Sara Duterte had long been a liability and the Duterte camp failed to realise it

Of all the points being missed by the partisan camp surrounding the clan of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, one is the most critical of all — Vice President Sara Duterte is not her father. It is important that supporters of the Duterte clan understand this. It is the same misunderstanding that sunk the Yellowtards when they assumed that the ascent to power of the late former President Noynoy Aquino — son of the “national hero” — would strengthen the Yellowtards dynasty.

There is compelling reason for the Duterte camp to seriously consider a confronting idea — that behind the fall of Duterte is his daughter, the current vice president. Sara, after all, got into bed with then presidential candidate (now President) Bongbong Marcos against her father’s wishes to form the “Unity Team” in the lead up to the 2022 national elections. A mistake, perhaps, but that’s just our hindsight being a smartass as usual. Once in office, the Vice President proceeded to behave like a spoilt brat then threw a monumental tantrum when given a much deserved spanking. To the excuse that she was being conspired against by the Marcos-Romualdez family, well, better statesmen would have handled all that more shrewdly.

In short, Sara Duterte wasn’t a skillful enough statesman to deftly navigate the shark infested waters of Imperial Manila’s corridors of power. Poor breeding and poor gamesmanship plus the incompetent handlers who held court around her pretty much did her in. Unfortunately for her father, Sara was the only thing standing between the Marcoses and their new-found allies in the Yellowtard-Communist Axis and the endurance of her family’s legacy. The short of it is that Sara Duterte dropped the ball.

So here we are today. Regrets and hindsight are of little use in a world where the only thing that really matters is what happens next. Even what is right or wrong counts for jack shit when regarded from the perspective that politics is a game where those who play it well win. The fact is, the Marcoses played well, and the Dutertes and their camp — perhaps numerous as they claim — didn’t play at all, focusing instead on whining about being “the best” (remember that strategy?).

“Your best! Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and f–k the prom queen.”

The Second Marcos Regime played well and all but checkmated the Dutertards on the Philippines’ chequered political board. The latter player was just too busy gushing over and propping up a quaint scion who was but a pale shadow of a great statesman. Whatever way the Marcos Administration pulled off the shipping off of former President Duterte to the International Criminal Court — whether it was “illegal”, politically motivated, or dishonest — no longer matters.

The important lesson here is that family ties could often turn to liabilities. Sara was clearly a liability to the Duterte clan and to its support base the members of which were too starry-eyed by her celebrity to take stock of the facts surrounding their evolving situation — poor chess players in a game where the Queen may often have to fall to protect the King and win.

benign0

benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.