Stripper

"Indeed this is the peak of the political campaign season."

Senatorial candidate Christopher “Bong” Go stripped for the cameras to show he does not have a tattoo as alleged by suspects claiming he and the President’s family are involved in the illegal drug trade in Davao.

It was the second time the former Special Assistant to the President had taken off his shirt to prove he does not have any tattoo as claimed by accuser popularly known as “Bikoy.”

“This is the last time I’ll take off my shirt to prove Bikoy’s claim I was the one he saw with tattoos on my back mixing with Davao drug lords,” said Go, adding that to do it again would make him look like a fool. The third placer in the latest Pulse Asia senatorial survey showed in a public rally in Laguna that all he had on his back were pimples, a birth mark and stretch marks that come with aging.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the National Bureau of Investigation will press perjury charges against Bikoy and certain Liberal Party officials who used Bikoy to spread lies and black propaganda against President Rodrigo Duterte, his family and administration candidates. The Palace said the opposition is using foul play in besmirching the reputation of the President and his candidates.

The Palace side has some truth in it. After all, this is the peak of the political campaign season. The President himself has denigrated the qualifications of opposition candidates like Chel Diokno, Romulo Macalintal and Erin Tañada, calling them low-class lawyers.

Mudslinging aside, it’s now up to the voters to discern who among the candidates are worthy of their votes. Who they pick in the May 13 midterm elections will determine the kind of life they live in the next three years before the 2022 presidential elections. But that’s another story.

The Commission on Elections assured the public it is ready for the conduct of elections on May 13. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the printed ballots are ready and the vote counting machines to be used have been sealed.

Assurances of a clean honest elections are always given by the Comelec. But the people cannot be blamed for being skeptical. Politicians have a way of circumventing all the rules and regulations so they can win and stay in power. There’s the usual vote-buying and election violence despite the Comelec ban on carrying of firearms. Their excuse: If I don’t carry firearms and go around with a private army, who will protect me from rival candidates? So, expect the flareup of election violence from the several hotspots listed by the Comelec.

Meanwhile, the water level at the Angat Dam continues to dip to critical levels despite the cloud seeding and sporadic rain that fell in some parts of Luzon the other day. Both Manila Water and Maynilad concessionaires said the low water supply in many parts of Metro Manila could continue up to end of June.

Our advice: Stack up your drums and pails with rain water when it pours. Although rain water is not for drinking, it can be used to flush the toilet and to water plants. The survival of vegetables and fruit crops may be harder because of the parched soil in many large parts of the country’s agricultural fields.

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol and other officials tasked with overseeing the country’s food supply could lose their jobs after the elections. Why after and not now? To fire them now would give the opposition grist to criticize the government’s agricultural policy and ineptitude of certain Cabinet officials. That would mean the loss of administration senatorial candidates who are at the far end of poll surveys. That would of course thwart President Duterte’s bid to control both the Senate and the House.