Victor D. Rodriguez Kingmaker: The Hard Copy by Gerry Lirio

Victor D. Rodriguez is the man behind the presidential campaign of Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in Many 2022. He was the face of the campaign, its chief strategist. He first served as spokesman of Marcos in his electoral protest after he lost in the vice presidential race in the may 2016 elections, defending Marcos in the bar of public opinion.

He got all the flak.

He got even more when, by his lonesome, he stood behind Marcos and pusched him to run for the presidential elections in May 2022, at a time when all the Marcos critics, especially the martial law survivors, rose to block his candidacy. And no one wanted to get close to candidate Marcos.

His hard work paved the way for a Marcos return in Malacanang. Marcos won, but the criticisms on Rodriguez didn't leave him. He joined Marcos' Cabinet, first as executive secretary and later as chief of staff. His critics didn't stop.

He refused to let his critics cage him. At one point, he wanted to answer his critics, but Marcos prevailed upon him: "Don't get distracted, we have so many things to do." He obliged, but only because he respected his President.

Now, he is telling his story through this book about how he crafted the Marcos victory, and why he left Malacanang after 79 days. And why he chose to keep quiet for the past many months. This book tells all--what the public ought to know, and to find value in his story, if not in law, in history. The public deserves to know.

Rodriguez is a lawyer, belonging to Class 2002, Faculty of Civil Law of the University of Santo Tomas.

2024/302pp
bookpaper/paperback