PRESIDENTS are bestowed political powers by virtue of the legitimacy of their election. This makes President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (PRRD) the most powerful person in government. Those wrapped with the penumbra of power are suffused by it not so much by proximity, but by people’s perception thereof. Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go (SBG), the most loyal of the presidential coterie and erstwhile photo-bomber, has complete insider privileged access, making him the most influential functionary. Since his Davao salad days, he was Duterte’s executive assistant, a faithful friend, one who will do the President’s bidding without question and will take a bullet for him. As SBG himself admitted, he owes everything to the President and in return Duterte has reciprocated by showering him with pelf and prestige, causing his elevation to senator of the Republic — the ultimate in presidential “bayad sa utang na loob.”

The President’s singular act simply mirrors the peculiar state of our governance — the preponderance of patronage over meritocracy. PRRD demonstrated his dominance over the Filipino voter’s psyche, particularly of his fist-pumping DDS — Diehard Duterte Supporters — base. The 2018 to 2019 electoral campaign was a bizarre tutorial on the regime’s wanton use of government machinery in combination with social media trolls to select unqualified nonentities as candidates, trusting only the say-so of the patron.

A creature of circumstance, SBG’s politics and accomplishment are not his, even those crafted motherhood statements labeling broadsheet pictorials depicting his preferential treatment for the poor victims of countless fires and calamities; distributing food, goodies and running shoes; all of these dreadfully orchestrated undoubtedly by an expensive team of media handlers.

But the ascendant quality which is exclusively SBG’s is a canine devotion to the patron — the senator cum glorified executive assistant — making a mockery of the constitutional separation of the independent branches of government. Nevertheless, such devotion is endearing to countless Filipino parents as the ultimate in filial piety — one Duterte reciprocates with warmth toward SBG. Such display transcends blood — save for daughter Sara’s — causing perhaps a veiled animosity toward each other, analogous to sibling rivalry. Cynics may look at Bong Go as the son the Deegong never had.

Little presidents
Never has there been such an intimate bonding phenomenon in Philippine politics as far as anyone can remember. There are equivalent relationships particularly with executive secretaries nicknamed “Little Presidents,” the most senior ranking official of the Office of the President — but never approaching filial intimacy. Current Executive Secretary Salvador “Bingbong” Medialdea, Duterte’s childhood friend and former personal lawyer, has a self-effacing personality, a gentle giant who likewise has the total trust and confidence of the President, projecting a low profile from the start of this regime. He speaks for and on behalf of the President and technically, in terms of formal functions should be the most powerful man next to the President — but is not. He is never seen as a permanent fixture around the presidential presence akin to a caregiver hovering over a patient. But he strikes one as a person who plays safe, keeps his nose clean and avoids controversies, yet holds influence and exercises authority discreetly.

In the past, notable personages served the country in other capacities after their stint as “little presidents”: Fred Ruiz Castro, President Ramon Magsaysay’s executive secretary, appointed later as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; probably the trajectory of Bingbong Medialdea, whose father was himself a Supreme Court Associate Justice during Cory Aquino’s administration.

Others parlayed their Malacañang stint into electoral prominence. Among them are Ernesto Maceda, 1996-1998, Ferdinand Marcos’ executive secretary; Joker Arroyo, 1986-1987 and Franklin Drilon, 1991-1992, Cory Aquino’s; Teofisto Guingona, 1993-1995 Fidel V. Ramos’; Edgardo Angara, 2002, Joseph Estrada’s; and Alberto Romulo, 2002-2004, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s. These executive secretaries, powerful men, served their president’s well before moving on; attaining greater heights; giants of their time serving the country with distinction – elected senators of the Republic — having proven themselves first as professional bureaucrats.

One notable name could be that of Manuel Roxas who went on to become the fifth President of the Philippines. Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon designated him executive secretary and successor to the presidency in case Quezon or Vice President Sergio Osmena was captured or killed by the Japanese.

Many Filipinos now speculate that this could be the path that the Deegong has laid out for Sen. Bong Go as the next president; jokingly as it turned out, as he also mentioned — not endorsed — Pacquaio, Bongbong Marcos and other personalities.

The realities
This is not to disparage the man. But Sen. Bong Go will not be president. “…alam naman po ng Pangulo na hindi talaga ako interesado. Biro lang ng Pangulo iyon” (Duterte’s just joking). SBG was astute and humble enough to see through the President. And he could have just ended there. But he ventured on, “…magbabago lang siguro ang isip ko kung tatakbong Vice President si Pangulong Duterte.” This statement defines Bong Go — a pregnant declaration that can give birth to a trove of arguments and ridicule pointing toward why he does not deserve the presidency.

The “presidency is destiny” that one must salivate for, according to a tired old cliché. The Deegong as a vice president cannot be a sine qua non for another man’s presidency. Even PRRD sees this as a shamefully idiotic arrangement – that only the ignorant zealotry adheres to. And Duterte is not an idiot!

SBG’s assertion reveals a naiveté, unable to grasp the majesty of the office. The president is not a collective. He is on top of the totem pole where the fates of men and mice are decided.

The Philippine president must have a vision to where he leads his people, embodying qualities of greatness even a pretense thereof to inspire his people to follow. “I will run for president only if Duterte is my vice-president,” does not inspire. The role of caregiver for one man ends when one is caregiver for all Filipinos!

A danger to SBG winning the presidency by proxy is that inevitably he will be co-opted by sycophants much brighter than he. What an irony for this reversal of roles reducing Bong Go’s presidency into a grand sycophancy while VP Duterte continues to rule. The tragedy is this parody escapes the good senator.

Learning process
The Deegong, steeped in the arcana of traditional politics understand this only too well. True, he needs to finish what he set out to do and mindful of his mortality, must frantically pass on his political legacy to someone who embodies his illusions of greatness; yet he cannot do it with his progeny — nor with a doppelgänger. This is too divisive for the Filipino to tolerate. His legacy will be defined by his choices beyond his kin.

SBG is doing passably well as a senator. But he has yet to cut his teeth as a neophyte in the art of lawmaking — a necessary consequence of intellectual confrontation, debate and negotiations with his peers in the halls of the Senate. His refusal to be interpellated after his speeches either reflects his fear of a clash of ideas, the currency of lawmaking; or his inadequacies are simply overwhelming. He has to be his own man shedding his patron and perhaps, someday, he can be president. But not in 2022!