‘A Bong Go presidency is…the greatest threat to Philippine sovereignty and independence when it comes to dealing with China’

We have less than one year to go until the May 9, 2022 elections. Although the filing of certificates of candidacy has not yet taken place – much less the election campaign period – there are already reports of widespread campaigning all over the country, especially in the provinces and rural areas. Metro Manila is relatively safe from this premature campaigning due to an omnipresent media. But in other areas where prospective candidates and hopefuls for president and senator of the Duterte administration are making their bids and their presence known in order to get ahead of the opposition, definitely the 2022 campaign has already started.

From the administration side, we already know that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and Senator Bong Go are in the running to clinch the much-coveted Duterte anointment. Whether or not this will do them any good in terms of getting more votes is really a big question, as the power of endorsement of an incumbent President – especially one who has crashed the economy and bungled the pandemic response – is definitely not automatic. The two administration frontrunners might have to be careful in that a Duterte anointment can actually be a kiss of death.

https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/opinion-the-stakes-in-2022