News Roundup 25 November 2021
Nov 25, 2021 • 4 min Read
Political clans form coalition to support Bongbong-Sara tandem | PHILSTAR.COM – Arroyo, Duterte, Estrada, Marcos — some of the most prominent families in Philippine politics — are all coming together to support the presidential bid of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. The coalition of political families seeking to secure power in the 2022 elections was sealed Thursday when their parties, Arroyo’s Lakas – Christian Muslim Democrats, Duterte-Carpio’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago, Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino and the Marcos-led Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, inked an alliance agreement at the Sofitel Plaza Manila in Pasay City. The alliance — called by their critics as “unholy” — was likely forged as a result of Marcos Jr.’s lead in early pre-election surveys, according to political scientists Cleve Arguelles and Jean Franco. “People are already joining the bandwagon. This also goes for businessmen supporting these political parties,” Franco said. Marcos Jr. said the coalition will bring back stability in politics and the country, adding that the interest of the Philippines was the “driving force” behind the parties teaming up. But for Arguelles, it is clear that the unity forged among families controlling these parties has one goal: To keep themselves in power. “It’s quite clear that it’s the interests of these political families being forwarded in this coalition or alliance,” Arguelles told Philstar.com. “And it makes sense, as a political family, your goal in 2022 is to keep yourself in power and to ensure that you’ll gain access to government power.” Arguelles said this is just politics as usual as far as the Philippines goes, with political families negotiating among themselves as to who gets to sit next. “It’s like a cartel system,” he said. “But it’s the same set of families who will be part of the ruling coalition.” For Franco, this just shows that the political parties in the country are still immature.
VP aspirant Bello hails Robredo’s brave stand vs online attacks | INQUIRER.NET – Vice presidential aspirant and former party-list Rep. Walden Bello on Thursday lauded presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo for her “bravery” in facing vicious online attacks from political rivals. Bello, who is running with labor leader Leody de Guzman, said he admires Robredo for her “personal integrity and bravery” in undertaking the campaign “despite the most horrible misogynist attacks on her on the internet,” by individuals whose candidates “don’t have even one-sixteenth” of Robredo’s courage. “Leni may not be on the same page as Leody and I, and our respective campaigns have our differences, but we salute her for standing up to and braving the mean, gutter-minded, and salivating attack dogs of Marcos and Duterte,” Bello said in a Facebook post. Robredo, a staunch critic of President Duterte’s drug war, is running against Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son and namesake of the country’s former president. She defeated Marcos Jr. for the vice presidency in 2016. Online attacks against Robredo have increased further across social media platforms since she launched her bid for the presidency.
Leni, Kiko want PH gov’t to stand firm on Ayungin, West PH Sea | Manila Bulletin – Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan maintained that the Philippines has “exclusive rights” in the Ayungin Shoal amid China’s demand for the country to remove the grounded BRP Sierra Madre from it. For Robredo, the issue is non-debatable because of the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated the basis of China’s historic and legal claims over the resource-rich region. But she also “appreciates” the administration’s hardline stance with President Duterte saying during a regional summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Philippines “abhors” Beijing’s recent aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea. “Klaro naman iyong mga naging statement ng administrasyon at iyon ay na-a-appreciate natin (The statements of the administration are clear and we appreciate that),” she said in a media interview in Kawit, Cavite. “Iyong atin lang na inaasahan, sana maging very consistent tayo para iyong boses talaga natin pinapakinggan. Kasi nakikita naman natin, eh—nakikita naman natin na kapag consistent tayo nagba-back off naman (What we are expecting is for them to be consistent so our voices will be heard. Because we can see—we can see that when we are consistent, they back off),” Robredo added. On Wednesday, Nov. 24, China demanded the Philippines to remove the grounded BRP Sierra Madre from the Ayungin Shoal, asking it to honor its “commitment.” But Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said there was no commitment on the part of the Philippines to remove the grounded ship, which was intentionally grounded there in 1999 to serve as a garrison for Filipino troops in the shoal.
