Sara’s “Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune”

As William Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet: "To be, or not to be, that is the question, Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing, end them: to die, to sleep."

The enemies, whether in conspiracy among each other, or acting individually and independently on their own, are bombarding mercilessly on the vice president with a barrage of legal attacks in the forms of impeachment, disbarment, NBI investigations, PNP complaints, and the relentless series of House Quad investigations, supposedly in aid of prosecution, or persecution, if you will. I am afraid that all these constitute an overkill that can produce the complete opposite of the desire to eliminate her from the presidential pintakasi in 2028.

Then Shakespeare went on in Hamlet: "That makes Calamity so long a life. For who would bear the Whips and Scorns of time, The Oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised Love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes."

The impeachment complaint, although filed by some credible complainants, might have suffered an extrinsic defect in timing. It was filed when there were only nine sessions left before adjournment. The rules, according to the House secretary general, require that impeachment complaints should be filed at least 10 session days before adjournment. Because of this palpable procedural flaw concerning reglementary periods, the next impeachment complaint might be barred for one year. This was either a miscalculation or an honest mistake. It couldn’t have been intentional for the purpose of delaying another impeachment charge against her.

The impeachment accuses Sara of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes. The complainants insist she mishandled and or misappropriated government money under the supposed guise of intelligence and confidential funds, that she failed to properly account for multi-millions entrusted to her as head of agency both in the Office of the Vice President and DepEd. She is also being held to account for alleged ill-gotten wealth, aside from her supposedly-unlawful threats against the president, the first lady, and the House speaker. She is also being held to account for her mysterious silence relative to the Chinese intrusions in the West Philippine Sea.

The disbarment charge against Sara was filed by Larry Gadon, a disbarred lawyer himself, who is now working directly under the Office of the President. Gadon says that if the Supreme Court stripped him of his license because of the outrageous invectives that he uttered against a Rappler reporter, then with more reason that Sara be likewise disbarred for hurling unprintables against the president, the first lady, and House speaker. Gadon also announced that he would also file disbarment charges against Sara's father, the former president.

On top of impeachment and disbarment, the NBI is also investigating Sara for what she uttered in her tantrum and outburst. This is apart from what the Philippine National Police filed for alleged assault against agents of persons in authority, in connection with the commotion while Atty. Zuleika Lopez was being transported from the House detention center to either the Veterans Medical Center or to Saint Luke’s. The vice president, being a very action-oriented official, was very heavily and actually involved in the hullabaloo related to her chief of staff, lawyer Lopez.

All these, in rapid succession, remind us of the blitzkrieg barrage of missiles released from the Kremlin precisely to pulverize Kiev, and not unlike the long-range guided missiles from Israel to both Lebanon and Gaza. This is war, and the targets are the vice president and her father. This is also karma and a righteous retaliation for the many insults the Dutertes threw in the direction of the Marcoses and also to the speaker. A tit for a tat, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. This is total war, no retreat, no surrender.

I am afraid, however, that if the Palace continues with this overkill, the sympathy of the "hoi polloi" shall shift to the side of the beleaguered. The Filipino paradigm is always favoring the underdog, (even if the dog is full of fleas).

The master strategists of Malacañang should better recalculate the administration's tactical moves, so as not to sabotage BBM's overall strategic objective. They should go back to Sun Tzu's "The Art of War."