The anti-Duterte leaders and followers have falsely credited the ‘trolls’ of Duterte as being the reason why president Duterte’s popularity and trust rating remain in record fashion. But they failed to recognize their own deficiency.   That is where the opposition is failing in the first place.  It arrogates upon itself as guardian of morality and political righteousness.  In so doing, it effectively built a wall between itself and the people it purports to serve and defend. Collectively calling Duterte’s social media supporters as trolls is a serious disconnect.   Dismissing them as a bunch paid hacks is a middle class arrogance and display of intellectual snootiness. Edwin Espejo addresses this in his last of the seven series of articles originally published on Facebook in June/July

Decapitating the ‘trolls’ of Duterte Sixth of a Series By Edwin Espejo July 2, 2021   The opposition should not make mistake about Duterte. Duterte’s victory in 2016 was an exact mix of the right and dedicated people who joined his campaign machinery, perfect political timing, efficient campaign strategy that was people-driven and a very engaged citizenry spread throughout the country. His throng of supporters, in the end, came not only from the masses but also from the middle class and a section of the political elite, the latter two jumping in when the Duterte bandwagon began to steamroll. Duterte was the anti-thesis of everything in Philippine politics when he ran for president in 2016. He was an outsider.  He did not have the campaign