ANC After The Fact

Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao is set to fight a bigger, younger, and undefeated American welterweight next month in what could be his final bout in case he runs and wins for president in the 2022 elections.

But here at home, the senator has been getting quite a beating as well in the political arena where he’s clearly nowhere near his veteran smarts as a boxing legend.

Worse, the punches are coming from the chairman of his own party— President Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte has been repeatedly attacking, insulting the neophyte politician since Pacquiao called attention to persistent corruption under the current administration. 

But the underlying motive is not that difficult to see — both Pacquiao and Duterte’s daughter are eyeing the presidency. 

Duterte himself is said to be open to run for vice president.

Thus, we now see huge cracks within the ruling PDP-Laban party — which isn’t suprising, by the way. 

In Philippine Politics, ruling coalitions are formed and disbanded depending on the incumbent and who’s seen as the most formidable politician likely to replace him. 

For now, it's anybody but Pacquiao. 

In this episode, Christian Esguerra talks to Political Analyst Ramon Casiple, Lutgardo Barbo, PDP-Laban Vice President For  Visayas, and Martin Diño, PDP-Laban Deputy Secretary-General For Luzon.

In May next year, we will go out and vote for our next president.

The importance of this election cannot be overemphasized. 

We’re all reeling from the pandemic which has exposed both the weaknesses of our health care system and the incompetence of our leaders. 

So if we all want change, we have to start with the ballot.

But how much do voters really know about the candidates to make an informed decision on election day?

How many of them are deeply familiar with issues that matter?

How do they know if those ambitious politicians can actually deliver?

Or are they only a product of some well-funded and well-executed PR campaign?

In the meantime, pre-election surveys are supposed to provide a snapshot of voter preference at a particular time. but do they accurately reflect the opinion of voters? Can they be manipulated?

In this episode, Christian Esguerra sits down with Prof. Imelda Deinla, Convenor of BOSES Pilipinas and Prof. Antonio Contreras, Chief Political Analyst of DigiVoice to try to better understand opinion polls and pre-election surveys. 

It began with the president attacking his own party-mate at his regular public address earlier this week, Duterte threw some wild punches at Senator Manny Pacquiao, who happens to be the acting president of his own PDP-Laban party. 

The president was ticked off by something Pacquiao allegedly said—his government is “three times” more corrupt than previous administrations.

We’re not sure if Pacquiao had indeed said such a thing.

But the president was furious just the same — remember this was the same president who claimed he won’t tolerate even a “whiff of corruption.”

But here was his own political ally suggesting he’s not getting things done. 

So Duterte challenged Pacquiao to name names and identify corrupt agencies.

If he couldn’t, Duterte said Pacquiao would be a liar and he would campaign against the boxer in 2022.

Never mind the political maneuverings within the ruling party which explain why Duterte is now attacking Pacquiao and Pacquiao throwing some counter-punches as well.

Duterte’s own daughter is being primed to succeed him and he himself, is open to running for vice president. problem is — Pacquiao also wants to be president.

But that’s a topic for another discussion. 

In this episode, let’s talk about corruption under Duterte. 

During the campaign in 2016, he  promised to be relentless against corruption much like he predicted he would end the problem of illegal drugs in 3 to 6 months. we know what happened there.

Now, less than a year before he steps down, has Duterte kept his promise or has corruption, in fact, only gotten worse under his administration?

They say that if you don’t like the way our country is being run today, go out, vote smart, and pick new leaders in 2022. 

This is the right thing to do but not as easy — or cute — as it sounds. 

Because before one can even cast his ballot, a lot of factors come into play and ultimately influence the outcome.

It’s basically money — that, which provides politicians a strong grip on voter behavior regardless of whether he performs once in public office. worse, it allow political clans to occupy elective positions for across electoral cycles facing no real threat unless their power is weakened by equally moneyed or wealthier clans. 

This explains why, despite efforts to improve our level of voter education, we’re still basically stuck with the same leaders: those who have the money, the machinery, and the popularity. 

Once in a while, a new breed of reform-oriented leaders come but it’s just a matter of time before the system pushes them out or eats them altogether. 

The problem, indeed, is systemic. 

In this episode, Christian Esguerra sits down with Prof. Julio Teehankee, author of the study Clientelism and Party Politics in the Philippines, Ronald Mendoza, Dean of the  Ateneo School of Government, and Atty. Michael Yusingco, a fellow at the Institute for Autonomy and Governance to better explain to you the voters how money and patronage politics work in the Philippines and what we can all do to fix our fractured political and electoral system before all is too late. 

A new study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has revealed some interesting if not, alarming data about how we consume news here in the Philippines.

Overall, more Filipinos trust their news - that’s 32 percent of the online respondents included in the Philippine version of the study done by journalist and educator Yvonne Chua. 

But this overall trust in the news media was still below the global average of 44 percent. 

Trust in ABS-CBN and Rappler also dropped by 4 percent each.

Not surprising given the relentless attacks from President Duterte and well-funded troll armies and enablers on social media.

Imagine: more respondents said they trust the government-run PTV and Radyo Pilipinas more than they trust ABS-CBN and Rappler.  

Interestingly, overall trust in news on social media went down by two percentage points probably because of concerns over misinformation and disinformation.

Newspapers are also losing more readers during the pandemic. 

