Herbie  Gomez A GROUP of Social Security System (SSS) pensioners are reportedly up in arms because President Duterte’s likely decision not to keep his campaign promise to increase their pensions. Responding to this, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno told reporters on Tuesday: “Candidate Duterte is different from President Duterte. And you see that all over, even worldwide. Candidate Trump is different from President Trump. You promised something that, when you see the data, it’s not doable.” Duterte recently said he may take back his promise because of the advice of Diokno, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, and National Economic and Development Authority director general Ernesto Pernia. (Note that Diokno, Dominguez, and Pernia are the same cabinet members who opposed the two-year ban on land conversion, and who want government to raise the excise tax on oil products.) And so, various groups took to the streets on Thursday to denounce the Duterte administration’s motion against the proposed pension increase. Now we are seeing Duterte and his financial managers repeating basically the same reason made by their predecessors in blackballing the SSS pension increase measure that was passed by the previous Congress. And so, Noynoy Aquino was correct all along? Politicians. They would promise voters anything, the moon and the stars included, without going over the data and thinking during election time. After getting what they want, their easy way out is, “It’s not doable.” That, dear voters, is how campaign promises are broken, and how gullible citizens are taken in by the election shell game. That many Filipinos continue to fall for this every time there is an election is what I find difficult to understand. Many of our voters are veterans of many elections. Sadly, until now, many have not been using their critical thinking faculties; they have remained too trusting, and are easily tricked. What exactly did Diokno mean when he said that “candidate Duterte is different from President Duterte”? Here’s the Tagalog translation: Mga uto-uto, naniwala naman kayo! This brings us to the question: what other promises did candidate Duterte make that President Duterte would not or could not keep because they’re not doable? Pastilan.