Searching Google AI for what ‘going bonkers’ means: a person suddenly starts acting strange, wild, bizarre…to lose one’s sanity…completely crazy and silly. Every definition describes the behavior of VP Sara last week. And that’s giving her the benefit of the doubt. Because if she knows exactly what she is doing, then she is really taking us all for a ride.
In a midnight news conference, she let out a barrage of expletives against BBM, the First Lady and Speaker Martin Romualdez. She also said she has already contracted an assassin to kill all three in case someone kills her. No hyperbole. No danger of being taken out of context. Very clear words.
This is how the world’s media covered the worsening rift between the former political partners:
CNN: Philippine vice president says she would have Marcos assassinated if she is killed
Reuters: Philippines boosts security after VP’s assassination threat against president
Bloomberg: Assassination threat from Duterte heightens feud with Marcos
Straits Times: Philippine VP says she would have Marcos assassinated if she were killed
Agence France Presse: Philippine VP made ‘active threat’ on Marcos’ life: Palace
Deutsche Welle, the German news agency: Philippine president’s security raised after VP death threat
South China Morning Post: Philippines’ Sara Duterte claims hiring assassin to kill Marcos Jr if she’s targeted
The Guardian: Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s deputy vows to have him assassinated if she is killed
Hindustan Times: Philippines VP Sara Duterte makes big statement. She says: If I die…don’t stop until you have killed them
Nikkei: Philippine VP says she would have Marcos assassinated if she is killed
Japan Today: Philippine VP says she has planned to have Marcos assassinated if she is killed
NBC News, CBS 19 News (Texas) both carried the Agence France Presse headline and story.
US News and World Report: Philippine VP says she would have Marcos assassinated if she is killed
Anadolu Ajansi (Turkey state media) Philippines ruling coalition rift deepens as vice president threatens president
Associated Press: The Philippine vice president publicly threatens to have the president assassinated
US News: Philippine vice president publicly threatens to have the president assassinated
Well, folks, the international image of the Philippines after VP Sara went bonkers isn’t good for the country. She just threw away all the efforts we are making to win investors and tourists.
Tell me…who would want to invest here now or even visit knowing there is a danger of extreme political instability? Not even the banana republics have high officials delivering such a low blow against their country just to score political points.
Even those of us who are so jaded about our politics and politicians cannot easily brush this one off as political zarzuela. Ang lulutong ng mga p-t--g ina that she let out. And that’s before announcing to the world that she has already contracted an assassin to kill all of them if she is killed.
Is VP Sara just being overly dramatic? Back in 2016, then candidate Rodrigo Duterte called his daughter Sara a “drama queen” for saying she was raped. “She can’t be raped,” the father said, “she carries a gun.” But anyone who watched last week’s midnight statement of VP Sara saw how agitated she was and how serious she sounded when she said she had hired an assassin who said yes.
Strictly speaking, the public threat of VP Sara should be considered a punishable crime. Back in 2020, the NBI arrested and charged a public high school teacher from Zambales who posted on Twitter that he will give P50 million reward to anyone who would kill then President Duterte. The NBI says they are sending VP Sara a subpoena. Of course, applying the law on the VP is a serious political risk.
At no time in our history did we ever have a top official acting as bizarre and as crazy as VP Sara had been in recent weeks. She claims she is being persecuted by the House quad committee. But they only want her and her staff to explain how they spent hundreds of millions of pesos in public funds.
It is easy to suspect she is creating all these diversionary headline stories to distract people on her alleged misuse of public funds. She knows the public has the attention span of a flea and the media can be easily misled by feeding them more sensational stories with no meaning.
But our national image and our credibility suffer. Who can trust a country whose people apparently adore a political family acting like they have a streak of insanity in their genes? Then again, after the US elections, we can say we are just following our former colonial masters in choosing insane leaders with populist appeal.
What should make most Filipinos sleepless is that she is just a heartbeat away from the presidency. She may be creating all this chaos to create conditions for a power grab. There is nothing that China would love more than to have China-loving VP Sara succeed BBM. Making that happen is a good investment for China. As a world power, interfering in the political affairs of countries is part of their tool kit. The reassurance of the AFP Chief that the military remains loyal to the Constitution is welcome.
No wonder more and more wealthy Filipinos are investing in golden visas. The minimum investment for a Golden Visa in Portugal is €200,000 to €1,000,000 while a Golden Visa in Spain is €500,000–€2,000,000. Well worth it for peace of mind.
Unfortunately, folks like us who are too poor to get one will just have to suffer the consequences of having absolutely crazy people as leaders.
Boo Chanco’s email address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on X @boochanco.