“The issue is much deeper than political dynasty.”
The decision by President Duterte to run for vice president is to test how the people will react. He is merely sounding out his chances. But unknown to him, he is trapped in selecting his most trusted subaltern to run for president believing he will not be handed over to the International Criminal Court and between his daughter Sara who is determined to dismantle the condone sanitaire on the President. In that, Duterte is now having a dilemma to ensure his liberty beyond 2022.
The choice to run for vice president is mandated by an overtly hypocritical constitution. The provision impliedly expresses the grudge of Mrs. Aquino against her predecessor. The razor of political vengeance is deeply embedded in the DNA of the opposition. The opposition does not care about the purpose of the election or the changes that transpired.
Election today has a totally different purpose. Those in power are obligated to protect their position while the opposition gnash their teeth to make good on their revenge.
Election has been reduced to gambling where those who can afford must bet for their place in our society.
Duterte’s decision to run for vice president may not be a wise choice. The game plan is much closer than politics. This explains why Sara has to try her luck; she cannot stand seeing the man Friday of her father becoming president and her boss.
Taking a shot at the presidency is wise and a win-win proposition. It will be a fight between her, Leni Robredo whose political fortune came after the accidental death of her husband, and Senators Bong Go and Panfilo Lacson. Suddenly, Leni finds herself up against the wrong person.
The prospect of Sara running against the subaltern of her father is acceptable. There is no legal or moral impediment that will prevent her except that underneath the struggle is beyond the definition of politics, which is to prevent the extension of power to one who has been exercising a cordon sanitaire on the President.
If that happens, Sara will be compelled to nominate BBM as her running mate to avoid the odd situation of her directly clashing against her father. This also solves the nagging problem of the President. He is assured that both BBM and his subaltern will not hand him over to the ICC. Her daughter will provide a safe place for him while getting rid of his father’s man Friday to allow her to freely decide the day-to-day business of running the government.
There is no hatchet to draw between the Marcoses and the Dutertes. Both political titans have been observing the same ideological orbit that was initiated by Ferdinand Marcos except that the President is more decisive, more blatant and excessively harsh in bulls***ting his political enemies including the US. Digong has fulfilled the last wish of the deceased president by burying him in the Libingan ng mga Bayani and in speeding up of the vindictive cases that have long been pending in court.
Most political analysts say the President is the continuation of the Marcos policy of asserting our sovereignty and self-reliance, in re-aligning our relations with our Asian neighbors and accelerating economic development.
The opposition may take these internal differences in the family as an opportunity to divide the administration. The opposition, being thirsty for blood, will focus on accusing Senator Bong Go of steering the country’s policy toward China. But it is unlikely Filipinos will buy this; never before has Philippine politics descended to one of racial antagonism. Historically, it was only the clerics and the insulares—mestizos that cultivated the anti-Chinese sentiment when they created the Parian and later expelled the Chinese to Pampanga.
On the other hand, many see Bong Go as a wily politician biding his time. He has antagonized many senior politicians who are members of the Cabinet and Congress. The President often consults Go before referring the matter to the concerned Cabinet member. Anybody who criticizes him is sternly rebuked by the President as if to tell the person he does not know who Bong Go is.
The paradigm shift in the strategy of the administration has confused Leni and the opposition. She could sense her ambition is facing a formidable task such that she is now toying with the idea of running in Camarines Sur. Robredo knows that most of her supporters were merely propped up by the Church and by the US-supported political agitators. She doubts whether she can still carry on the feat of repeating the massive electoral fraud that made her win through the US-operated cheating machine.
Even then, there is no incumbent politician willing to give her a slot for the local position. Such a decision could result in political fiasco as there is greater probability that she will not make it. She must bear in mind that her local bailiwick is different from the voters in a national election, and the result might just expose her altogether as a political demagogue.
The political game plan of Robredo has been exposed — she is a creation of political brokers principally led by the ignorant but fanatical followers of the Church and by the US lobby dreaming of keeping their dying empire. Besides, the discredited chairman of the Comelec is now a hunted criminal loitering in the US, and there is doubt whether Smartmatic can deliver the same magic of swindling the Filipino electorate.
Some believe Duterte will not allow the hypocrites to participate in the counting or tabulating of the votes that resulted instead in the rigging of the result. Duterte must bear in mind he is the principal target in this electoral exercise.
Moreover, many failed to read the political moves of Sara. Before she expresses her sentiment, every move she takes is noticeably calculated. Her running for mayor of Davao and informing the Hugpong ng Pagbabago is telling she has a much deeper political motivation. Though she has not said anything, her move is telling of her wanting to check the family from being isolated by senator Bong Go.
Many could sense the President is willing to settle for a second slot but that could revise the political ambition of Robredo. Should Digong choose to run for vice president, Robredo will have an arduous task to tackle. It is doubtful whether she has the nerve to do it like what they did in 2016. Yes, she won against BBM but that costs her much tenderloin to keep that cheated post. Many consider Sarah as the fighting lady of Davao to give Leni a reminder not to mess with her.
Thus, the sudden rearrangement in the political line-up simply means that Sara herself is asserting her say about the future of the political foundation erected by her father. She now tries to carve her own political destiny by challenging the would-be successor to her father’s post. The issue is much deeper than political dynasty but one that revolves on the possibility of her father being manipulated by somebody alien to the family.