Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, Marawi civic leader Samira Gutoc, former solicitor general Florin Hilbay and Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano–Senatorial bets of the opposition–orchestrated a one-for-the-show sortie in Masinloc, Zambales to dare President Rodrigo Duterte to fulfill a campaign promise at the Panatag Shoal.
The political theatrics, however, was foiled after they were barred by the Philippine Coast Guard to proceed to the Shoal and plant the Philippine flag on a land feature now controlled by China. Dismayed, they instead conducted an impromptu dialogue with fisherfolks in the area and did a lot of photo ops. They asked innocent children in the area to hold their prepared placards for the cameras to take snaps and had themselves photographed riding the jetski props they brought.
The political spectacle ended up a big joke, as if the four Senate hopefuls are too naive to fool the people with their antics. The children in the photos obviously were as confused what is happening. It is obviously written in their faces. There was an Instagram post later by Gutoc showing her on top of the jetski with the caption stating her promise to save the Pinoy fishing community. She must have been so engrossed with making a viral post she didn’t realize the virality that it would later earn would be due to the fact she wore the life vest on the wrong side.
For lawmaking aspirants to make a clown of themselves just to fool the voting public and use media and children to their ends is as ‘trapo’ as it can get. The same politicians who denounce traditional and ‘epal’ politics are exactly the ones desperately doing them.
These antics would not help the cause of these aspirants who are already lagging way behind in the surveys. Instead, being faithful to their political aspirations and positively campaigning, they have sunk deeply into a strategy that is sure to fail.
