From Digong to Bong

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, President Duterte found it necessary to explain last Monday why his long-time aide, Sen. Bong Go, is always by his side in his weekly briefing to the nation on the COVID response.

No, Duterte didn’t state the obvious: that Go is his preferred successor in the 2022 race. Instead he explained that Go chairs the Senate committee on health, hence the senator’s presence at the briefing.

If that is the reason, why isn’t the chair of the committee on health of the House of Representatives also a regular at the weekly (sometimes twice weekly) meeting? How many people even know who it is?

Even with their masks on, those present regularly at the presidential briefing get a boost in their national profile, because the broadcasts are widely watched for announcements on pandemic restrictions.

OK… the TV exposure doesn’t seem to have done much for the regular participants whose Senate aspirations were announced months ago. Chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo and presidential spokesman Harry Roque (both now resigned after filing their candidacies) aren’t doing well in the surveys. And Go himself trails in surveys for both vice president and president.

Duterte didn’t make it easier for the guy he reportedly considers as his adopted son when he described Go’s reaction to Sara Duterte Carpio’s filing of candidacy for vice president, when Go was still the VP bet of PDP-Laban.

“Umiiyak si Bong. Sabi ko, huwag ka umiyak. Bakit ka iiyak? Bukas ang president, tumakbo ka. Eh bakit ka iiyak dahil lang anak ko sumingit bigla,” Duterte said.

There, there… Duterte then whipped out his pacifier for his weeping anak-anakan: his “anointment” for the presidency. And just to leave no doubt about where his support lies, Duterte said he could not support Ferdinand Marcos Jr., seen as the preferred standard bearer of Inday Sara, because Bongbong is pro-communist.

We waited Monday night for Duterte to elaborate and detail more reasons for his refusal to back BBM’s bid, but there was none.

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Instead Duterte denied that Go controlled his decision-making. And Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana issued a statement clearing both Duterte and Go.

Their statements were in response to the bombshell (bomba, or Bongba) dropped by former National Security Council (NSC) deputy director Antonio Parlade last Monday against Go.

In case you missed it from the flurry of last-minute substitutions on Nov. 15, Parlade, now retired from the Army after his colorful service as spokesman for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, is running for president, substituting for a certain Antonio Valdes.

Parlade, a three-star general, would have been dismissed as a nuisance candidate, filing under the non-accredited Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino because (he said) no other group would field him… except for his broadside against Bong Go, a.k.a. SBG: “I cannot align with SBG. I’m sorry but kasama siya sa problema ng bayan natin... I just don’t like the way he does things, including controlling the decisions of the President.”

Duterte has denied being controlled by anyone. Go, while denying that he exerts undue influence on Duterte’s decision-making, claimed credit for recommending Parlade’s appointment as undersecretary in the NSC, and for increases in the pay of soldiers.

Lorenzana, saying he was befuddled to be dragged into the controversy, quickly issued a statement in response:

“Lt. Gen. Parlade’s statement is baseless. In the years I have known the President, he has always been his own man. The President stands by his own decisions, has always been firm in his directives to us, who are working for him, and is not as easily swayed or influenced by others as purported by the general… There is no truth to the allegations that there is brewing trouble or discontent in the AFP.”

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We talked to General Parlade on One News’ “The Chiefs” on Monday night, and asked him to elaborate on his beef with Go.

Parlade did not retract his statement, but declined to elaborate… for now. He explained that he got a call from Go and he agreed to what looks like a ceasefire.

But Parlade said he was running for president to highlight what was ailing the military, and how politics was undermining the institution.

Pressed for specifics, without mentioning names, he quickly cited the procurement system. He explained that the Armed Forces of the Philippines would select certain types of equipment, only for the choice to be overturned due to political considerations, and replaced with something inappropriate for use in the local setting.

Parlade did not elaborate further. But there have been previous reports of newly procured military materiel not being interoperable with what the AFP already has and which military personnel are not trained to operate.

As in most industries, players in the defense industry want exclusivity in their products, including in the supply of parts, training and maintenance services. Military hardware produced in certain countries can be compatible or interoperable, but this is not always the case. Obviously, serious problems can crop up when the interoperability is not there.

Cheap also does not always mean quality. Security forces typically want quality if not top-of-the-line weapons, telecommunications systems, vehicles and other equipment, even if these naturally have a higher price tag.

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I don’t know if these are the beefs of Parlade, or if he thinks Bong Go has a hand in such issues.

What Parlade has implied is that the issues are fueling discontent in the AFP. Just ask the Army, he said. Just ask Lorenzana. Hence that statement from the defense chief, who is highly respected in his field, but whose clarification can use some nuancing.

Parlade’s statement, while unlikely to catapult him to the presidency, is damaging to an administration that has gone out of its way to court military support. And it can be damaging to Duterte’s niño bonito, Bong Go.

Surely the Duterte camp is banking on his popularity, although waning, to still rub off on his anointed successor and protect Go from Parlade.

Already, there are numerous costly TV ads pitching for continuity from Digong to Bong.

Duterte himself has proclaimed that the bearer of his torch is not Marcos but Go. But with his daughter in Marcos’ camp, there is speculation that BBM remains in the picture. It’s enough to trigger another weeping spell.