Kamikaze

All things considered, the “press conference” called by Vice President Sara Duterte last Friday was actually just a rant.

It could not possibly be a component of a strategy. There were no other related tactical moves. It was a desperate voice lashing out against what she alleges is an orchestrated attempt to politically destroy her and her family.

I reviewed the “press conference” and studied the various reactions to it. There was no clear policy difference discussed. There was a lot of petty grievance aired – emanating from an overblown sense of entitlement such as the expectation for priority access to the presidential airlift wing of the PAF.

There was a lot of hyperbole, to be sure, bordering on the bizarre. Sara mentioned daydreaming about cutting off the sitting President’s head (which caught the attention of Western media) and an idle threat to dig up the remains of Marcos Sr. to dump it in the West Philippine Sea.

Stuff like these are really part of the dry humor native to the Duterte DNA. Rodrigo the father made countless bizarre statements, mainly to humor everyone.

But it was the stark (and really unnecessary) statements that made the headlines, of course. Surprisingly, many of the reactions were humorless. The Secretary of Justice looked into the possibility of some crime committed because these colorful statements were made. Some congressmen called for the Vice President to have her head examined.

Early in my career as an editorial columnist, I learned always to avoid satire or sarcasm. They are never properly appreciated as such by Filipino readers.

Dry humor is the worst trap to avoid. Filipinos always take things literally. When Rodrigo Duterte cursed the pope for causing traffic in Metro Manila, Filipinos missed the humor in that. When he said he would ride a jet ski to the contested shoals of the West Philippine Sea (which were out of range), that was taken as a solemn political promise.

Sara’s rant suffered the same fate as her father’s most brilliant sarcasm. She was taken literally and universally flogged for her words. She did not learn from her father’s experiences.

So what precipitated this bizarre “press conference”?

Sara’s critics claim this was a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from the many questions about how the Vice President handled public funds. State auditors have flagged large items of expenditure at the DepEd. The large volumes of confidential funds she requested, and which the legislators denied, were simply suspicious. Several claimed Sara routinely handed out cash to her employees. Once, she hired “safe houses” at flamboyant cost to the taxpayer.

A diversionary tactic, however, is not a strategy. There continues to be rampant speculation about what Sara’s endgame actually is.

It is Sara’s enemies who have a sophisticated strategy in place. They have questioned her management of a key government agency. They choked funds she might have used for patronage. A full-blown inquiry is now in progress on the elder Duterte’s conduct of his “war on drugs.” A key Duterte ally, Apollo Quiboloy, is now in jail for sexual offenses, among other things.

In strictly technical terms, they have a well-orchestrated strategy. The end-goal is clear: remove Sara from the line of succession and destroy the Duterte political base.

This strategy includes coopting political leaders in the Visayas and Mindanao away from the Duterte camp and solidifying the pro-Marcos camp’s grip on the ruling coalition. Duterte ally Gloria Arroyo has been pushed to the margins. A strong contender has been fielded to contest the mayorship of Davao City, forcing the elder Duterte to fight for the post himself despite the toll this takes on his frail health.

Sara’s political enemies have not called for a press conference to announce their grand strategy. They have simply moved ahead to execute it.

The goal of this broad strategy is clear as day: remove Sara from the line of succession and annihilate the Duterte political base. Every component of this strategy is in motion.

Engulfed by this comprehensive strategy, what is Sara to do?

Throw a tantrum, it seems. Last Friday’s rant may be the first of a series. In her own colorful language, Sara is telling us that if they drag her to hell, she will make sure her enemies go down with her.

We could expect more explosive statements from the beleaguered Vice President. She is not going quietly into the night.

This might be an insane tactic. But it is all Sara has.

Towards the end of WWII, Japan’s industrial base continued producing large quantities of fighter planes. But she was quickly running out of skilled pilots. To solve this problem, Japan organized barely trained pilots into Kamikaze (Divine Wind) units. The amateur pilots went out on suicide missions, crashing their explosives-laden planes onto US warships.

This was not a winning strategy. It was a self-limiting one. But it was all the Imperial Army could do to inflict maximum damage on a superior enemy.

Sara’s rant offensive may be likened to the Kamikaze attacks. The enemy will definitely be harmed. But the attacking pilots will be killed, further aggravating the shortage of trained pilots to man a fightback.

No one expects Sara to recover from this, rebuild the Duterte political base and sustain her political position for very long. She is outgunned and outmanned.

Her own record as a public servant made her doubly vulnerable.