Declaration of war

After all those assurances of enduring friendship, it looks like Vice President Sara Duterte has finally grown sick and tired of pretending to be her UniTeam partner’s BFF.

Last Wednesday, the VP dropped the pretense and came out swinging, for the first time ever, against Marcos administration policies.

The harangue was contained in an open letter that she posted from places unknown where she presumably is still enjoying her vacation, since those nasty invaders of privacy at the NAIA have not released CCTV footage of her return to the country.

Her diatribe looks like a mini counter-SONA, with direct criticism of Marcos 2.0 policies on several key issues and the state of the nation.

Rodrigo Duterte and his two sons have been waging war against the Marcos-Romualdez clan for some time now. But VP Sara, while still a member of the Cabinet, and maintaining the façade of unity with BBM, kept silent as her relatives openly called BBM a drug addict and pushed for his ouster.

In her open letter last Wednesday, the VP left no more room for ambiguity about her loyalties.

It was a declaration of war. You wonder what the VP hopes to achieve. A bump in her ratings?

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Unlike her previous spiteful posts whose muddled messaging left much to speculation, her diatribe needed less guesswork at least on the subjects of her ire.

The VP has joined her father in bewailing foreign “meddling” in domestic affairs – a direct criticism of the architect of foreign policy, BBM.

She also joined her clan in criticizing BBM’s position on the International Criminal Court. Her position is understandable, not just because she’s Daughterte, but also because she herself could be named as a principal in the crimes against humanity case, as Davao City mayor during a period included in the ICC probe.

One issue she raised should resonate with the masses: her beef over the diversion of PhilHealth funds to the congressional pork barrel. She and her clan should focus on such legitimate issues if they want to raise their credibility as the new opposition.

The rest of her diatribe was merely self-pitying blather. Instead of criticizing the overall sorry state of the NAIA, she whined again about the release of the CCTV footage of her departure for her European vacation with her kids (plus husband and mom). If the VP wants privacy, she should quit public office.

She slammed the lack of a flood control master plan, comprehensive disaster plan and infrastructure, conveniently overlooking criticisms of her taking off for a vacation in Germany at the height of Typhoon Carina and the monsoons.

The open letter, addressed to her “Muslim brothers” who had volunteered to provide her security after the pullout of 75 police escorts from her security group, commented on what should be done about the low police-to-population ratio. Inevitably, it drew comments that her security contingent (still huge at over 300) is part of the problem.

Her statements about persistent hunger and poverty, about dishonest, uncaring and corrupt leadership, and about the country sinking into the mire because of those who deceive their way to power, could have come from the traditional opposition.

But the VP should also remember that her father was in office for six years while BBM is only into his third year in power. Who gets more blame for the sorry state of the nation?

People will agree with her statement: “We, Filipinos, deserve more than what we are hearing and seeing from the government right now.”

But when she adds, “We, Filipinos, deserve better,” people inevitably wonder if she’s referring to herself as a “better” alternative.

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The VP, if she’s aiming for the presidency in 2028, needs an adviser with mass communications savvy – someone who can at least vet her statements to ensure that nothing will boomerang on her.

As it is, a common reaction to her harangue on the state of the nation is, “Look who’s talking.”

What the impact of her frontal assault on Marcos 2.0 will be on her ratings will be known by late September, when the pollsters come out with their third quarter surveys on officials’ performance, trust and approval.

As of yesterday, there was no reaction to her harangue from any administration official. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said he did not want to comment on political feuds. Remulla had said the Philippines would not block the Interpol if it wants to enforce an arrest warrant for Rodrigo Duterte and his minions upon ICC request.

The VP’s line about being very tired – “pagod na pagod” – of seeing the country being left behind brings to mind the highly effective “tama na, sobra na, palitan na” slogan of the anti-Marcos forces in 1985-1986. The opposition to Marcos 1.0 culminated in the EDSA revolt.

Will VP Sara’s “pagod na pagod” spiel translate into similar action?

Also the subject of much speculation is how the administration will react to her attack.

Since throwing a hissy fit over the House of Representatives intramurals that led to the demotion of her ally Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the VP has lost P650 million in secret funds, her posts in the Cabinet and the anti-communist task force, and now the police in her private army.

Davao City has reportedly lost millions in funding and the local police has been reorganized without the mayor being notified. Local government officials sympathetic to the Dutertes have been suspended on various charges.

What else can the administration do to the Dutertes and their allies? Yesterday, the Court of Appeals ordered a 20-day freeze on the bank accounts and other assets including vehicles and aircraft of Duterte ally Apollo Quiboloy, his Kingdom of Jesus Christ ministry, SMNI’s parent media company Swara Sug and assets of several of Quiboloy’s supporters.

In Pampanga last Wednesday, a municipal trial court found former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency agent Jonathan Morales guilty of perjury and sentenced him to four months in prison plus a fine of P1,000 for an offense committed in 2011. Morales was Sen. Ronald dela Rosa’s star witness in the so-called PDEA leaks; he testified that BBM had been tagged as a drug personality along with actress Maricel Soriano in raw intel provided to the PDEA in 2012.

Up next: the arrest of the ICC “suspects.”

Who will win this war?