MARIBOJOC Mayor and Duterte campaign manager Jun Evasco was not joking before over 30 of his political officers in Cebu and neighboring provinces. Cebu indeed was the turning point of presumptive president Rody Duterte’s successful campaign.
This happened during the second presidential debate, said Evasco, as he thanked the efforts of members of the Duterte campaign team who gathered in Cebu last Thursday.
Frankly, I don’t think Duterte performed exceptionally well as a debater. I remember Vice President Jojo Binay better because of his insistence on using his kodigo. Of course, Mar Roxas’ insistence on the rule of law impressed me.
I agree with Josiah Go who wrote that Mar’s “matuwid na daan” message was good against Binay, who spent his time evading corruption charges. But tuwid na daan proved to be mincemeat to Digong’s “change is coming.”
Instead of becoming a P-Noy apologist, Mar should have projected more his willingness to admit shortcomings of the administration and the need to address these when he sits as president.
Cong. Leni Robredo did better on this score in her own battle for the vice presidency. Her frankness made her stand out during the debate for vice presidential candidates.
Still, Duterte’s call for change resonated well during the second debate. Mobilizations outside the debate venue further amplified the change message. Of course, Duterte had the bigger and noisier mobilizations that ended with a rousing concert at the Cebu Coliseum. He won the battle online.
The Mar campaign, because of the support of local candidates, could have paid more attention to mobilizations and thus jump-started what developed weeks later as the “silent no more” actions. The traditional campaign mindset also prevented Roxas from engaging social media early.
The day of the second debate–that was March 20–indications that the mobilizations and the social media noise had affected local traditional political machines were surfacing.
The noisiest pro-Duterte contingent outside the UP Cebu grounds carried “Let’s DO (Duterte-Osmeña) It” tarps. Days before the elections, they surfaced and faced members of the local media. That same day, I received reliable information that opposition gubernatorial bet Winston Garcia was junking Binay in favor of Duterte.
These developments in Cebu further moved the Duterte momentum forward and triggered the series of political realignments all over the country.
***
Since Duterte’s “listening tour” last year, campaign manager Jun Evasco was quite low-key and moved behind the scenes. He, nevertheless, showed us his political savvy when he chose to have lunch with mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña during his visit last week.
Cebu delivered 1.4 million votes for Duterte. But this did not translate into victories for many of his local candidates. The Liberal Party still holds sway at the Cebu Provincial Capitiol and majority of the LGUs.
If the incoming Duterte administration wants to get the support of local Cebu officials for his programs, Osmeña would be a key ally. Evasco did not waste time making this possible.
***
I am not surprised that some local campaign volunteers are not happy over some appointments of presumptive President Duterte.
They ask: “Is change really coming?”
Looking from the outside, Duterte has to contend now with political realities. Aside from accommodating political allies, he needs to form a broad coalition within the Lower and Upper chambers of Congress.
While it may be early to judge the performance of the incoming administration, the quality of some people named to certain positions is wanting.
***
Mayor Mike Rama seemed dazed. After he came to accept that he lost the elections, he got suspended along with Vice Mayor Labella. Having lost control of Cebu City Hall, Rama can only watch acting Mayor Margot Osmeña expose how City finances had been mismanaged.
For so long, I suspected that Rama wanted to use proceeds of the SRP sale to cover up the financial mess. Since 2013, the Rama administration never got positive feedback from the Commission on Audit (COA).
I still remember the controversy over the P1-billion overdraft. While Rama kept on harping about the “babag” council, he played down the allocation of some P3 billion for projects that were unimplemented since 2010.
Instead of his usual blanket denials, perhaps Rama needs to wait for the results of the current audit and face the music.
(anol_cebu in Twitter)