PLAYING GAME OR MESSING WITH HEADS. President Rodrigo Duterte said in his Monday, January 25, address to the nation that one of the candidates for president "really cannot be a president," while another aspirant "is the most corrupt presidential candidate."
He prefaced and annotated his accusation with such lines as it is not "politicking" but just informing the public, which he said, is his obligation; it's based on "information" he received and his "personal experience"; and "in due time" he'll name them. He still has to name the "cocaine user" candidate he referred in his November 18 and 22, 2021 public statements.
People already have some idea about the unqualified candidate, Vice President Leni Robredo, whom he demeaned as a would-be president. As to the "most corrupt," people are guessing but aren't sure. Could he/she be the "cocaine user" too?
The President is apparently playing the guess-who game -- or messing with people's heads.
May not be fair just as the naming of suspected drug lords in the early years of his term was obviously unfair because it scoffed at due process. But there it is, the presidential forum called the bully pulpit is being used to help in the propaganda against some candidates.
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CODIFIER AVEN. Former Cebu City councilor Avenescio Piramide says he had "the privilege of writing" the different codes of six cities -- Bogo City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Toledo City, Bayawan City, Baybay City -- with Cebu Province and Catigbian, Bohol.
Atty. Aven is running for congressman in Cebu City's north district, the only lawyer among four aspirants. And he's pitching that skill to codify, among his qualifications to become a legislator in Congress. How would that work against BOPK's former congresswoman Rachel "Cutie" del Mar, Barug's Councilor Niña Mabatid, and TV entertainer Richard Yap? But what's codification.
Codification, Atty. Aven says, is the process of putting together the laws under the topic to which it belongs, arranging the ordinances for easy reference and access. The councilors of each local legislature wrote the ordinances and he arranged them by topic.
Oddly, Cebu City is not yet among the local governments whose ordinances have been codified by Piramide. He is a former member of the Sanggunian and his daughter Charisse (Atty. Chappy) Piramide is the head of its secretariat.
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FROM MIKE TO DAVE? Broadcaster Eric S. Manait ("Bara de Kabra," dyCM radio) notes that the camp of the late mayor Edgardo Labella continues to threaten to shift support from Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama of Barug to Councilor Dave Tumulak, who runs for mayor as an independent.
No formal announcement is made, just broad hints in social media posts. If the Labella camp would finally do what some of its members have been threatening to do, a City Hall watcher says, they might as well turn over the mayor's seat to BOPK's Margot Osmeña by special delivery to the Osmeñas' Guadalupe residence on election day.
Maybe not. Rumors, threats and fears strike every campaign group. The strategist who overcomes all that is usually the kingmaker, in this case, the producer of the next mayor and Sanggunian lineup.
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