Duterte trio in the Senate?

It sounds funny, but don’t laugh yet: former president Rodrigo Duterte, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, and Davao City 1st District Congressman Paolo Duterte will run for senator in the 2025 elections.

This was according to Vice President Sara Duterte Carpio.

At best, it may just be testing the waters, a trial balloon, to see how the Filipino people react. Once their rumored run becomes the talk of the town, their names may be considered in surveys. Furthermore, if their names appear in the magic 12 in surveys, this will give them the confidence to proceed with their plan, if indeed they have such a plan.

On the other hand, if the Filipinos reject the prospect of a Durterte trio in the Senate, they may settle for at least one candidate, probably the most popular among the three.

Let us grant that the three will eventually run. This will be the first in Philippine Senate history, and maybe many countries will look upon us with disbelief. They will wonder whether we are so bereft of talented people, so bankrupt of senatorial material that we settle for one family name. To some it will be a disturbing sign as to how deep we have sunk as a democratic country.

In our country, having members of the Senate with the same family name is not without precedent. Currently, we have two Cayetanos, two Villars, and two Estradas. The Villars and the Cayetanos did not run at the same time.

The only difference is that the Dutertes will bring this silliness a step further: three of them.

It will be seen as being too greedy on their part. The same argument can be brought against the three surnames I have mentioned. So, what is the level of tolerance of the Filipino people? Only two senators per family name, not three? We don’t know yet. After all, we have always said that the voice of the people is the voice of God. Pagbuot sa katawhan, as politicians always invoke.

Indeed, Philippine politics is not just colorful, it also absurd.

This new move of the Dutertes may also be seen through another lens. It is the Dutertes’ survival scheme in the treachery waters of politics. After losing his grip or hold of national politics when his presidency ended, and now confronted with the issues of the West Philippine Sea, hounded by the ghosts of his policies, such as the extrajudicial killing, Tatay Digong, as he is fondly called by his supporters, cannot just sit down and allow his enemies to win.

He cannot just limit himself in Davao City, a local government unit (LGU) that is always at the mercy of Malacañang, like all LGUs. The Lower House is always at the mercy of the president and the speaker, so Congressman Paolo Duterte will only be rendered inutile in the face of this reality.

The Dutertes, with their political acumen, must have seen the Senate as a favorable terrain where they could exert influence and compromise with the powers that be. Davao City alone cannot save them.