Everyone was pleasantly surprised when Senator Lito Lapid took part in the Senate hearing on the ABS-CBN franchise chaired by no less than Grace Poe. It was my first time to listen to his voice over the radio and really, he sounded really, really nice. It brought back memories of the grand ol statesmen, the likes of the Old Tanada and Dioknos. They commanded respect because they were very proficient in the vernacular. Lapid was at his best yesterday, with his straight questioning organized in a logical fashion.

And then, there was Senator Bong Go.

I don’t know if Bong Go was asleep during the whole time but he presented his piece which was a rehash of everything he and his principal, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte already said in public these past few years. Go’s logic is very simple—ABS-CBN offended presidential candidate Duterte and therefore, deserved the treatment they are getting now.

Tanga talaga itong si Bong Go. He deserved to be ousted from the Senate.

Go just gave further ammunition to ABS-CBN and its Senate allies when Go opened his mouth. The core issue behind this scandal is

PRESIDENTIAL INTERFERENCE.

The reason why the entire Nation is up in arms against Duterte and his ilk is the fact that the President has a personal affront against ABS-CBN when the media mega giant reportedly failed to air his counter propaganda against a seemingly innocent ad showing kids reacting to Mr. Duterte’s highly controversial crass behavior during the 2016 elections.

Remember that this incident occurred during the elections when Duterte was still a presidential candidate. People are angry because right now, four years unto his term, and Duterte is still acting like a petty mayor.

What sends chills to the bones of everybody especially businessmen is when Go admitted that ” if you are good to the president, he will be good to you. When you are bad to him, he will be twice as bad to you.”

So there. What Go means is that for you to do business in this country, you must impress upon the President and that the President must have a personal liking with you, for you to have a clean image to him.

Go must be either too mayabang or too stupid when he said that before everybody yesterday. He just validated the fears of everyone that this President is not just and is vindictive to the bone.

Everyone expects their President to decide on matters of state with the sagacity of a judge or justice— giving importance to the supremacy of reason and impartiality. The President must not be moved by personal vendatta or hatred and must not use his office to inflict harm to anyone, especially business enterprises which had been in dealings for decades with government.

Go had just exposed the slip of his boss who, for years now, has tried very hard to hide his true Hitlerian nature.

Are we going to accept this ludicracy? That we now have a president who decides matters of state based on his personal feelings and not by what research or report shows?

This kind of leadership has been going on for four years and it led to the bungling of the anti-drugs campaign, the anti-corruption drive of the government and created a climate of fear among businessmen, both foreign and local, who now are being forced to kowtow to a President less they want to lose billions of pesos or their own shirts.

Amoy martial law ito mga tol.

A revolt must sweep these stupid and highly proud men from their respective posts immediately to arrest a further slide of this country to the depths.