From cat to lion king From Sebastian to Simba.

The ongoing impeachment trial of VP Sara Duterte has started to look like the Disney movie “The Lion King” where the first King Mufasa is removed from the picture by a scheming, envious Scar who usurps the throne.

As a result, Mufasa’s son Simba self-exiles away from the kingdom, accompanied by Rafiki who becomes Simba’s mentor and encourager. Simba hooks up with his childhood friend Nala, who challenges him to think of the pride/family and grow up.

By force of circumstance and backed by his family and community, Simba comes face to face with Scar, transforms into the next generation Lion King, deposes and disposes of the villain Scar.

In the true to life version at the impeachment trial, the prosecution invited or subpoenaed Davao Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte to appear as a hostile witness in his own sister’s trial, thereby forcing Baste Duterte to come face to face with their enemies.

Some say that the prosecution may have been on a fishing expedition hoping to pressure, confuse and then force Baste Duterte to fumble and accidentally implicate or complicate matters for the defense.

Others think that inviting Baste Duterte was part of a bigger plot to discredit Vice President Sara Duterte and her family while prolonging the impeachment trial to no end.

Whatever the plan or strategy was, someone did not look far enough to consider the consequences of dragging the Vice President’s brother from far away Davao to a showdown with their enemies.

I’m no lawyer so I won’t comment on his performance as a hostile witness. But as far as optics and impressions go, the conduct and appearance of Baste Duterte was so powerful, admirably contemptuous, confident, even scary.

With his razor shaved head, tattoos visible on his arm and neck, dark clothes, sewn together with his piercing gaze or stare, Baste was all business. At a time when majority of the 2028 voters will be Gen Z, Baste Duterte’s looks and countenance will certainly be relatable and impactful.

Those of us who only recently watched him long enough, started to realize that they were looking at the new generation, modern version of Rodrigo Duterte.

More than the comparison, the prominent appearance of Mayor Baste validated my point that neutralizing Sara Duterte as presidential candidate in 2028 through impeachment does not end there.

Instead of placing Mayor Baste under an interrogation light, the impeachment prosecution panel placed him under the spotlight like a celebrity. Baste’s “coming out party” turned out to be a grim reminder to their enemies that there are other Duterte’s in line.

And if they thought Sara Duterte was tough, Baste or even his brother Pulong Duterte will surely give them nightmares. And if not a Duterte, the family and their party can support one of their own.

We have seen enough elections were the lead candidate dropped out of the race or was defeated by a surprise candidate. Fidel Ramos, Erap Estrada, Noynoy Aquino and Rodrigo Duterte all surprised the experts or political strategists.

Not a single one of them was a perfect candidate. They either had moral failures at home or in their marriage, character weakness, were unprepared for the scope and magnitude of the job or, plainly put, did not fit our individual expectation of what a “president” should be.

In some cases, the surprise candidate stepped into the limelight under the right circumstance. His opponents were not willing to spend on their campaign or could not get enough funding and as a result, logistics or deals could not be made.

In a couple of elections, public sentiment was so strong on issues such as weak leadership, blackouts, ignoring poverty alleviation, corruption or drugs or peace and order.

Under all of that, a shared sense of anger and desperation united factions without anybody trying. In 2028 it could be a case of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

The Filipino people are currently enraged by the extent and degree of corruption in the Philippines. Inflation and weak leadership and weaponization of government has become a daily curse for most of us. Time and again desperation has driven us to embrace the unknown.

Will we do it again in 2028? Will we see the Philippine version of Simba returning as the Lion King or will we welcome back a new season of “gone with the floods?”

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Cong. Benny Abante has once again returned to public view not as a combative legislator investigating resource persons, but as a “sleeper,” as in caught sleeping at the Senate in the middle of an impeachment trial.

I can only imagine the embarrassment if not humiliation of Congressman Abante after so many people shared the videos online. But Cong. Abante’s sleeping on the job may soon turn into sleepless nights.

I received an email informing the media that Luis “Joey” Chua Uy, who won the 2025 congressional race in the 6th district of Manila but subsequently nullified by Comelec, has brought his election dispute with the Commission on Elections to the Supreme Court.

The case is worth following because the case will tackle constitutional issues concerning citizenship, definition of who is a native born, naturalized and qualified candidate for public office relative to the citizenship background of one’s parents, similar to the issues raised against FPJ, etc.

My question is, if the petitioner wins, will he end up being like Toti Cariño, the one-day congressman?

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