Smear campaign

At 14, I was recruited and indoctrinated by Kabataang Makabayan, the underground youth arm of the CPP-NPA. It was during the tumultuous latter years of the Marcos Sr. government. The KM even helped me get elected as vice chairman of the Freshman Council at the University of the Philippines. I left the group because I was critical of the party’s dictatorial policies and practices. The centralized, top-down leadership tried to scuttle my free speech and expression. This did not sit well with me. After quitting the group, I began receiving death threats. As an anti-Marcos activist, the military was also breathing down my neck. Fearing for my life, my grandparents immediately sent me to America to continue my tertiary education. Later on, I learned that some of my fellow KM members were killed during a communist purge. Thanks to my family’s timely intervention, my horror story had a positive ending.

Up to now, I still see some of my contemporaries in the underground movement either as active National Democratic Front members or as party-list representatives in the Lower House. So, I have personal knowledge of political and civil society personalities who are supporters of the communist rebellion in the country. Let me clarify that being a member of the CPP is no longer illegal under Republic Act 7637, which repealed the Anti-Subversion Act of 1957. What is criminal is abetting the terrorist acts of communist insurgents.

Interestingly, these supporters of the decades-old armed struggle are the same vocal critics of Vice President Sara Duterte. And they seem to be a part of an orchestrated attack on Inday Sara’s sterling reputation as a public servant. Inday, being the National Task Force to End Local Communist Local Armed Conflict co-vice chair and education secretary, is a natural target for them. They are the first to slander Sara because her agency is duty-bound to neutralize terrorist activities in schools and communities across the Philippines. But Sara will never be a sitting duck. She is never afraid to respond to every unfounded accusation hurled against her. In my last column, I explained that the VP did not violate any law in the disbursement of her confidential funds.

Another group is made up of former CPP-NPA members and social democrats that engaged in partisan and traditional politics during the Aquino government. They have rejected the party’s armed struggle in favor of a parliamentary struggle to effect social change. Senator Risa Hontiveros, a Duterte critic, belongs to this group. The third force may come from disgruntled former partymates of Inday at Lakas-CMD. I believe that House Speaker Martin Romualdez would never participate in any efforts to besmirch the VP’s reputation. All is well between them.

These anti-Duterte forces are following the same playbook that political operators employed against former VP Jojo Binay in 2016. Binay consistently ruled the election surveys. It was his race to lose. Until his rivals and detractors launched a demolition job against him. Binay ended up losing to former president Rodrigo Duterte. Of course, they hope Inday will suffer the same fate. For now, this might be a Herculean, if not a Sisyphean, task. While Inday continues to build on her own formidable following, she can also count on the loyal supporters of Presidents Bongbong Marcos Jr., Duterte, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and even Joseph Estrada.

New opposition?

Trust one of the country’s savviest politicians to set tongues a-wagging in social media. What seemed to be an innocuous meeting between former presidents Arroyo and Duterte, as well as a chance encounter between Arroyo and ex-VP Leni Robredo, have led to speculations of a new political force in the offing.

I am sure politicos, gasping for relevance in the run-up to the 2025 midterm elections, are titillated by it. The solid backing of Duterte and Arroyo will expand their political base. However, the idea is simply preposterous.

I also do not think the incumbent Pampanga representative is orchestrating a coalition of strange bedfellows. Will GMA and Digong allow themselves to become the face of the Opposition, which has relentlessly demonized them? Is it possible for long-time political foes to form a united front against the popular Marcos government?

Far from it, I must say. The general public knows PRRD and Gloria’s close ties with Inday Sara. She is the other half of PBBM in the UniTeam tandem that shellshocked the Opposition and the Left in 2022. She is a loyal and indefatigable member of the Cabinet. Thus, it is highly unlikely that GMA and PRRD would become arch-critics of the Marcos administration.

In the past, I often heard Digong gushing over Inday’s strength of character, among many attributes. He would unabashedly say that she is the apple of his eye, even if they do not see eye to eye in many issues. He also fully supported Sara’s vice presidential run despite belonging to different parties.

Further, my former boss will never join the Opposition under its current form. Its members have vilified Digong before the international community regarding the war on drugs campaign. If they have their way, they would want PRRD jailed in a Hague detention center while the International Criminal Court continues its investigation on the drug war case. Ergo, Digong will never deign to sleep with the enemy.

On the other hand, I know that GMA was among those who engineered the monumental Marcos-Duterte election victory. Before that, they were also instrumental in unseating two House Speakers. When Arroyo was stripped of her Senior Deputy Speaker title early this year, Sara immediately resigned as Lakas-CMD chair and member. It is a testament to their close relationship. Likewise, I do not want to give a deeper meaning to her recent encounter with Robredo. The Liberal Party and left-wing groups put GMA through hell during the Aquino administration. Their politics and personal differences are simply irreconcilable.

So, what do I think is the purpose of the informal meeting between Duterte and Arroyo? I can only surmise that they are already laying the groundwork for their preferred candidates in the 2025 and 2028 elections. Perhaps, they are discussing ways that will further strengthen the political capital of Inday Sara. All public polls indicate the Vice President is the most preferred candidate to succeed her UniTeam partner PBBM, at this point.