Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison who is currently based in Netherlands commented that “Duterte’s plummeting approval and trust ratings amid the soaring prices of basic commodities, arrest of opposition leaders, disgruntled elements in the military and the formation of groups opposed to the administration, would hasten the end of his presidency.”
He said Duterte himself would provide enough rope for his impending removal from Malacañang Palace.
“Like a crackdown on the supporters of Senator Antonio Trillanes in the military, the replacement of Vice President Leni Robredo by Bongbong Marcos or Senator Chiz Escudero or some other flagrant abuse of power,” Sison commented.
“I expect that all those factors will stimulate and accelerate the rise of the various forms of struggle and the realization of the broad united front for ousting the tyrannical corrupt Duterte regime,” Sison said in an online interview from his base in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Results of a Pulse Asia survey released last month showed the President’s approval and trust scores declining 13 points and 15 points, respectively, although a majority of Filipinos still approve of his work and expressed trust in him. But the “majority of those Filipinos are misguided and not properly informed,” said a representative of a militant group here in Sydney.
The President’s approval rating stood at 75 percent and trust rating at 72 percent, both his lowest since he was elected into office in 2016.
His ratings fell among all socioeconomic classes but particularly among the poor cut across geographic areas.
Mr. Duterte’s lowest survey rating comes amidst soaring prices of basic commodities that hurt especially the poor, who spend a big part of their earnings on food.
The political front also faces unpredictable turmoil with the arrest of Trillanes, the most virulent critic of Mr. Duterte. Senator Trillanes was arrested on revived rebellion charges in spite of a pardon granted by former president Benigno Aquino III.
The Makati court allowed the senator to post bail for his temporary freedom.
President Duterte also made the claim that some government soldiers were conniving with the Liberal Party and the communist rebels as part of the so-called “Red October,” an alleged plot to oust Duterte from power.
Sison said the so-called Red-Revolution plot “is a figment of Duterte’s imagination.”