Part 2
LAST week’s column stirred a hornet’s nest of stinging comments from my friends from both sides of the aisle — the Yellow horde and the DDS. The former regards this conspiracy as a veritable manifestation of the dying throes of a strongman feigning to be a strong leader of a weak state. Or as I gather from various blogs in social media “…a leader who equates the use of political will with that of a totalitarian wielding political bully power.” A culmination of the two years of policy bumbling, merely coping with the challenges of the presidency and outright mis-governance lathered with copious amounts of misogynic statements and attacks against the Catholic Church. This is a harsh judgment of DU30’s regime, but not entirely unexpected as the PNoy administration’s skeletons in the closet are now being exposed: the irregular Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) controversy, Dengvaxia deaths due to corruption, pork barrel scam (Napoles) and a host of anomalies, making PNoy and his minions vulnerable to possible jail terms — as his predecessors GMA and Erap went through. We Filipinos have the propensity to jail our presidents; or in a more depraved way, the incoming regime, if in opposition, will exact its pound of flesh. Thus, what GMA did to Erap, and what PNoy did to GMA and what DU30 will do to PNoy — are by far the trend. If the opposition wins after DU30, then he may also see the other side of a jail cell.
But there were positive remarks too on my conspiracy article. In fact, certain permutations to the conspiracy theory were added, suggesting a wide traction that seem to make the scenarios more believable. For instance, some proffered the idea that all these were tolerated upon his sufferance and mostly emanated from the mind of the political strategist — the Deegong himself — who may have foreseen and even planned this a long time ago. In summary, this is a foreplay to the long-awaited revolutionary government (revgov) that has particularly resonated with his true believers. Accordingly, the Deegong is wise enough to lull the Yellows into a state of confidence, lethargy even. And he will pounce at the time of his choosing.
To fortify the DU30’s authorship of the conspiracy theory, they volunteered the information that long before his ally GMA was installed as speaker in the House of Representatives, the bureaucracy was being reconfigured with retired military men, seconded into the President’s coterie, occupying key positions –“…59 retired military generals, police directors, admirals and colonels (were to date) appointed to the Cabinet and other agencies, including government-owned corporations. Many of them are either from Mindanao or were assigned to Davao City where Mr. Duterte served as mayor for 22 years…” (Inquirer.net, Fe Zamora, Philip Tubeza). But more importantly, key officials, from the AFP chief of staff to area commanders, police generals and regional directors, which matter the most in a junta-led government, were personally hand-picked by DU30. He learned well from his lamented predecessor, President Marcos, whom he professed to admire greatly.
Which brings the conspiracy theory to the part played by the Marcoses. The family has staged a comeback with the help of DU30 but at the same time their impact has been greatly moderated; thus, they must remain the liege lords of the north in obeisance to the DU30 and the Duterte that may come after the Deegong, Sarah. With the Sandiganbayan’s decision finding the matriarch Imelda guilty on seven counts, and the pending P200-billion forfeiture case hanging like Damocles’ sword over them, the Marcoses understand where power lies. For all intents and purposes, only the Marcos name and a whiff of the legend lingers. Bongbong’s move against Leni is going nowhere and even if he wins the protest, it will come too late. And the most capable of the Marcoses after Ferdinand himself, Imee, may just wither in the vine in the Senate — if she makes it. And the brains, the political centurions and structures that were once formidable adjuncts to the family — Danding Cojuangco, Estelito Mendoza, Lucio Tan, Enrile and their ilk — may now be in an advanced state of dementia. And their North is no longer solid as there are now more claimants. There is no longer a “king of the north,” to paraphrase “The Game of Thrones.” Thus, the conspiracy theory with the suspected provenance of the Deegong has more credence. But how will this blow in the international scene? Not much, really.
Our closest ally America, while awaiting the impeachment of a clueless President who is likewise accused of being a stooge or spy of the Russians, is really of no consequence to the realities of the Philippines. We symbolically cut our umbilical cord with mother America when the Deegong did his song and dance number on his pivot to China, but our direct emotional ties with 2 million Filipinos in America are a permanent unbreakable bond. And our substitution for China’s embrace is proving to be awkwardly uncomfortable with the Chinese territorial claims and encroachment into our sovereignty unchecked, and with the Deegong postponing confrontation with the inevitable to the next regime.
Shamelessly we have telegraphed to our neighbors in Asia and to the world that despite our moral victory at the UN arbitral court, China can do whatever it wants. It will spread morsels and scraps our way and we will take them — under the guise of the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program. And we will be thankful. We are in effect already a province of China. So, the conspiracy theory, either way, does not matter to them.
And where will be the adherents of real reform? The believers in a federal-parliamentary government and the liberalization of our economy through constitutional revisions? We’ve been had!
And we are again faced with an election where the name brands, the political dynasts and the discredited politicians freed from their jail terms may again win. And they will once more ride herd over this country and continue sucking the marrows of our countrymen – because the stupid voters will put them in power. And we will celebrate this as the triumph of democracy.
Perhaps the conspiracy theory is just a theory. Perhaps it is a product of the minds of desperate Filipinos who have been waiting for the pagbabago to happen. Perhaps it is a longing for freedom-loving, honest and handworking constituents like many of us to repair to a reverie where we are momentarily made safe. Perhaps, this is just a projection of our fears and hopes. Or perhaps, this is in fact true, ongoing and may soon erupt. Perhaps…!
