Sara: Clueless and out of her depth

They say crises define leadership. In such moments, leaders are either lauded for their ability to steer the public through uncertainty, problem-solving skills and strong vision or exposed as amateurs, unimaginative and lacking in basic leadership. Vice President Sara Duterte falls into the latter category.

With two impeachment complaints filed against her in Congress now deemed sufficient in form and substance by 54 lawmakers – already half the votes needed to impeach her once the case reaches the plenary – Sara has suddenly become far more visible in public. It is a striking shift for someone who, not long ago, avoided media interviews after her P125 million in confidential funds came under scrutiny and after a series of extremely disturbing public meltdowns.

Sara has recently released a steady stream of press statements and video messages, many of them criticizing how slow the government’s response is to the oil crisis, even though she is the second-highest leader of the same government she is lambasting.

While it is true that the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has been painfully slow in responding to many issues, such as bringing its anti-corruption campaign to a logical conclusion, Sara appears equally slow in processing matters in her own head.

In an interview with a fake news outfit owned by jailed accused human trafficker Apollo Quiboloy, Sara offered her “solutions” to the crisis. Chief among them was the immediate “mobilization of planes” to the Middle East to evacuate overseas Filipinos caught in the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

According to her, this would be a “very easy” thing to do. One wonders what universe she inhabits. Haphazardly sending planes in a region where airspaces are closed, militarily contested or tightly restricted is not quite the same as renting a passenger jeep to fetch stranded weekenders from Pansol, Laguna.

She even boasted her camp’s supposed efforts to charter planes during the COVID-19 pandemic to repatriate Filipinos abroad, which the administration can replicate. Hello. A pandemic is not a war. Then, airspaces were open. No missiles were flying. Fighter jets and drones were not contesting the skies.

Yes, there is an urgent need for expatriation. But what is required is a viable strategy comprised of sound diplomacy, the innovative mobilization of assets and resources and careful planning. Sara, despite her long-winded interview, failed to offer even the faintest hint of a roadmap. She demonstrated that talking a lot is no substitute for thinking at all.

This was again on full display in a live telecast where she advised the public to conserve energy by avoiding carpooling and riding bicycles. Yes. She actually said that.

Of course, her loyal minions will probably claim that she merely got confused while reading from a teleprompter. But that excuse only makes the incident more damning. She already had a written statement and a teleprompter to guide her. And yet, she still failed spectacularly.

In the same telecast, Sara called for the creation of a “committee” to monitor the prices of basic goods. Is the Vice President living in a cave? Her “proposal” already exists. It’s called the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

A leader worth their salt understands the substance of what they are saying. They grasp the logic of their own message. And even when technical glitches occur during a live broadcast, they can adjust, adapt and correct themselves. But what we saw instead was a Vice President who appeared not to understand the very words she was reading. She was clueless and out of her depth.

Marcos Jr., of course, is not spared from public scrutiny. The anti-corruption campaign he launched eight months ago has yet to net the big fish. The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) may well fold without much to show for it. The administration promised big, but has so far delivered little. Aside from former senator Bong Revilla, the Discayas and several mid-level DPWH officials, most of the major figures implicated remain free.

And now comes the oil crisis.

The President has asked Congress to expedite a law granting him special powers to suspend fuel excise taxes and has ordered the release of fuel subsidies for transport drivers. Yet many still feel the government is not doing nearly enough.

In truth, much more can be done, such as expanding public transportation options, offering free MRT and LRT rides, mobilizing local governments to provide additional transport services, expanding food subsidies for impoverished families and immediately passing an emergency supplemental budget. If the President continues to dilly-dally, this crisis may well become fertile political ground for the Dutertes to exploit for their own narrow interests.

I have no objection to political actors using crises as opportunities to present their platforms and alternative agendas. What I find troubling are those who exploit crises without offering anything coherent in return, and who simply lust for power.

I can live with a leader’s bluster and performative populism, so long as they are matched by a mind capable of clear thinking and the ability to act with a sense of urgency. We are not asking for a genius, a legal eagle or a rocket scientist. The bar is not that high. All we ask is for the next president to be someone who can think through the most basic of the basics.

But Sara?

If she cannot distinguish the difference between a pandemic and a war, grasp the mandate of a government agency and understand why carpooling and riding bicycles actually save energy, then one must ask, where exactly will this country be in 2028 under her rule?

If a “leader” is clueless about the basics, the people are doomed, basically.