In fairness to VP Sara

The DDS camp is, of course, exhilarated by VP Sara Duterte’s revelations re her history with the Marcos sibs, Imee and BBM — she has given vloggers and pundits heaps of new and hot quotable quotes, social media content, to further fuel anti-BBM sentiments.

The anti-DDS naman, whether pro-Marcos or pinklawan or undecided, are mostly rather aghast, if titillated, at certain choice cuts, particularly the threat addressed to Imee in some group chat that if the political attacks on her (Sara) did not stop, “Huhukayin ko ang tatay ninyo (sa LNMB) at itatapon ko sa West Philippine Sea.”  Empty threat?  Matindi just the same because that LNMB burial remains controversial. And then when she started sniffling, the VP was quick to explain, “Hindi ako umiiyak, hindi ako nagco-cocaine, malamig lang yung aircon.” Smooth potshot that.

Everyone’s waiting for Imee and BBM to respond, in their separate ways. But the sibs are on silent mode. Why dignify any of it, is the Marcos style, and it has served them well, it would seem. Especially since pundits are saying that the VP has become “unhinged” if not “emotionally unstable” and need not be taken seriously.

At this point in time, it’s good to be reminded when exactly relations between the Marcoses and the Dutertes started to deteriorate, leading to this unmistakable declaration of war by the VP.

After some browsing I tracked it back to May 2023 when Sara ally, Rep. Gloria Arroyo, was removed as senior deputy speaker, supposedly because she was planning a coup to replace Martin Romualdez (a replay of June 2018 when Arroyo replaced Pantaleon Alvarez) as Speaker. A few days later, “tambaloslos” became part of the public vocabulary, courtesy of the VP. By the new year the Romualdez House was pushing for Charter Change, purportedly to loosen economic restrictions but suspectedly to shift from bicam to uni-parliamentary, no VP needed, and BBM could rule forever as prime minister. That chacha attempt failed, thanks to the Zubiri Senate. But in recent months, Congress budget hearings have been poking into the Office of the VP’s (or is it the DepEd’s confidential fund) 2022 budget, departing from congressional tradition (maybe about time?) exempting the president’s and the vp’s budget from such scrutiny. The VP insists that the Lower House is just fishing for evidence of impeachable wrongdoing on her part, AND says she has a list of 5 impeachable offenses by BBM.

In effect, matagal nang nagti-tit-for-tat ang dalawang kampo. Sabi nga (daw) ni former Sen. Manny Villar, it’s all about 2028. The UniTeam promise, premise, was that 2028 would be Sara’s turn as president, with BBM’s annointment. Now that the prospect has dimmed considerably, I imagine that the VP isn’t going to let up on the diatribes and that the DDS are back to calling on their peeps to do an EDSA before Congress succeeds in impeaching her.

To my mind, that sit-down with media was a declaration of war, a point of no return. There is no taking back any of her claims, allegations, re the Marcos sibs, the same with the promise of more to come vs the Speaker first cousin and the First Lady.

I don’t think she’s unhinged. Rather, she’s on the warpath. After all the Romualdez Congress is demonizing her like hell.  But I do take issue with her claim that the BBM admin has merely tolerated her, or that she has gained nothing from UniTeam.

For one, as VP she is just a heartbeat away from the presidency. For another,  BBM has kept the ICC out. Maybe in the prez’s balance sheet, that’s the quid pro quo. Quits-quits na sila sa bayani burial ni Marcos Sr.

Garma “sings” — good for her, good of her

Read “Garma’s metanoia” by Philstar‘s Tony Lopez.

While mayor of Davao in 1998, Duterte had taken a liking on the beauteous young police officer, then Lieut. Garma, 23, a 1997 graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy, and who was a city police station commander. She would enjoy a rapid rise, from senior officer of the Davao Police, to regional police chief based in Cebu, Central Visayas, where she was accused of her own EJKs, then to a cushy job inside Malacañang’s Office of the President on police matters, and finally to a lucrative early retirement sinecure as general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

… Garma tried to escape the QuadComm dragnet on Aug. 28, 2024 but was stopped at the airport. (Her US visa was cancelled). Initially, she ignored House summons. During previous appearances (Sept. 12 and Sept. 27, 2024), she was a picture of monstrous defiance and contempt, forcing QuadComm to detain her indefinitely.

