobs lost and millions of filipinos pushed back to poverty levels.

This will clearly be a campaign issue —  it should be a campaign issue. 

But how do you defeat Duterte’s candidate in 2022 or better yet, put an end to his brand of obnoxious, crass, and even “deadly” style of governance. 

The political opposition is looking for a unified candidate and the logical choice of course, is Vice President Leni Robredo. 

But will she take up the challenge and can she get this country back on track?

Over the weekend, the ruling PDP-Laban unseated two of its top officials — Senator Manny Pacquiao as party president and Senator “Koko” Aquilino Pimentel III as executive vice chairman. 

Pacquiao’s faction did not recognize the election of new officials insisting that Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and two other PDP-Laban officials were still expelled.

But as far as party dynamics were concerned, President Duterte’s presence in the part assembly last Saturday pretty much settled who was calling the shots. 

For good measure, duterte insulted both Pacquiao and Pimentel, whose father, Nene founded the party.

Pimentel’s group is understandably dismayed especially at the prospect of losing a party they all built from the ground up but only to be allegedly hijacked by selfish or even sinister political interests.

But didn’t they see this coming?  Didn’t they help breed this ‘monster’ within the party that is now devouring them?