Assassination plots?

Batas Mauricio

THERE are two things that came to my attention on May 10, 2016, which seem to be telling me that something real big is going to happen in the next 50 days, on the way to the installation of the new president and new vice president of the country on June 30, 2016.

The first was the message given to me by a close friend of mine which said that this friend is leaving the country now that a new president is taking over, and that he would be staying away and would not come back until the new president ends his term, or unless this “something real big” will happen in the next 50 days (without him saying what this is going to be, anyway, keeping me in full suspense).

The second was the complaint by supporters of Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that the poll results on the vice presidential race that were posted by big media outlets showed an apparent fraudulent manipulation of those results, with one candidate shedding off, instead of increasing, his votes as two tallies posted within a matter one hour apart have shown, with those votes apparently being added in favor of another candidate.

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My friend talked to me in virtual riddles and in incomprehensible circles when we met on May 10, 2016. He kept telling me that his past training is telling him that his life is in complete danger with the installation of the two highest officials of the land. Proof of this, he said, could be found in his Facebook account, which already carried three threats against his life.

The friend said he is not considering the threats lightly, or as mere jokes  or empty boastings. It would seem there is not just an element of truth in the threats, he clarified. The threats also reflect a determined intent to go after him and silence him forever, my friend told me.

He said however that it is not only him that is feeling this way. There are a lot of other people who think they are also in danger now, and that, since going abroad is not an option available to them, they are now grouping themselves together and plotting some moves to be carried out within the next 50 days. Wow!

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If I am to believe this guy, it looks like the rumors of a “Plan B” in the 2016 elections–which is to say, Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will be allowed to win considering his almost insurmountable lead over his rivals, but then Rep. Leni Robredo would be proclaimed the winning vice presidential candidate so she could become the president later–have some grain of truth in them.

This “Plan B” is supposed to work out the removal of Duterte either through a people power mass action, a la the 1986 and 2001 Edsa Revolutions, or through an impeachment proceeding after he shall have been proclaimed, although both of these options are perceived to be quite slow processes to oust him.

The only other alternative that would prevent Duterte from assuming the presidency on June 30, 2016 would be his assassination before that date, something that, I think, he and his advisers had already been advised of. In the May 7, 2016 miting de avance of Duterte, he spoke about a “sniper” taking shot at him while he was at the Luneta Grandstand. He said then that he would be happy to die, in the company of his supporters.

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com