Hontiveros hits admin’s grand scheme to ‘massage public opinion’

The sudden talks of term extension for elected officials, including President Rodrigo Duterte, a no-election situation under federalism, and proposals to absolve the Marcoses over their ill-gotten wealth were all part of a grand political scheme to “massage public opinion.”

This was the assertion of Senator Risa Hontiveros, who also believed that the Duterte administration is “testing the waters” for floating all these scenarios.

“Together with its command of fake news, the Duterte government is testing the waters, measuring public perception regarding the acceptability of its twisted political projects and conditioning the people’s mind to create false consent,” Hontiveros said in a statement on Friday.

“It is a classic feature of an authoritarian regime. The government is keen on controlling public opinion knowing that it is ultimately the basis of its power and legitimacy,” Hontiveros also said.

Congress leaders recently presented the idea of possibly ditching the elections and extending the term of President Duterte and lawmakers as the change in the form of government from presidential to federalism could also affect the senatorial polls in 2019.

According to the opposition senator, the administration was employing these schemes since its two political projects – federalism and the compromise deal with Marcoses –would “determine the fate” of Mr. Duterte’s government.

Recently, documents of the supposed draft compromise agreement with the Marcos family surfaced on social media.

The agreement purportedly contains a provision to lift the government’s control over Marcos assets, and in exchange, the family would return parts of the wealth to the government.

The Marcos’ camp denied having a hand in the alleged draft compromise agreement and distanced itself from the main proponent of the document, lawyer Oliver Lozano, a known staunch supporter of the Marcos family.

“The Marcos compromise deal will fortify its political alliance and federalism will extend the term limits of power-hungry public officials. The public must not be hoodwinked,” Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros added that this was also the case when President Duterte attempted to create fake public clamor for a revolutionary government to persuade the military to support the idea but failed.

“Fortunately, the proposal was shelved in the meantime because it failed to shore up support from the public and sway the military,” she said.

Hontiveros then urged the public not to be swayed by the government’s attempt to condition their minds into accepting these political plans.

“If anything, this regime bows to strong public opinion and pressure. Let our voices be heard. Let us show our strength in the streets. The fear of public opinion by authoritarian leaders points to the potential of our voices as a force of good. We must not be intimidated and silenced,” Hontiveros said.             /kga