The Pambansang Photobomber-Turned-VP Bet

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” ― Ernest Hemingway

Last October 2, presidential aide-turned-senator Bong Go filed his Certificate for Candidacy as vice president under PDP-Laban in the 2022 elections, a move that surprised the nation. Contrary to popular expectations that he would run for president, he initially declined the party’s nomination, saying that he would rather focus his energy on his work at the Senate and the Senate health committee which he chaired. Citing the President Duterte’s announcement of his withdrawal from politics when the latter accompanied the Senator when he filed his COC, he made the decision to take on the challenge as PDP-Laban’s vice-presidential candidate. The Senator said he will continue and build on Duterte's war on drugs, corruption, and criminality, running under the theme “Bisyo ay Serbisyo” (Vice is Service), he intends to “pursue and expand these efforts further towards overcoming this pandemic by achieving economic recovery, providing job opportunities, and addressing hunger and poverty.”

Christopher Lawrence Tesoro Go, the man everybody fondly calls “Bong,” was born 47 years ago to a wealthy Chinese-Filipino family. He is a grandson of August Tesoro, whose father founded one of the largest printing presses in Davao City. A graduate of Management from De La Salle University, has modestly began his long service as executive assistant and personal aide for then-Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, when he was simply asked to run an errand, way back in 1998. After having earned the complete trust of Duterte, Bong Go was later placed in-charge of both the Mayor’s personal and official matters, he has called himself as Duterte's all around ‘utility man.’ During the 2016 election campaign season, he was often chided as the “national photobomber” by the media, for being always in the photos at the side of Duterte in his campaign sorties. When Duterte was eventually elected president, he announced the appointment of Bong Go as the Special Assistant to the President and was tasked to provide general supervision to the Presidential Management Staff.

Bong Go made a formal bid for the Senate during the elections in 2018, surprising his critics when he garnered roughly 21 million votes and was sworn into office after placing third overall. On his first months in office, he had further bewildered his naysayers who predicted a “do-nothing Senator,” by filing several bills, including creating a Department of Disaster Resilience, the postponement of the 2020 Sangguniang Kabataan elections on the barangay level, and a bill which he co-authored with fellow Senator Manny Pacquiao, in pushing the death penalty back for heinous crimes, such as illegal drugs, plunder, rape, and murder. Later, he authored the “Malasakit Center Act,” which meant to serve as one-stop for easy access to medical and financial assistance needed to receive health care services. When the coronavirus pandemic struck in 2020, he proposed the “Balik Probinsya program,” which meant to decongest the overcrowded Metro Manila once the said pandemic was put under control. The program was institutionalized by President Duterte on May 6 via Executive Order No. 114.

Nevertheless, even as Senator, he remained at President Duterte's side, displaying uncanny fealty only seen in the most loyal of presidential aides. This was highlighted during the pandemic with the Senator being a constant face at the President's briefings. Press briefings by state media also gave the Senator almost limitless airtime, as he regularly aired his statements and gave praises for programs he pushed for when he was a special assistant to the President or even when he was a senator.

Unbeknownst to many, Bong Go is also an avid basketball fan and has participated in amateur leagues and guested in prominent local basketball events in the country. He usually spectates in the Philippine Basketball Association and joined in the three-point shootout competition of the 2018 PBA All-Star Week.

I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting Bong Go in several occasions and I must say that, despite his meteoric rise to national prominence, he has maintained his very humble demeanor and his “working man” disposition, without an iota of haughtiness and braggadocio seen in many politicians. “Our society makes us believe that for us to have a great impact on the world around us, we must be at the top, we must be number one, or we must be the best,” he said. “From the President, I learned the opposite. Instead of trying to outdo everyone else, we must find our own place and perform our duties with humility and integrity.” He also clarified that he did not leave the President’s side to merely make a name for himself. He emphasized that his senatorial role is an extension of his service to the President and to the Filipino people, adding that like his boss, who had no plans of running for president originally, he also had no political ambitions before, but realized that he must be in the legislative branch of government to further help the administration carry out its programs and projects. He says that he is “more than ready to take on greater responsibilities and challenges. “Whatever power we are privileged to have, we should just do the best that we can,” he said with such characteristic diffidence. “We should be committed and worthy of trust.” With these words, I can only nod in concurrence.