What do we get from you?

Mr. Duterte faces an insurmountable problem. None of his claims of his achievements in his final State of the Nation Address (SoNA) as president matters on how his chosen one fares in next year’s presidential elections.

Even if it looks as if it does, touting whatever Mr. Duterte did in the past five years actually has no bearing for the Filipino voter.

Of course, Mr. Duterte’s fanatical supporters and his equally passionate detractors are still relentlessly clawing at each other’s throats over his achievements or lack of it, making it as if all the pointed exchanges matter for a voter.

But all of it are just sour heated exchanges of the moment and contorts one real perspective of the coming elections.

The contortion in this case comes in perceiving without question a president’s achievements supposedly convince a voter.

Yet, all these talk about achievements influencing a voter is an illusory correlation. It’s merely a perception of an association which, in fact, does not exist.

That can’t be right and is objectionable, you’ll say. There has to be a correlation. Hang on though.

Why no correlation? Because Mr. Duterte and his chosen one’s plans around the future carry far more weight in courting next year’s voters than Mr. Duterte’s past achievements.

In short, what’s past is past. It’s the future which matters more to voters.

That point is sufficiently carried in the pertinent question any voter often unconsciously ask of himself of any candidate in an election: “If I vote for you, what are you going to do?”

An illustrative anecdote perhaps elaborating this particular point is the one that occurred between defeated United States President Donald Trump and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

When Trump sought street-smart electoral pointers from Christie, the American election bruiser pointedly told Trump: “You know, that’s the way a lot of voters think. They want to know what you’re going to do next. They don’t want to hear what you did. They lived that and either benefited or not.”

Counting also on people who previously voted for Mr. Trump didn’t also matter. Christie also told Trump that even if a voter had voted for him, that same voter can always retort: “That’s what I got for voting for you last time. What do I get for voting for you this time?”

Arrogant Mr. Trump didn’t follow Mr. Christie’s advice and roundly lost the American presidential elections.

Mr. Trump, of course, isn’t Mr. Duterte. Barred from seeking reelection, Mr. Duterte is fighting a dissimilar electoral battle, which, in this case, is about making sure his anointed wins next year.

Nonetheless, the point about a voter’s concern for the future is still universally valid and cannot be ignored hereabouts. Mr. Duterte and his chosen one still have to put out a message about the future.

As it is, Mr. Duterte has no chosen one, making it difficult to adequately gauge whatever plans for the future those vying for his anointment have.

But in the meanwhile, Mr. Duterte and his avowed acolytes are behaving as if his past achievements count for more than future plans in this Delta variant wracked country.

In this instance, it is obvious Mr. Duterte is touring the country attempting to cast his political persona and his message of “more of the same” are deciding factors in next year’s polls more than the future.

It’s a political playbook which essentially means Mr. Duterte, despite his lame duck status, isn’t waving his final goodbyes.

Mr. Duterte’s avowed acolytes believe, too, he can’t be counted out just yet. To them, Mr. Duterte supposedly remains massively popular.

This, even if the Palace tactfully acknowledges Mr. Duterte has only a 65 percent approval rating and 55 percent trust rating at the moment.

Popularity aside, the sorry excuse not to be discounted also partly motivates Mr. Duterte’s suspicious campaign as a vice presidential bet.

Wary critics, of course, point out Mr. Duterte’s vice presidential gambit is more about his selfish need to protect himself once he steps down. He himself acknowledges his gambit allows him immunity from suit.

But whatever are Mr. Duterte’s motives, he still can’t escape the one crucial question voters throw at whoever, even if he is president, wants to be a leader in this country — What do we get for voting for you?

“Mr. Duterte’s avowed acolytes believe, too, he can’t be counted out just yet.

“In short, what’s past is past. It’s the future which matters more to voters.