“President Duterte is doing a good job of it.”
I have never been a Rodrigo Duterte fan. In fact, I hit him hard when he first declared his intention to run for president during the last week of November of 2015. I hoped I could contribute something to stop him from winning the elections. I sensed then there was something wrong with him treating killing people as if it were a normal thing. Cursing the Pope was something I could not stomach.
But he eventually won and there was nothing I could do anymore except to accept that fact. I could have continued criticizing him in my space allotted for me in the newspaper I used to write for and even here, in the Manila Standard.
However, I abhor the Yellows, now transformed into the Pinklaws, more than I could hate him and I am aware everything I write that would be critical of Digong would be used by the Yellows, in furtherance of their objective to regain power.
While this would, at first, look to be contrary to my principle of never having to go neutral as being neutral is tantamount to being an indirect advocacy to preserve the status quo, I’d rather make an exception this time. Initially, I was resolute to preserve the existing state as it is today rather than regress to the days of the Yellows. Anyway, I thought, I would still get to hit him from time to time when I think he is getting overboard when he justifies and defends the blunders and alleged anomalies he and his people have committed.
However, Mr. Duterte’s latest acts indicate he is losing touch with reality, to the point of sacrificing whatever he had accomplished during the last five years and four months – his legacy he is supposed to leave behind when he steps down at noon of June 30 next year.
Frankly, I admire his achievements in infrastructure. Though it cost a few thousand lives in his war against drugs and the fact a few suspected drug lords were seen in his company, we have to admit there was a drop in the illegal drug trade. His campaign against insurgency also scored big hits. And those were the things I believe which kept him afloat up to now.
But then, the old man is beginning to show signs he is losing control. And what a way to choose the path to self-destruct than the same politics which catapulted him to power in 2016.
Although he sounded a misogynist when he rejected the idea of his daughter replacing him in the 2022 polls, I honestly appreciated him for that as endorsing Inday Sara would be a great insult to all of us.
But when he personally accompanied his man-Friday to file for his certificate of candidacy for the vice presidency, whatever was left of my little respect for him shattered. For the longest time, he had been defending Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go against criticism, shielding him from allegations of corruption by saying the latter is a billionaire. This even as a letter surface linking him and his underling Christopher Lloyd Lao to the frigate.
Recently, Go had also been linked to the questionable procurement of billions of pesos worth of Covid-19 response paraphernalia.
Now, do we accept Digong’s argument that Go cannot commit corruption because he already is a billionaire? Well, if his line of argument is true, then there is no reason why we would suspect oligarchs of exploiting people to further enrich themselves.
But Digong did not stop there. When his daughter filed her CoC as a substitute candidate, engaging Go in a head-to-head battle, he dragged the latter back to the Commission on Elections to file instead a CoC for president and insinuated then he was to run for VP.
However, when asked if was willing to square it off with his daughter, Digong acted as if he did not know Inday Sara had already filed her CoC for VP. A classic Digong bluff. Are we to believe him he was not aware of the political developments of the past days leading to that eventful Saturday?
Anyway, he did not push through with his VP run and instead settled for a chance for a senatorial seat. But hardly had everyone settled on their seats, Digong started attacking his daughter and her running mate, former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.
He lashed at Inday Sara for opting to run for VP when she was supposedly leading in the presidential surveys. But that was months ago, and weeks before the filing of CoCs, Marcos was leading well ahead of the other aspirants. And granted Sara was leading in the presidential survey, wasn’t it him who said she was not fit to be president “because she was a woman?”
He then attacked BBM saying he didn’t support him ever since because he’s pro-communist. What? This man is going out of his mind! Why accuse Marcos, of all people, of siding with the communists?
And while he was red-tagging Marcos, several personalities linked to him began posting cryptic messages in the social media about a presidential candidate caught sniffing cocaine. While the social media post did not mention any name, a source sent me a message saying they were instructed to begin posting such messages including one that would insinuate they are in the possession of a video showing BBM in such an act.
Again, granting if that is true, why would BBM allow himself to be videoed in such a compromising act? Who took the video? And if indeed there was such evidence, why did Digong never lift a finger to have him charged and arrested? Why did he not include him in his drug list? More importantly, why only now?
Apparently not yet finished, Digong then trained his attention to the congressmen who were with his daughter in Balesin a day before she filed her CoC. He accused them, together with BBM, of convincing Sara to settle for the post of the vice president.
Is he saying that Sara has no mind of her own? And is he not aware BBM is keen on seeking the presidency, even considering him to be his running mate when he declared months ago, he might be seeking the second highest post of the land?
And what have the congressmen who flew to Balesin to celebrate Speaker Lord Velasco’s birthday, got to do with Sara’s decision?
Last Tuesday, Digong reportedly asked 100 lawmakers who went to Balesin to report to the Palace. According to a solon who was present during the dinner, Digong endorsed Go and personally asked them to ensure his candidate would get a high rating in the next survey. But when Velasco reportedly endorsed Sara, the President was said to be quiet, never uttering a single word.
Digong, as I see it, is going overboard just to favor his man Friday, who reportedly is very close to his partner Honeylet. He has openly attacked her and now, is refusing to extend any support. Probably, he has forgotten about the Filipino culture on how we value family ties. He has gone inconsistent in attacking his opponents and that of his Friday, but nothing can top his personal attack on his daughter just to favor Go.
He is self-destructing.
But even then, I hope he can finish his term. I really don’t want to see a Yellow occupying the seat of power for even a single day.