It is not accurate to say that Jesus Christ did not play favorites. The scriptures say that, among the twelve apostles, Jesus chose only six, three of them His favorites-considered His inner circle, the ones who knew most of His secrets, His inner thoughts and feelings. They are Peter (who was Simon, son of John, and younger brother of Andrew, the first to be recruited), and James and Jona, the brothers and sons of Zebedee. The three were all fishermen from Capernaum near the sea of Galilee. Now, President Duterte has his own favorites, Bong Co (counterpart of John the beloved), Bebot Alvarez (like Peter who denied Him thrice), and Koko Pimentel (equal to James ).
If we look at the recruitment process done by Jesus, from the HR perspectives, we can say that He was recruiting from among the common people, mostly fisherfolks and those from the working class, aged between 24 (John, the youngest) to 33, the age of Andrew, the oldest). Actually, Jesus only recruited six of the 12, namely: Andrew, Simon (renamed Peter), James, John, Philip whom Jesus called "The Curious," and Nathaniel whom everyone considered "The Honest One." The remaining six: Mathew, the tax collector, the doubting Thomas, twins James and Judas, sons of Alphaeus, Simon, the zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed the Master.
The inner circle of Jesus, by His own choice, were Simon (Peter), James and John. There were many times when only these three were brought along by the Master, like when they went up Mount Tabur (Mountain of Transfiguration). Only these three were able to witness the transfiguration of Jesus, and see the images of Moses and Elijah conversing with the Master. Now, in the government of Duterte, Bong Go is the counterpart of John, the most trusted who knows many things about the master that others do not. Even the president's children, Pulong or Paulo, Baste, and Inday Sarah have to pass through Bong Go when they want to talk to the president.
The counterpart of Peter is Speaker Alvarez who like Peter is impulsive, outspoken, vacillating at times and always careless with the words he uttered. James was the one who was always mildly reprimanded by the Master because he was not careful with what he would say. Senate President Koko Pimentel is the counterpart of James who was temperamental, very vehement when his indignation was aroused and fiery with his temper when provoked. But he was a very effective public speaker. Next to Simon Peter, James was the best orator among the apostles. John was a man of few words, like Bong Go.
Perhaps it is not blasphemy to draw an analogy between how the Master selected his closest followers and how the president chooses his most trusted men. Although Duterte is no Christ, the people around both were all the same, humans with feet of clay.