In responding to Vice President Sara Duterte’s reminder to Filipinos that they have the “right to show their anger” towards government, Malacañang turned the spotlight to recent history, and the checkered administration of her father, Rodrigo Duterte.
“Unang-una, nakakalungkot po na mula sa pangalawang pinakamataas na lider ng bansa ay mukha pang nag-i-encourage siya sa mga tao na magalit sa gobyerno. Noong nalaman po ito ng Pangulo ay wala po siyang naging reaksiyon dito dahil hindi nga po ito dapat nanggagaling sa pangalawang pinakamataas na lider ng bansa,” said Undersecretary Claire Castro, the Presidential Communications Office’s designated press officer, in a briefing on Thursday, February 27.
(First of all, it’s sad that the second highest elected official of the land seems to be encouraging people to get angry at government. When he learned about this, the President had no reaction because this should not have come from the second highest leader of the land.)
“Ang tanong lamang po: Noong panahon ba ng kanyang ama, nagsabi rin po ba siya na maaari po kayong magalit lalong-lalo na po noong ang kanyang ama ay nabansagan at nabigyan po at kinilala bilang ‘most corrupt’ noong 2017?” Castro asked.
“Natatandaan ninyo po ba…noong 2016 ay runner-up lang si pangulo bilang ‘most corrupt’; siya ay kinilala ng Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) pero noong 2017 ay nag-level up si dating pangulong Duterte at siya na po iyong naging awardee at kinilala ng People of the Year, being the most corrupt,” she added.
(So the question here is: when her father was president, did she also say that it was right to be mad at the government, especially when her father was called the “most corrupt” in 2017? If you recall, former president Duterte was only the runner-up in 2016, then in 2017, he leveled up and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project recognized him, and he was also recognized as People of the Year for being the most corrupt.)
Castro was referring to the OCCRP’s decision to name the former president as “Person of the Year” for 2017 because of his war on drugs. The OCCRP gave that title to an “individual who has done the most in the world to advance organized criminal activity and corruption.”
“While he is not your typical corrupt leader, he has empowered corruption in an innovative way. His death squads have allegedly focused on criminals but, in fact, are less discriminating. He has empowered a bully-run system of survival of the fiercest. In the end, the Philippines is more corrupt, more cruel, and less democratic,” OCCRP editor Drew Sullivan said at the time.
The Vice President had said in vote-rich Cebu last weekend that it was only right for Filipinos to show their “anger” towards the government since the Constitution protects their freedom of speech and freedom of expression. When her father was president, however, he attacked critics who spoke up or reported about his drug war and other controversial policies. The best examples are former senator Leila de Lima and media organizations ABS-CBN and Rappler.
Sara Duterte made the remarks in the same weekend the Hakbang ng Maisug, a group composed of pro-Duterte vloggers and supporters of the Duterte patriarch and his kin, organized an “indignation rally” in Cebu. During that rally, the older Duterte said President Marcos was, like his father, “veering towards dictatorship.”
President Marcos and the Vice President were allies in the 2022 presidential polls but that coalition, which catapulted them into an easy victory, has long since crumbled. Vice President Duterte resigned from her post as education chief. In early February, just before the 19th Congress’ long break for the 2025 elections, the House of Representatives impeached the Vice President. The House is dominated by allies of Marcos and is headed by Speaker Martin Romualdez, the President’s cousin.
Part of ‘destabilization’ plot?
Castro said that while the Vice President was free to express her own sentiments, she should also be more circumspect about the faults of her father.
“So, parang ang pag-encourage po ba niya na magalit ang tao ay mayroon po ba itong link doon sa sinasabing destabilization at pinapatungkulan palagi na ang taumbayan ay dapat nang kumilos laban sa gobyerno?” she said.
(It’s like she’s encouraging people to be angry, it’s as if it has links to supposed talks of destabilization, and always hinting that people should already be moving against the government.)
“So, being the Vice President…mas maganda po sana kung siya po ay mag-i-encourage sa mga tao na makipagtulungan na lang instead of having this feeling of hatred against the government. Mas maganda po na sabay-sabay sana tayong umangat kaysa sa may mga ibang tao na gustong magpabagsak ng gobyerno,” added Castro.
(As the Vice President, it would be better if she encouraged Filipinos to help the government instead of having this feeling of hatred against the government. It’s better to help each other progress instead of encouraging people who want to see the government’s downfall.)
While Sara Duterte coalesced with Marcos in 2022, the Duterte patriatch was never a fan of the latter. He had long criticized Marcos for being a “weak leader,” and hinted at, before directly accusing him, of using illegal drugs. At the same time, Duterte has expressed adoration of the President’s father and namesake, the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.
Duterte and Marcos have assumed the role of chief campaigner for their respective Senate bets in 2025. The majority of senatorial candidates who lead voters’ preference polls belong to Marcos’ Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas. Only two of former president Duterte’s anointed candidates — reelectionist PDP-Laban senators Bong Go and Ronald dela Rosa — have statistical chances of winning in 2025, if elections were held in February, according to the same polls.
Marcos, in campaigning for his bets, has framed the election as a choice between his vision of a “New Philippines” and a bloody, pro-China, pro-POGO past under Duterte. The former president, meanwhile, has assailed the Marcos administration for failing to control the prices of basic goods and for supposedly letting criminality go unchecked.
Castro had earlier defended Marcos from criticism over his campaign stump speech by pointing out that he did not name names in criticizing senatorial candidates linked to the drug war, were pro-China, or were ill-prepared for the job. – Rappler.com