Print consumption dropped from 22 percent last year  to 16 percent this year — a reality made even worse by prolonged lockdowns. 

This explains why at least a dozen community papers were forced to close down temporarily during the pandemic. 

In this episode, we take a deeper look at how news organizations are coping during this health crisis — especially those that fell victim to the double whammy of the pandemic and Rodrigo Duterte.

Tributes have been pouring in since former President Benigno Aquino III died of a kidney disease on June 24. 

He was remembered for many things: a leader who stabilized the Philippine economy, his campaign against corruption, his quest for lasting peace in Mindanao.

But he’s also remembered for doing what was perhaps seen as unthinkable back in 2013 — he brought mighty China to court over rampant violations of philippine sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone.

The landmark decision came three years later shortly after his term ended in 2016.

Wile his successor opted to set it aside, it became part of international law nd clarified maritime entitlements in these waters.

In the words of his foreign secretary, it showed that “right is might.” it gave China a bloody nose, a blackeye even, if you will, at least in the legal sense. 

In this episode, we’ll look back on President Aquino’s foreign policy, specifically how he sought to counter China’s growing influence and bully tactics in our own backyard showing that being small shouldn’t mean one should just fall.

He went by the name “PNoy” shortly after winning the presidency in 2010. 

Skeptics could have easily dismissed the monicker as the product of some carefully crafted public image — apt and easy to sell, easy to remember. 

But as his years in Malacañang would later show, it was an embodiment of the kind of leader he was or at least, aspired to be — one who didn’t tolerate abuses, one who aspired for something greater for the Filipino.

For a time, his catchphrases — “kayo ang boss ko” and “walang  wang-wang” — resonated among the people.

Interestingly, many of eulogies included caveats — “he might not have been perfect...”, “for all his faults…”

But who actually expects leaders to be perfect, anyway? By what standards are we supposed to measure a president?

In this episode, we’ll look back on the presidency of the late Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and the legacy he has left behind.

Not long ago, the Liberal Party was the ruling party, attracting politicians from different directions, during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III. 

The “Yellow fever” was back  though not as popular as it was shortly after the 1986 EDSA Revolution.

But as we know, alliances can be fickle shifting as conveniently as they are formed in our fractured political system here in the Philippines. 

So when Aquino’s candidate lost in the 2010 presidential election, the Liberal Party lost many of its members as well to the new ruling the PDP-LABAN party of Rodrigo Duterte.

It didn’t help that Duterte relentlessly attacked the Liberal Party criticizing its supposed hypocrisy and failures to deliver on its own promises during the Aquino regime. 

After five years and with Duterte now under scrutiny for his own failures — and abuses — the liberal party is trying to pick up the pieces in preparation for next year’s elections. 

The party is now in talks with at least four senators as part of efforts to form, what its party president described, as the “broadest unity possible.”

But judging from its crushing defeat in the 2019 midterm elections, the Liberal Party still has a lot of work — hard work — to do to regain its level of relevance in Philippine politics.

Last week, we heard mixed signals from top government officials regarding face shields.

According to Senate President Vicente Sotto III, President Duterte had agreed that face shields should be required only in hospitals — quite a relief for people forced to wear them even outdoors.

Malacańang later confirmed that the president had indeed said this. 

But Palace Spokesman Harry Roque also said we should await “further actions” from an Inter-Agency Task Force, which, as we know, takes its cue from the president before making any decision on how we should all deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

So it was quite a surprise when Duterte announced last Monday — face shields were here to stay, whether you’re indoors or outdoors — for the time being. 

He was apparently acting on the advice of certain health experts that it’s better to keep face shields on along with face masks because of the current delta variant.

But for many, this confusion is not a “small inconvenience,” to borrow the president’s term. 

It’s indicative of the level of confusion among policy makers. those who are supposed to be guiding us during this serious health crisis. 

Many of us are understandably frustrated. 

Imagine - we’ve been dealing with this pandemic for more than a year. we’ve implemented the world’s longest lockdown. 

Yet, while other countries have relaxed their own thanks to an efficient vaccination program here in the Philippines, we’re still debating whether we should still wear face shields or not.

Health Undersecretary and Treatment Czar Leopoldo Vega and Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Benjamin Co join Christian Esguerra in this episode.

Last week, a police anti-drug operation in Biñan city, Laguna took the life of 16-year-old boy Johndy Maglinte Helis and his companion.

The two allegedly exchanged fire with police, a familiar case of “nanlaban,” similar to thousands of killings under President Duterte’s drug war. 

But initial media reports were quite disturbing if true.

Citing witness accounts, they claimed there was no shootout. instead, the boy was handcuffed, dragged in the mud, then shot dead.

The incident brought back memories of Kian delos Santos, the 17-year-old boy murdered by police in Caloocan in 2017.

Of course, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. 

Both the Philippine National Police and the Commission on Human Rights are now investigating the incident.

But the latest incident could not have come at a worst time. 

The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor is seeking authority to formally investigate the thousands of drug-related killings under Duterte. 

While the Laguna incident won’t be covered, in case the ICC investigation indeed happens, it’s yet another indication that the killings have not slowed down.

In this episode, Christian Esguerra sat down with CHR Spokesperson Atty. Jacqueline De Guia and PNP Spokesperson P/BGen Ronaldo Olay.