By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – With the proposed aid for displaced workers and poor families still far from getting the presidential nod, allies of the administration in the Lower House have been pushing to open up the country’s resources to the plunder of big, foreign powers and to perpetuate Duterte’s rule.
Describing the politicking as “shameless and stomach-churning,” peasant leader Danilo Ramos of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas said the administration’s allies are already looking at the 2022 elections “while we are facing very evident problems that need urgent solutions from the government.”
“The people need aid, jobs, and livelihood, faster vaccination rollout, higher budget for social services, among other demands,” he added.
Yesterday, PDP Laban, the political party where President Duterte serves as chair, held an assembly that adopted a resolution prodding him to run for the vice presidency in next year’s elections. This assembly was purportedly “illegal,” after its party president, Sen. Manny Pacquiao did not approve of it.
Pacquiao reportedly has intentions of running as president in 2022.
Meanwhile, the proposal to amend the Philippine Constitution was passed on second reading last week. This proposal intends to open up the country’s economy to more foreign direct investments and allow big, foreign powers to have full ownership of land, natural resources, public utilities, education institutions, and the media, to name a few.
Read: Instead of Cha-cha, Duterte urged to certify ‘ayuda for all’ bill as urgent
“Instead of providing aid, this government has opted on a sell-out of our natural resources, our territory, and their own people to big foreign powers. The future is grim if we allow the Duterte administration with their plans,” urban poor leader Inday Bagasbas of Ayuda Network.
Ramos said that “while political opportunists are pledging their allegiance and support to Duterte, the public wants Duterte out of Malacanang in every way possible.” 
