Grave threats or threats from the grave

The impeachment of VP Sara dominated the main and social media last week, and will continue until some of the major issues are resolved, especially the start and the timeline of the impeachment process. The filing of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), of a criminal case vs. VP Sara for the threats on the life of President BBM, the first lady, and Speaker Romualdez was added fuel, as this is also in the articles in the impeachment complaint. There are and will be more opinions/speculations on these two cases from lawyers, experts, opinion-makers, and ordinary citizens, that will only stop when the impeachment and criminal cases will be decided by the courts and the Senate with finality.

I couldn’t resist the play on words of VP Duterte’s lawyer, that there was no real threat to the lives of BBM, the first lady and the speaker, as the perceived actions are conditional on the demise of VP Sara. It isn’t an active threat as long as the VP is alive, but a threat from the “grave”. The six NBI lawyers are adamant of their position on this, but as this will be intertwined with the impeachment issue, political considerations will come into play. The resolution of either of the cases will surely influence the other, so the start and timeline of the impeachment will be a critical/crucial factor.

The Marcos-Duterte fight is escalating as can be seen in the ongoing political and legal maneuvers from both sides. The BBM speeches in the campaign sorties of his senatorial slate are now direct accusations on former president Duterte, his families and allies. His tirades on the extra-judicial killings (EJKs), and sacks of cash/money are pinpoint attacks which were even avoided by his senatorial candidates. BBM has used these offensives in the rallies in Ilocos and in Davao and will be a recurrent theme in the rest of his campaign sorties for the rest of the country.

The Duterte camp isn’t outdone. The accusations of BBM’s drug addiction and incompetence are always highlighted by former president Duterte and other speakers in their counter rallies. There was even a “bad joke” by Duterte in relation to the EJKs, that they might have to kill 15 of the incumbent senators to ensure that their senatorial lineup will win in the coming May elections. This was fodder for BBM’s counterattack, that Duterte’s solution to any problem is always more killing.

There is a very important third party in this now “gloves-off” fight between the Marcoses and Dutertes, and these are the civil society and the unaligned Filipinos who will play an important role in the impeachment and criminal case. There are already demonstrations/rallies from these sectors to start the impeachment “forthwith” or as soon as possible, with petitions to the Supreme Court to compel the Senate, as provided in the Philippine Constitution. Aside from the troll farms, social media is also abuzz with posts pushing for the impeachment proceedings to start before the election.

The Social Weather Stations January survey of the approval ratings of BBM and VP Duterte have fallen to 50% and 49% respectively, with Sara’s ratings falling faster. In a more specific question in another survey, 38% were pro-Marcos and 19% were pro-Duterte. Given the steeper drop of Duterte, it is understandable why the Dutertes are on the offensive in February. This also means that there are 43% uncommitted which are the civil society adherents, or the 20 million real opposition who voted for Robredo.

The self-interest of the senatorial candidates and some of the non-reelectionist senators are obvious in this fight, but doing the right thing which will be good for the country and the people should be the main criteria in their decisions and actions. Morality and greater good should prevail over self-interest. We have our doubts, but we should hope and pray that these senators will rise to the occasion.