Inday Sara should cut clean from Malacañang now

Inday Sara should now cross her Rubicon River. Of course, this is easier said than done, and the way I see she will not do it yet. She has resigned from Lakas-CMD, the political party that supported president BBM, with GMA as the power behind. Now that Malacañang ousted GMA as senior deputy speaker, Sara’s retaliatory move was swift and decisive. And this major political tremor signaled a crack in the tandem of the north’s favorite boy and the south’s beloved maiden. There’s trouble at the top.

Sara, being a smart lawyer daughter of a smart lawyer father, should have known from the start she isn’t going to be BBM’s candidate for president in 2028. It will be the favorite first cousin, Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez. Blood is thicker than water, and politics is thicker than blood. So the BBM-Sara tandem in 2022 was a marriage of convenience with GMA as matchmaker. She brokered that unlikely partnership hoping against hope she could return as speaker of the House. But like Sara, GMA should have known the master plan is to put Ferdinand Martin as number 4 top official of the land, in preparation to ascend to number 1 in 2028. BBM’s master plan doesn’t include Sara and GMA. They were being used.

Now that the die is cast, Sara’s stay in the Cabinet has become untenable, even inappropriate. She’s no longer a member of the party in power. She is already an outsider. And if she is, why would she be entrusted with a major Cabinet portfolio controlling trillions in funds and in direct control of the teachers who shall eventually handle the ballots in 2028? Sara initially asked for the Department of National Defense being a reserved colonel of the Armed Forces. But Malacañang didn’t want national security in the hands of a prospective political adversary. Education was a consolation prize but it was a major concession by BBM to make sure the south wouldn’t leave the majority coalition. But Sara has left the party and the coalition too.

Sara should complete the disengagement by resigning from the Cabinet. That is the most honorable step to take. She should focus each day preparing for 2028. She shouldn’t be in the administration because in 2028 she will be criticizing this government. If she remains, then she will be in estoppel for she won’t have the moral ascendancy to criticize a team she was part of. She’s either for this government or against it. She cannot ride two horses because these will oppose each other. BBM is for Ferdinand Martin in 2028, never for Sara even if she makes Sandro Marcos her teammate. If that materializes, BBM would work for a mixed lineup; Martin for president and Sandro for vice president. But Sandro is too young, he should be in the Senate first.

If Sara stays in the Cabinet and if Malacañang will retain her in the official family, it will only be only for mutual convenience. There will be no more trust, much less affection. She will be staying only for the sake of the funds and the exposure, for the intelligence funds that could be utilized for political espionage. And for Malacañang, the de facto retention would just be to project unity in the administration. But such marriage for convenience will not last. Tension will break up the partnership.

When the president was Carlos P. Garcia of the Nacionalista Party, he never trusted Vice President Diosdado Macapagal, a Liberal. When President Duterte, a PDP, had Leni Robredo, a Liberal as vice president, the same tension persisted. Ditto with PNoy, a Liberal, and Jojo Binay of UNA. And even those belonging to the same parties always distrusted each other, like Quirino and Magsaysay, who were both Liberal before Magsaysay shifted to Nacionalista. The same with Cory Aquino and Doy Laurel and even with GMA and Teofisto Guingona Jr. Sara is really treated with some distant disdain and condescension by the Marcoses. All the affections are for show.

That’s why the earlier Sara breaks away completely from Malacañang, the better for her supporters to prepare for 2028. By the way, don’t tell me it’s too early. All politicians prepare for the next elections immediately after assuming their posts. They eat politics for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, even for midnight snacks. So, the more Sara delays the ultimate disengagement, the more blemishes will be inflicted on her credibility. She should do it now or not at all. It’s now or never.