Guess who is coming to dinner with the president
It was not only a gentleman's act of chivalry for President Rodrigo Duterte to have graciously invited Vice President Leni Robredo to a dinner with their respective families. And it was not just a matter of diplomatic courtesy for the sweet and prim vice president to have sincerely accepted the invitation. The initiative emanating from the president and the positive response by the vice president should be welcomed by the whole nation as a supreme act of statesmanship. Those two gestures were signs of maturity of the two highest officials of the land. It may lay the basis for better teamwork between the president and the vice president. All for the good of the people whom both of them are serving, they have set aside those petty political and personal intrigues. This is a very positive sign and nothing but all good expectations should follow.
The two should not listen to the ''pambansang intriguero'', this Senator Trillanes, who, so far, has not done anything monumental or useful to the country but promote divisiveness and sow political intrigues. Negative people cannot be expected to generate positive achievements. The coming together of two leaders can break the ice and start warmer, friendlier interactions between them. They are supposed to be the father and mother of the whole nation, and they are both expected to rise higher than the level of the Trillanes' psywar and divisive tactics. A dinner like this being planned by Malacañang can start a series of dialogues where the two leaders can advise each other and share information and suggestions, all for the benefit of the people.
The country has long suffered from the lack of synergy of past presidents and vice presidents. It all started when the NP president Carlos Garcia never trusted his LP vice president, Diosdado Macapagal. The traditional rift between the president and vice president was likewise exacerbated when the camp of president Ferdinand Marcos started to become suspicious of, and insecure about, the wealth and the powers of his partymate in NP, Fernando Lopez, brother of then Meralco and ABS-CBN patriarch Don Eugenio Lopez. It also happened when President Cory Aquino had a falling out with her vice president, the fiery Batangueño Vice President Salvador "Doy'' Laurel.
President Erap never really trusted then vice president GMA, and the latter had her own problems with her anointed vice president Teofisto Guingona Jr. PNoy was civil to vice president Jojo Binay but the real teamwork was just for show. They were water and oil. The same is true with President Duterte and Vice President Leni. There has been more distrust and suspicion than teamwork. Leni is LP, and behind her are PNoy, Mar Roxas, and such characters as Leila de Lima, and many politicians who also do not trust the president. And so, to break this curse of conflict between the two top leaders, this dinner can be a landmark turnaround that can only be followed by cooperation, mutual respect and even eventual collaboration. We can never tell, but we can look forward with great expectations. Over and above politics, and personal tastes and styles, what matters most is national interest and what is really good for the people and for the country. And so, let that dinner take place, and we pray that both can continue being civil to and trusting in each other. Hopefully.
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