Despite his appreciation of her knees, it was never a match made in heaven.
The President’s decision to “separate“ from Vice-President Leni was notable mainly in that the relationship lasted this long. Leni was conflicted from the start. As VP she believed she was accountable to the people yet as a Cabinet official she is an alter ego of the President and accountable to him. Leni made it clear early on that she was not a wall flower and had strong views especially on extrajudicial killings and the death penalty. Taken by her persona and her passion for the Filipino–the President loves patriots- Duterte thought he could seduce Leni into the fold as he has done with so many women; but she proved tougher than expected. The last straw may have been her vocal opposition to the Marcos burial but even before the VP disclosed that her budget had been slashed by P19 billion and she could not get her people appointed.
Leni’s supporters claim there is a plot to replace the Vice-President with Bongbong. They ask why the fascination with the young Marcos? Maybe Sen. Alan Cayetano knows the answer which is what explains his quiet period.
It is all about politics but Malacanang could have treated her dismissal with more grace. Given her standing, the respectful protocol would have been for the President to have manned up to Leni and laid out the predicate for her termination. As it was his assistant unceremoniously texted her not to attend the next Cabinet meeting as one would a lowly employee; and refrained from taking her multiple calls thereafter (CHED Chair Patricia Liduanan was similarly banned from attending Cabinet meetings, perhaps to imply the VP was not being singled out).
The Palace accepted Leni’s subsequent resignation “with a heavy heart” which smacks of insult to injury. This is not unusual. There is pleasure in watching enemies twist in the wind. There was all that social media talk about Leni’s pregnancy. Whether it be with De Lima and now Leni, the President’s supporters appear to relish psychologically destroying a person before finally taking them down. This is akin to the public shaming in Mao’s Cultural Revolution and the ISIS public beheading of its victims. It sends the message that you do not mess with this Administration.
Speaking of De Lima, guilty or not, it is wondrous to witness the extent the powers at be are taking to destroy the woman. Even Senators who otherwise are sympathetic to the President are incredulous at the conflicting sworn statements of the witnesses, all criminals and low-lifers, that have been trotted out to malign the lady Senator.
The testimonies are so disbelieving PNP Chief and Drug Czar Rolando “Bato” de la Rosa has been brought to tears. Now Bato seems a really nice man but it is becoming increasingly clear that as much as the President loves him, Duterte is not letting his chief cop in on all the secrets. The President trusts Bato implicitly but the latter cannot always be relied to keep things to himself. Bato leaked PNP Supt. Marcos’ (no relation to Bongbong) on again, off again “dismissal” to Karen Davila on national TV which says as much about Karen’s prodding skill as it does of Bato’s naivete; but more about this later. Bato’s tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve is what makes him so endearing to the public but is unsuitable for the deep plays the President likes to engage in. There is also the question of the ruthlessness of the PNP Chief: He is brave enough but is he tough and wily enough for the job? Bato has not quite hugged Ronnie and Kerwin but we are afraid he is always one step away from doing so.
The President reversed Bato’s decision to relieve PNP Superintendent Marcos who was accused of taking protection money and leading the police contingent that killed Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa while in jail. It appears that unbeknownst to Bato, the President had his own investigation going and needed Marcos to lead him to bigger and badder things. Bato is the perfect face of the PNP, disarming, lovable and honest. Is he being made a foil to matters that are beyond his pay grade?
The De Lima, Robredo and Bato narratives tell us is there is possibly a Government within the Government that is invisible to the public and unknown even to those officially in place. This Administration would not have invented it. There was Nixon’s Watergate, the Iran-Contra thing and others. So much for the Freedom of Information Act.
The President is a brilliant strategist who understands human behavior, the weaknesses of media and the levers of power. He is a man on a mission who is uncomfortable with the limits of constitutional authority. He admires strongmen, Ferdinand Marcos, Putin. He often hints at lifting the writ of habeas corpus. He now controls the House and arguably the Senate. A move to Federalism will institutionalize his hold. This leaves only the Supreme Court to make the Executive omnipotent and this should be resolved in his Administration. In the next six years there will be ten vacancies (out of 15) in the Supreme Court to be filled by the President. This will give him a clear majority of the Court. Chief Justice Sereno remains but even she may be put in a delicate situation.
In short, and this is with trepidation, we may finally have the Benevolent Despot many Filipinos have been longing for.
Heneral Lunacy 