by – Glen Palaca Hubahib, Esq.

The die is cast:

            VP Sara’s announcement to go all in the 2028 presidential derby has drawn the line of would-be supporters. Potential candidates for vice-president, senators, congressman, governors, and mayors must come out now in the open. They cannot just sit it out and relax because the electorate are angry about corruption and the deteriorating law and order situation.

      Familiar faces for President and Vice-president in 2028 (Extracted pictures)

            For some, her early announcement is brilliant. To others, suicidal. To the Stoics the ability to do it alone is a mark of strength. For Epictetus, an independent character.

            In the field of sports, you must step on the gas pedal when you are in the lead. You do not allow your adversaries to compete. While it is early and away from the campaign period you keep moving. To borrow from the basketball offense philosophy of Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors, “you have to move without the ball, and the ball will find you.” Thus, VP Sara is barnstorming – in Luzon, Visayas, Tokyo, Malaysia, The Hague and Abu Dhabi to name a few.

            The movie:

The ruckus in the Philippines is like a movie plot:

Distraction – BBM and his ilk were already deep into amending the constitution (Con-Ass) when Digong accused BBM as a drug addict in early 2023.

Diversion – Having caught off-guard, they must go after Pastor Quiboloy of SMNI and suspend local officials not in BBM’s team.

Division – Deep in the quagmire, they must go for the jugular – impeaching VP Sara and handing Digong to ICC using all available resources to what is now known as allocable, insertions, and flood control projects. These events have frozen his senatorial and local candidates who do not want to be associated with the action but want monetary support in 2025 midterm election.

Then you put him on display – The flood control scandal hearings and the opening statements of Nicholas Kaufman (Digong’s lead counsel in ICC) has put BBM and the Philippines in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. Kaufman masterfully used the proceedings as a megaphone in the big stage to describe the arrest as unlawful and ordered by BBM. The latter by sheer short-sightedness conceded to Digong the international stage and the ability to shape public opinion.

“Distraction, Diversion and Division. Then you put him on display for the whole world to see.” – Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith (played by Liam Neeson) The A Team

Stare down:

The brewing tension and military build up in the Middle East has the world on edge because it might spill into a big regional war. Before the 10th day deadline, it was disturbing to know that a high-resolution satellite imagery from China’s military and tech firm MizarVision have been released showing the US military build-up around Iran as if to share targeting data. Earlier, Russia and Iran were conducting a joint exercises in the Strait of Hormuz.

  Satellite images taken on January 16 showed five KC-135 aerial refueling aircrafts at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar (Global Times)

[Note: Glen Palaca Hubahib is admitted to practice law in California and the Philippines. He also holds an Electrical Engineering and MBA degrees. He is a regular resource person of the top rated “Open Forum” program of Ardy Araneta-Batoy & Gloria Leodivica Araneta at station DYTR. The article is for information only and is not legal advice. Send your comments to the author at hubahibg@gmail.com.]