Duterte's braggadocio versus Trillanes and De Lima

The whole nation was glued to the TV last week as the House Quad Committee provided the people with an effective distraction from super typhoons Nica, Ofel, and Pepito, right after the first salvo of Kristine, Leon, and Marce. The investigation was scheduled, then cancelled, then pushed through again. PRRD had his way. Having put in one room a former president, two former senators, and a coterie of former Cabinet officials was a smashing production success.

The four chairmen of the quad committees, Congressmen Ace Barbers of Surigao, Dan Fernandez of Laguna, Benny Abante of Manila, and partylist Rep. Pads Carap Paduano have given former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte maximum leeway to make astounding admissions and very daring confessions to serious felonies that may be used against him in any court of law. The former president was at his best, bragging about his daring pursuits, adventures, and exploits against criminals both as a former prosecutor, Davao City mayor, and as president. The ICC was, of course, listening, so were the Commission on Human Rights, the Makabayan Bloc in Congress, and the progressive sectors in Philippine society.

President Duterte admitted that he takes individual and personal responsibility for all that his police officers and men and women did in pursuance of his orders to go all out against drugs. He narrated certain events and corroborated certain facts which were testified to earlier by other witnesses and resource persons. The consensus of many lawyers was that the admissions under oath made by the former president were very much incriminating. He is a lawyer and he was assisted by legal luminaries like attorneys Sal Panelo, Bingbong Medialdea, and Bebot Bello, former DOLE secretary and Taiwan-based MECO chairman, President Duterte knew the legal consequences of his admissions against interests.

Former senator Leila de Lima was sitting next to the former president and the quad committee chairmen had to ask whether she was comfortable and whether she wanted to transfer to another seat. She answered that she was not comfortable but she was not asking for a transfer. Having been detained for almost seven years for crimes she never committed, and having suffered the anguish, pain, anger, and resentment, she could not find any other more serious discomfort than being deprived of liberty for more than six years. But the feisty lady senator was able to express herself in a very eloquent and audacious manner. I thought that it was part of her healing process.

But the more provocative, the more combative, and the more aggressive and confrontational tactic was applied by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV. He announced that he filed plunder cases against the president. He claimed that the Dutertes had multi-millions and he was even making some very risky allegations that these amounts were drug money. The former president was visible agitated and he was caught on camera in the overt act of trying to get physical against Trillanes. In a way, Trillanes silently laughed because I believed that it was really his intention to make the former president angry, so that he would be rattled and he would hopefully exacerbate his admissions.

The bottom line of all these is that the exercise really was a success for the quad committee. It was a win for the families of the victims and also of former senators Trillanes and De Lima. I am afraid that it was a big loss for Duterte. By being too loquacious and audacious, he was making so many admissions against interests. All these admissions shall hound him later in either Philippine courts or in the ICC, or both.

Duterte should have listened to his Chinese friends like Michael Yang: Daming sabi, daming mali, konting sabi, konti mali. Wala sabi, wala mali. I can tell you, he made a lot of mali. His machismo and braggadocio shall definitely haunt him for the rest of his life. Mark my words.