Suddenly, after “considerable reflection,” a tearful Garma on Friday decided to finally face the music, and tell the truth before the powerful House Quad Committee….

In her three-page 1,372-word affidavit, Garma claimed to have told “everything I personally know about the war on drugs during the former administration” … despite fears they could “significantly endanger my life, the safety of my family, and others close to me.”

Detained in Congress since September 12, having been cited in contempt for lying, Royina Garma decided to come clean a month later. The truth would set her free.

She implicated President Rodrigo “Roa” Duterte as the mastermind behind his horrific regime’s thousands of extrajudicial killings with huge cash rewards liberally doled out, for three purposes: one, for officers who executed the kills; two, to finance the operations, and three, refund operational expenses, while replicating nationwide, the so-called Davao model of EJKs, Death Squads that seemingly solved the southern city’s illegal drugs problem.

The weeks in detention must have had her flashing back, reflecting on her career in the PNP, what she went through to win respect and acceptance in the macho culture of law enforcement, and tracking when it was that things took a turn, and next thing she knew, she had become complicit in a deadly drug war, never mind due process. She may even have wanted to get out, give it all up, perils and perks and all, but really, how could one do that without incurring the ire of the powers-that-be and becoming a target herself.

Truth be told, there is no setting her free. She will continue to be detained and eventually charged for her part in the drug war. Also it looks like the QuadComm isn’t done  grilling her yet; they are convinced that she has yet to tell-all, since it would seem that she was part nga of Digong’s inner circle.

I was watching when she started weeping as she read that affidavit, and when I realized how explosive her revelations were, I was impressed.  I could understand why she broke down, reading that confession — a point of no return — realizing the consequences not just for herself but for everyone she was naming, colleagues and superiors alike. Nakakaiyak naman talaga iyon. 

“…  at least I will be able to contribute if we really want to make this country a better place to live…for our children,” Garma said in response to a query from Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez.  “I think we have to do something para maibalik ‘yung trust sa PNP, magkaroon ng reform sa PNP,” she added.

Brave woman. Now let’s hear it from the men. 

The Ralph & Vilma show #RectoDynasty

Because-they-can, as long as a complicit Congress desists from crafting and passing an enabling law prohibiting political dynasties, as provided for in Article II Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution, political dynasts were out in full force, filing Certificates of Candidacy for the 2025 midterm elections.

ALEX MAGNO. So it goes that over the last week we saw whole families filing their certificates of candidacy. We have relatives in Congress and relatives running for mayor and vice mayor in the same elections. Contrary to the intention of the Constitution, term limits encouraged rather than discouraged political family dominance. Seeking elective posts has become a family business.

The most brazen yet, because very high-profile, is the family of Finance Sec. Ralph Recto a.k.a. VATman: “star for all seasons” Vilma Santos-Recto is running yet again for governor of Batangas, son Lucky Manzano is running for vice governor, and son Ryan Recto is running for Congress rep.

Vilma, 70, has been in politics since 1998 when she was elected mayor of Lipa City, and then reelected in 2001 and 2004.  In 2007 she was elected Batangas governor and reelected in  2010 and 2013.  She was elected Batangas Congress rep in 2016, and again in 2019. She begged off running for a 3rd term in 2022, pleading pandemic exhaustion, and Ralph, her mentor, ran and was elected in her stead.

Ralph the Recto, 60, has himself been in politics since 1992 when he was elected Batangas Congress rep, and then reelected in 1995 and 1998. In 2001 he was elected to the senate where he authored the unpopular EVAT Law that cost him reelection in 2007, but he was reelected anyway in 2010 and 2016. He was back as Congress rep 2022 to 2024. Currently he is Finance Secretary of the BBMarcos admin, and quite unpopular again for his handling of Philhealth funds and for pushing and applauding the VAT on digital services that will of course be passed on to us customers.

Can’t help thinking back on the original Recto, Claro M., the nationalist and constitutionalist, and wishing he had lived long enough to have made an impact, an impression, a difference, in the politics of Ralph at marami pang iba who shamelessly revel in this dynastic system that allows them to dance around term limits, claiming that they seek only to serve nation when they really do nothing but take advantage of bad economic policies that do not serve the common good.

