VP Leni Robredo won fair and square

It is high time that we move on from this VP electoral protest and on to more important matters for our country like addressing our transport crisis, helping our rice farmers, and working on uplifting the lives of our countrymen. Instead, we have spent so much time, resources, and energy on the protest of losing candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos for the vice presidency.

It’s been three years and we’re still right where we started. I shudder to think of what could have been accomplished if we hadn’t wasted so much time on this. Honestly, if Bongbong Marcos truly cared about the country like he says he does, he would have focused his energy not to mention all his resources on more productive avenues. Imagine how much he could have helped the country if he had redirected his focus?

But no, instead he has put everything into his bid for the vice presidency, which should already tell us something about his priorities. Power is the most important thing for him. While that’s not shocking, it certainly is disappointing. He even had the gall to say that he was “robbed of the vice presidency”. I can’t help but feel that VP Leni’s response to that was perfect – between the two of them, she is less inclined to rob.

Sadly, we all know our history, no matter how they try to suppress it. There is still so much money that the Marcos family owes to our country. Perhaps the former senator should be more careful about his choice of words in the future. I’m sure that he, of all people, is familiar with the past.

Currently, Robredo is still in the lead in the recount and at this point, one can only hope that the electoral protest is finally junked once and for all. The uncertainty that comes with this ongoing problem is not only affecting the country and the government, but also impacting trust in the country when it comes to foreign investment. The Makati Business Club (MBC) has expressed hope that the protest will finally be junked as well and the country can go back to business as usual.

They further reiterated that the uncertainty is impacting business and they hope that with this electoral protest firmly put behind us, the high court and the Office of the Vice President can finally focus on more important and pressing matters affecting our country as a whole.

If something isn’t done and soon then there may be some truth to the worrisome rumors that there is something behind the dilly-dallying of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET). After all, if the recounts show that VP Robredo remains in the lead then there is nothing else to be done but to dismiss the protest. We should all remain vigilant and see what they do next.

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And speaking of important issues, another non-issue is in the spotlight again after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shared that their new P5 and P10 coins will be out this December. They just changed the designs – do we have to have a new design again so soon?

I guess this is in response to complaints that the coins all looked too similar. The problem arose previously when they removed the former larger P5 and P10 coins and replaced them with silver ones that look almost exactly like the P1. However, the BSP has repeatedly said that the new P5 and P10 are heavier than the P1 and have a different design face.

Personally, while I was not initially on board with the new coins, over time it has become easier to spot them and differentiate them from the peso. Releasing new ones now just seems unnecessary. I guess they are trying to streamline Filipino currency. Along with the new P5 and P10 coins, the BSP will also be releasing a new P20 coin to slowly replace the P20 banknote.

According to the BSP, the P20 banknote is the most used form of payment in the country. As such, they pass through several hands regularly and are easily rendered unfit for circulation and returned to the BSP for replacement. Creating a P20 coin is supposedly more cost-efficient in the long run.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see how it looks when the new designs are unveiled. I just can’t help but feel that this should have been thought out better before releasing the new designs in the first place.