“With all the problems the country is facing like the West Philippine Sea, climate change and El Niño, the focus seems to be on more mundane issues”
The political discourse of late has gotten so toxic there is no longer any civility.
What could have caused FPRRD to violently attack PBBM, accusing him of being drug addict and on the PNP and PDEA drug watch list at a time when PBBM was on his way to Vietnam for a state visit? Traditionally, when a President goes on a state visit, the whole officialdom of the country regardless of party affiliation go to the airport to wish the President a successful trip.
That has always been the practice and FPRRD should have known that being a former President.
But knowing FPRRD, it was probably too much to expect him to remain silent until the return of PBBM.
As we all know, he was never governed by conventions when he was President and, as they say, one can no longer teach old dogs new tricks.
Two years after his presidency, he is still so fixated on drugs.
He cannot seem to get over it.
And he has now focused his attention on his successor by accusing him as a drug addict or bagang in the dialect which is his preferred term.
In his book, PBBM must have committed an unforgivable and grievous political sin.
What these are, we can only hazard an educated guess.
It must be something that affected him personally or his family.
Perhaps, it was triggered by the reported presence of ICC investigators related to his drug war which must have unnerved him as it did Senator Bato de la Rosa.
Could it be because of father’s instinct related to the elimination of the intelligence budget for the Vice President and Secretary of Education?
Is it because of the aborted people’s initiative to amend some provisions of the 1987 Constitution which he apparently opposes?
But why so violent a response?
Maybe it is due to the suspension of his TV program.
Worst, he warned PBBM about the danger of suffering the same fate that befell the father and even reportedly threatened that Mindanao will secede from the Republic.
These two warnings immediately triggered talk of possible destabilization moves and loyalty checks by the military and police diverting attention away from more pressing problems.
Unless one has an inside information, it is difficult to know what is going in the mind of FPRRD but it is probably safe to say that as far as he is concerned, the UniTeam is all but dead.
The question is whether the daughter, Vice President Sarah Duterte, will agree considering she is known to have a mind of her own and might not necessarily agree with the father.
Both she and the President are at least outwardly trying to portray that all is well in the UniTeam.
But this is probably only be delaying the inevitable considering that FPRRD holds a considerable sway among those in the UniTeam.
Many in the current administration, for instance, are leftovers from the Duterte administration.
If he takes these people away from the team, who will be left behind?
Furthermore, we Filipinos generally subscribe to the saying that blood is thicker than water.
So, what must be going on right now between both sides is pakiramdaman or simply watching each other’s move to see who will blink first.
What is important for the administration is to find out who are pushing for the breakup and what sort of breakup will it be.
As some observers have pointed out, if the tension in the UniTeam is left to the President and the Vice President to resolve, chances are that a solution could be found.
But if there are strong outside forces influencing what should happen like FPRRD, then any resolution becomes harder and a breakup will happen which some people from both groups are maybe wishing anyway.
It is unfortunate, of course, but such is the nature of our politics.
With all the problems the country is facing like the West Philippine Sea, climate change and El Niño, the focus seems to be on more mundane issues.
The WPS issue for instance, is so critical but is not getting the kind of priority it deserves.