Signature campaign is just a cover

The pinging sound of my cellphone woke me up at dawn the other day. Such an unholy hour to disturb septuagenarians like me! When I scrolled my phone, an FB footage showing some people scribbling on a piece of paper appeared. Curiosity had a peculiar way of rousing me from going back to sleep. Right away, I called the person who sent me the FB post. He happened to be a barangay official but I have no authority to name him here, let me just call him Sehal Jun. The purpose of my call was to ask the details of what was written in the paper.

Sehal Jun confirmed that the post was about some kind of a petition to be signed by the people to support FPRRD which initial I discerned to mean Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. The social media posting was just forwarded to him by a political colleague of his. But he had not actually read the paper himself. His source apparently told him that after the paper shall have gathered half a million signatures, it would be sent to the International Criminal Court purportedly to ask the tribunal to release the former president for health reasons. In that sense, the said petition can be both a legal document and a political propaganda. Wow!

1. Here is my take. This signature solicitation activity involves huge logistical support which no ordinary citizen will likely volunteer to pay. First, it must have a command center because coordination is important. The base of its operation cannot just be a small office manned by few workers considering that it has to oversee a massive nationwide activity. People with skills, influence and connections in addition to political savvy and financial mind need to handle the top desks of this network. These professionals are expensive.

2. The field men are not easy to come by. They are previously screened for their trustworthiness and work efficiency as they are handpicked for known loyalty. For example, the colleague of Sehal Jun must have the kind of leadership to be able to convince people to affix their signatures to this instrument. Surely he is not the ordinary newsboy peddling daily papers. He maybe leashed to a political loyalty but he too has personal economics to look after.

3. There is a reported venue for signing the petition. In Cebu City, it is located near a mall where the surrounding area is more business than residential. I can only imagine that it must be leased for a hefty sum. I believe that the target signatories are not those owning cars. They are commuters and moving them costs money. It is politically realistic that to entice these people to spend time and money to go to the signing venue they should be funded enough.

4. Whoever conceived this activity must be aware that the ICC previously denied a petition for Duterte’s temporary release from prison. The ICC, citing the mass actions held throughout the country and in some foreign land, ruled that the former president has still an appreciable clout over many Filipinos. The probability of his not going back to The Hague to attend trial is higher for he would feel safer in the bosom of his countrymen.

That being the case, I dare opine that this signature campaign is not really intended to secure Duterte’s temporary release from prison. Reaching out to supporters is part of a mobilization for the 2028 elections.