Bong Go for President in 2028?
By Joey Salgado
Senator Bong Go’s rise to the top slot in the February survey of Pulse Asia has been interpreted by the DDS as some sort of divine message, the durability of “Duterte Magic,” still unfathomable in its lingering grip on a segment of the electorate. And with the former president’s arrest and detention at the Hague, they now predict a wave of protest votes that all but secures for the former top aide the coveted top spot in the May polls.
Beyond that, the Duterte camp would rather ignore the obvious: a realignment within their ranks that pits Go against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Senator Go generates as much excitement as melting ice, but you have to admire the man for his uncanny ability to distance himself from the controversies hounding Duterte allies like his fellow re-electionist Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa. He has spent the last five years pampering local officials and keeping himself below the radar. On campaign mode since last year, Go has been popping up in local assemblies and flag-raising ceremonies, guesting on provincial radio programs, holding motorcades, beaming at the adulation from grateful beneficiaries of his politically-targeted generosity with taxpayers’ money, and blanketing the highways with his visage, set in formalin grin, sending tidings of safe travel to all, ironically including his former boss.
No way but up
Senatorial topnotchers, those who placed within the top three or four in the final rankings, are always perceived as presidential or vice presidential contenders, regardless of credentials, moral and intellectual heft or the lack of it, and executive acumen.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo topped the 1995 senatorial elections, and won the vice presidency in 1998 (She succeeded former president Joseph “Erap” Estrada following his ouster). Since 2007, senate topnotchers all made bids for the presidency or vice presidency: Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Loren Legarda, Mar Roxas, Manny Villar, and Grace Poe.
The race to number one, however, is on a narrow track littered with minefields, all the mudslinging and media-centric demolition designed to erode voter support in the closing weeks of the campaign, if not earlier.
The most memorable episode involved Escudero and Legarda, two Team Pnoy candidates jockeying for the top spot in the 2013 midterms, who found themselves at the center of campaign-period controversies bannered as exclusive reports by a major broadsheet turned scandal rag. Escudero over his romantic entanglement with his then girlfriend actress Heart Evangelista and Legarda over allegations that she failed to declare a New York condominium unit in her statement of assets.
In the end, neither Escudero nor Legarda emerged as the topnotcher. It was Grace Poe.
Looking out for number 1
Having led all pre-election surveys since last year, Erwin Tulfo has yielded the top spot to Go, although the correct way to read the result is a statistical tie, with the difference safely within the margin of error.
Since late last year, Tulfo has been the target of a resurgent social media operation by the DDS. A disqualification case over his citizenship has been dismissed by the Commission on Elections, but it did bring the issue to a broader national audience.
Whether the negative coverage and social media attacks strengthened or weakened Tulfo’s voter support will be known by April, when poll numbers, closer to election day, reach a degree of reliability. But will this benefit Go?
Given his reputation as Duterte’s most trusted man and silent operator, Go is an easy target. I will not be surprised if his role as the alleged dispenser of gratuities to cops involved in the bloody drug war resurfaces with more intensity, or his supposed involvement in several shady deals during the past administration, fodder for social media gossip, turns up on mainstream media.
My Precious
Sure, Go topping the race would be vindication for the detained former president, a morale booster certain to fire up the base. But it could also prompt the senator to aim higher.
Recall that Duterte had reportedly wanted to field Go as his presidential candidate in 2022, but this was foiled by the Bongbong-Sara Unity team up. He knows he could not run against Sara Duterte, for that would be heresy. But her conviction by the Senate, which makes her ineligible to run for public office, will make the presidency as precious to Go as the ring of Sauron.
Conviction works in his favor, as it leaves the Duterte base without a rallying figure in 2028. Go would be the natural choice for the orphaned Duterte forces, the successor once denied, keeper of the brand and the former president’s secrets.
This article also appears in Rappler