Palace tells opposition, critics to accept defeat

By Argyll Cyrus Geducos

Malacañang renewed its call to the opposition and critics of President Duterte to accept their defeat in the midterm polls, instead of questioning the credibility of the elections because their senatorial bets did not make it to the top 12.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo (OPS / MANILA BULLETIN)

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the statement after Bayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes said that the “Duterte Magic” was a form of systematic cheating and rigging of the elections.

In his statement Wednesday afternoon, Panelo said that the Palace expected the likes of Reyes to cry cheating and question the “Duterte magic” following the defeat of their senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares, along with many left-leaning party-list groups in the polls.

According to Panelo, the people have already seen through the “sophistry” of espousing their feigned brand of nationalism for many decades, taking advantage of the poor man’s plight.

“Their loss is a clear indictment that our people do not believe in their advocacies, especially on the war on drugs, extra-judicial killings, South China Sea, one-man rule, etc., which they have foisted and peddled to the people,” he said.

“Our people’s rejection should have been a wake-up call to re-assess their actions. Unfortunately, Mr. Reyes — instead of throwing in the towel and yield to the resounding voice of the electorate — opts to throw his false and malicious narratives at the Duterte administration,” he added.

Panelo also said that Reyes should be “humble enough” to accept the electoral defeat, saying that their strategy to attack administration bets just triggered a backlash against opposition candidates.

“They should have presented an alternative platform of governance and discussed how their brand of politics would be much better than the kind that the administration candidates would provide,” he said.

He then urged the opposition, critics, and detractors of President Duterte to bow to the majesty of the rule of the majority, and reiterated the administration’s call to them to set aside partisanship and unite for the betterment of Filipinos.

Duterte magic

In a statement, Reyes said that “Duterte Magic” consists of the use of government resources to favor the administration’s bets, use of the military and police to harass opposition groups, control the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the martial law in Mindanao, and government-sponsored disinformation.

According to Panelo, Reyes’s claims were not backed by evidence. He also noted that half of the commissioners of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) were appointees of the previous president.

“President Duterte will never interfere with the election process, as well as frustrate the sovereign will of the people, for such is the very process which propelled him to the presidency,” he said.

The Palace official then explained that the “Duterte Magic” was the “total package of sterling performance” and good governance delivered to the people.

“It is also his (President Duterte’s) empathy towards the ordinary Filipino as against those who, until now after the elections, cannot comprehend the voice of the majority opting to turn a blind eye to it,” Panelo said.

“It includes his decisive actions in resolving various local and national issues, as well as creating solutions to uplift the lives of the citizenry. These, among others, comprise the ‘Duterte magic’ which carried his candidates to a resounding victory,” he added. #MatalinongBoto2019