The first tremor of anxiety, albeit ever slightly palpable, was when the President declared the concession agreements of Manila Water and Maynilad as the "greatest rip-off" ever in the country. The two companies are backed by Ayala Corp.

and Metro Pacific Investment Corp., respectively, two of the biggest conglomerates in the country.

Other accusations by the President against the two companies that the contracts were "onerous" and "disadvantageous" to the country as well as constituting the no-bail offense of "economic sabotage" were liberally spiced, as usual, with expletives. This could have constituted for bullying except that the President's manner of speaking had already been applauded by the business community four years ago during a business forum organized in Makati City to vet presidential candidates.

Corridor talk was that the President felt betrayed by the two companies' pursuit of cases filed with the Singapore-based Permanent Court of Arbitration against the Philippine government for losses and damages together totaling P10.79 billion when their contracts had already been extended in 2009 14 years earlier than in the original by another 15 years to 2037 without any changes. The acquiescence of both Manila Water and Maynilad to abide by a new contract that the government says was already cleaned of "onerous" provisions was expected to end the deemed harassment of both companies.

This was not to be. More "onerous" contracts for review Before the end of the year, the President laughed off media giant ABS-CBN Corp.

's attempt to renew its expiring franchise in March with a publicly declared advice urging the owners to sell the business before the permit expires. The President has lambasted ABS-CBN of being critical of his administration, and even consistently raked up a grudge against the media company dating back to when he was campaigning for the presidency.

Incidentally, other media organizations accused by the President of being critical to his administration have gone or are currently going through some form of wringing too. And just this month, more "onerous" contracts had been presented to the President.

A number of them were related to the either Ayala or MPIC, but not inclusive. Ayala Land's contract with state university U.

P. Diliman on a 20-hectare site adjacent to the campus received a warning.

Not connected with any of the backers of the two water concessionaires is petroleum product retailer Chevron (formerly Caltex) Philippines whose 120-hectare, 50-year lease with the government's Batangas Land Co. signed in 1974 was originally priced at 74 centavos per square meter a month.

The current fair market rental value is now estimated at P17.90 per square meter. Construction company DMCI Holdings was also threatened by the President of being banned in relation to damages suffered by one of its residential building projects in Davao City after a series of strong earthquakes during the last quarter of 2019. More reviews on alleged onerous contracts are being called.

The Light Rail Transit Authority's existing contract with the Light Rail Manila Corp., a consortium of which Ayala and MPIC are part of, has been called upon too.

The list has seemingly been getting longer by the day as more "onerous" deals are being subjected to scrutiny. Why Filipinos love Duterte In the midst of all the probes, the President's popularity rating has grown even stronger.

Pollster Pulse Asia announced towards the year-end that the President's approval and trust rating moved up nine percentage points from the September 2019 polling. Similarly, another polling body, the Social Weather Station, announced that the results of its latest survey showed a seven percentage point improvement of the President's net satisfaction rating over the previous polling done in June of the same year, and giving the President an "excellent" grade.

The President apparently is doing what he is best liked for, like when he ran after drug users at the start of his term in 2016 with ruthless impunity, like when he candidly acknowledged that fighting the behemoth China is not a smart move in a territorial dispute, and like when he ran after "onerous" contracts with "profit-hungry" businessmen. Accusations of human rights abuses, slanderous words against the Roman Catholic Church and women, curtailment of press freedom, even vengefulness on his political adversaries seem incapable of piercing through his armor of popularity.

The President continues to ride on his promise of delivering a "Golden Age of Infrastructure," as well as reforms that have reduced personal income taxes of many employees, higher salaries for government employees and the military, health care for all, and many more. Searching for the end-game Those affected businessmen threatened by a review of "onerous" provisions in their contracts must be racking their brains to try and figure out the end game, and that when moment of illumination comes, may be guided on how to minimize the damage that they already are suffering.

The move of the President has earned him a lot of political points as evidenced by latest survey showing marked increases in public trust levels. The President and his advisers will surely milk this to the hilt, especially with the election period drawing nearer.

Maybe, these big businesses should start thinking about taking the offensive rather than just being defensive when allegations are raised about their dealings with the government. Why not initiate on their own volition a review of their existing contracts, and volunteer the removal of provisions that may be seen as "onerous," or offer to withdraw completely from these arrangements/contracts with the government? Better bite the bullet now rather than face a long period of anxiety.

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