Sabi nga ni Franco sa Facebook:

Dynasty is family business disguised as public service.

And please, huwag sisihin ang mga botante, hindi sila bobo. They are navigating the political quicksand of ayudas the best way they know how, in aid of survival. And there is no lifting them up as long as dynasties persist in their viciously greedy and mercenary ways.

Read “Political dynasties choking the Philippines” by Atty. Josephus Jimenez.

These family dynasties which have been dominating the government and controlling appointments and public funds should be held responsible for the sad state of the Philippine economy. They should explain to the people why this country has not progressed in the same manner that Thailand and Vietnam have managed to prosper. Vietnam was pulverized by the bombings in the war between the north and the south. And yet, today, Vietnam has a better economy than the Philippines. We even rely on the Vietnamese to produce the rice that we so badly need. We have more highly-educated business managers and businessmen, industrialists and traders, but Thailand has a better economy than ours.

The political dynasties should explain to the future generation why this country has the worst environmental conditions and take the blame for why our country’s development is stunted and choked by dirty politics, and the massive corruption, which is among the worst not only in Asia but in the whole world. Political dynasties are the biggest cause why this country is going down and down and down.  https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/opinion 

What’s PBBM waiting for? #OFWsLebanon

Trying to understand why the prez does not seem to think it’s urgent that we evacuate our OFWs from Lebanon ASAP. Dahil kaya umaasa pa siya na maaawat pa ang Israel bombings sa lalong madaling panahon, at mawawala na ang panganib? O dahil ba ayaw niyang mapilitan na umuwi pati ang mga OFW na malayo pa sa panganib o ayaw umuwi dahil wala namang uuwiang hanapbuhay dito? Whatever. It behooves him to order ASAP the rescue of the thousands na matagal nang humihingi ng saklolo.

Evacuate OFWs out of war zone
Inquirer Editorial 

Over the weekend, the United Nations (UN) issued a warning that foreign domestic workers in Lebanon were being abandoned or locked in their employers’ homes as Lebanese families flee the escalating conflict between Israel and the armed group Hezbollah.

According to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), many of the 170,000 foreign domestic workers in Lebanon are women from Ethiopia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.

On Tuesday, Israel said it had begun ground operations in southwest Lebanon against the Iran-backed Hezbollah which is allied with Hamas. The conflict has put the Middle East on edge, with Iran warning Israel against further attacks, and the UN pleading for a diplomatic solution to the brewing regional conflagration.

But with Israel starting its invasion into Lebanon, it is a race against time to keep foreign workers, including some 11,000 Filipinos, out of harm’s way.

The Philippine government cannot afford to continue its seemingly nonchalant way of handling the situation, choosing to implement alert level 3 which calls for voluntary repatriation of OFWs instead of moving them out of the conflict zone immediately.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said only around 1,000 Filipinos in Lebanon have expressed willingness to be repatriated last month. Deputy Assistant Secretary Marlowe Miranda claimed Filipinos in Beirut don’t want the DFA to raise the alert level to 4, which requires mandatory evacuation, because this would mean they cannot obtain clearance to return to Lebanon.

Lackadaisical attitude

But several OFWs in Lebanon have appealed to President Marcos last month to immediately repatriate them, as they expressed frustration at what they described was slow government response.

… Instead of waiting for the OFWs to come to the designated shelters, Philippine officials should move to secure the proper exit clearances and secure alternative land or sea transport for their immediate evacuation as air travel in Lebanon has been disrupted by the airstrikes. Only 111 Filipinos have taken refuge in a shelter in Beirut, a mere tenth of the Filipinos working in Lebanon.

Back in 2015, when the security situation worsened in Libya where at least seven Filipinos were abducted, then freshly appointed Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario flew to Tunisia to personally direct the evacuation of 400 Filipinos across the border from Libya. According to the DFA, Del Rosario—who died in April last year—personally traveled several times to Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Egypt, which resulted in the repatriation of over 24,000 Filipinos from these countries torn by civil strife and other disasters.

No less than this kind of hands-on approach is needed by the government to spare any more Filipino blood in the raging conflict in the Middle East.