Newly released former senator Leila De Lima vows ‘day of reckoning’.
How things have changed. But that’s the only constant in the world, change. I thought the victory of the UniTeam at the polls would finally put down the Yellowidiots once and for all and the country can finally move on from the divisiveness which began in 1986. Little did I know that this meant the return of the Yellowidiots from the dead.
In 2019, Drei Toledo and Mimi Fabe approached me to write a chapter in the book they were going to come out with about the disruptive innovations of the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte. That became the title of the book. I ended up contributing two chapters. It sold out during its limited run. Today I get this sinking feeling that those who were cut down to size by Digong are willing to do anything just to get back at him and put him in his proper place. In less than two years, his enemies have come out of hiding because they know the time is right to get back at him because he’s just an ordinary citizen now.
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
Duterte failed to implement his succession plan because of his rift with his daughter, current Vice President Inday Sara Duterte, over his trusted aide. He did see the writing on the wall which is why he warned about what might become of the country if his warning wasn’t heeded. But Inday made her own decision and the rest is now history.
It seemed that not a long time ago, the greater majority of Filipinos supported the war on drugs. The first months of the Duterte administration marked the return of peace and order unlike during the Aquino administration when riding-in-tandem killings became a daily occurrence, drug abuse was rampant, and the crime index was high with robberies and rape left and right. Duterte pivoted foreign policy away from the US and instituted rapprochement with China. The Philippines ceased to be known as the American lapdog in the region. It was finally one with ASEAN and Duterte also made friends with Shinzo Abe despite his being on the same level with Xi Jin Ping.
Duterte increased the basic pay of the members of the AFP and PNP. He also continued with the modernization of the country’s defense organization. Duterte didn’t prepare for the time when he would revert back to being an ordinary citizen. He didn’t establish a national political dynasty. He didn’t leave office with a pabaon fund of secret holdings in large corporations nor did he run for office again in order to cloak himself with immunity. Now there is a well-organized effort to crush his political brand. It’s now up to him if he will take up the challenge again and fight or take his chances and see what his fate will be. He’s now down to the group of Senators who won because of his leading the campaign during the 2019 midterm. Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Bong Go will remain loyal to him but Senators Francis Tolentino and Robin Padilla aren’t as close to him. He still has the support of Imee Marcos and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) and this may be enough to protect him from his enemies.
Rappler alumna Patricia Evangelista on a campaign in New York to promote her book demonizing the Duterte administration
As a martial law baby, I grew up watching President Feedinand “Apo Lakay” Marcos Senior on television and saw him and then First Lady Imelda in the flesh as they went in and out of Malacañan because I was born and raised in Concepcion Aguila in San Miguel, Manila. Marcos Sr. and Duterte are the two best presidents the country ever had, faults and all. Marcos’ downfall was due to the Iron Butterfly but if it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have all the specialty hospitals in Metro Manila, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex and the iconic Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). Current President Bongbong Marcos (BBM) should’ve learned his lesson about the Americans with the ignominious departure his family was subject to in 1986. But as it appears now, that experience didn’t teach him anything about setting the country on the right path and not getting left behind any further by its regional neighbors.
It’s particularly disconcerting to see the Yellowidiots and the Reds willing to side with Marcos to put Duterte down. I just hope that Marcos shares the same debt of gratitude and loyalty that his sister has in acknowledging the large role Duterte played in ensuring their return to power.
Cook wide reader political crackpot music afficionado old soul out-of-the box thinker aspiring writer tech geek gearhead
Duterte was a authoritative thug during the Plandemic and I was thrilled when he left office. He needs to be placed in a mental institution.