Let’s Go! ‘SENATOR BONG GO’ A BRIDGE BETWEEN SENATE AND PALACE

By Manny Piñol

In the inner sanctum of the Aguinaldo Hall of Malacañang last night, I and two other Cabinet Secretaries engaged Christopher Lawrence Go, the Pambansang Photobomber and the Selfie King, in light banter mainly because of the public endorsement by President Rody Duterte for him to run for Senator.

I frankly told Bong, who for years has been a virtual shadow of President Duterte, to seriously consider the endorsement, which could have been said by the President in jest, because I said he would be in the Top 5 hands down.

As a former politician myself, I believe in gut feel. This was the same gut feel I had when I and many other friends did our best to convince then Mayor Rody Duterte to take a stab at the Presidency because we felt that he was really winnable.

Bong Go is not just winnable. I believe he will be one of the favorites should he decide to run for the Senate.

Who is Bong Go and why will he be an effective member of the Senate, even just in the second half of the term of President Duterte?

President Duterte in jest calls him “Ambassador Extra-Ordinary” because he is tasked to receive calls and deal with the mighty and the powerful who seek audience with the President.

To many who have followed him in the Social Media, he is the Pambansang Photobomber and the Selfie King.

To some, he is the Presidential Shadow whose presence in a room indicates that the President will appear next.

Christopher Lawrence Go, however, is more than just those funny descriptions.

Through the years since he served then Davao City Mayor and later President Rody Duterte, Bong Go, has metamorphosed from just being a young executive assistant to becoming one of the most powerful personalities in the Duterte Presidency.

When Bong Go issues orders and directives, you can be sure that those came from his Boss, the President.

Even with the immense influence and power that he wields now, Bong Go has remained humble and even taciturn at times.

His subdued personality fits perfectly with the strong character of the President and this perhaps explains why, Bong Go is trusted by President Dutertr with almost everything including his life.

This trust-level would make Bong Go an effective conveyor of the ideas and thoughts of the President to the Senate and vice-versa which I believe would bring about a more harmonious relationship between the two branches of government.

With three years left in his Presidency and many more reforms which need to be implemented in governance, the presence of Bong Go in the Senate would facilitate the resolution of issues which may stand in the way.

Will Bong Go survive in the Senate even after his boss, President Duterte, retires from politics?

I bet he would, based on how he held his ground in the Senate hearing on his alleged involvement in the Navy Frigate Deal as claimed by the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Rappler, an accusation which turned out to be a dud.

In that hearing, Bong Go showed that he could be his own man and articulated his thoughts very clearly, a pleasant discovery for many of those who hardly knew the Pambansang Photobomber.

The Inquirer and Rappler should be thanked for helping create the new Bong Go, not just the Photo Bomber and the Pambansang Anino ng Pangulo, but a man who could be Senator.

I place my bet in Bong Go to be in the Top 5 of the list of winning Senators in 2019.

Let’s Go!

(First photo shows Bong Go using a jetski to rescue a family when floodwaters inundated the Jade Valley Subdivision in Davao City years ago. The family he rescued was actually that of my brother, Celso, shown riding at the back with his children, Thalie and Nico. Second photo was taken in Myanmar during the State Visit of President Duterte while the last photo suggests that the Bong Go candidacy for Senator is “A Go!”)