Waiver or Waver?

Imagine it’s the NBA Finals. Game 7, 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, scores tied. Duterte, the MVP with the golden shooting arm, has the ball. Trillanes, a modern-day Distrito, charges at Duterte, hungry for the ball and Duterte’s loss. He tries to get the ball, but fails.  Duterte now has to decide whether to pass the ball, take the shot, or wait.

He decides to wait. After all, he got this. He knows it. So he waits. He lets a few more seconds go, before taking the shot. Risky, but hell, he thinks he can do it. He thinks it’s the best way to deal with pesky Trillanes.

To me, this is what’s happening now. Duterte almost has the presidency in the bag. Almost, but not quite. Now here comes Trillanes with a bomb of an accusation of P211 million in hidden wealth. Instead of facing this head on, Duterte decides to play with Trillanes a bit.

“I’m gonna make it hard for him,” he says.

Instead of nipping the issue in the bud, Duterte decides to let it drag, probably hoping for it to last a few days, before he offers a resolution. Maybe he’s thinking, “Let this last a few days so when I clear this up, they won’t have enough time to throw another bomb at me."

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Maybe he really was caught red-handed. Maybe Trillanes really bears the kryptonite to stop Duterte’s dizzying ascent.

We will never know until both make their next move, or we reach May 9, whichever comes next. In the meantime, we are a captive audience in this eleksyonserye. Some of those enamored with Duterte may lose interest, thinking he’s not what he portrays himself to be. A lot more will stay for a myriad reasons.

But eventually, we will find out if Duterte indeed has a golden shooting arm, or if Trillanes actually caught him with his arm elbow-deep in the cookie jar. It’s just a matter of time.

#PHVote #PHVoteDuterte #SALN #hiddenwealth