A Manchurian Candidate, Part Two

The 1972 movie, “The Godfather”, which earned $270 million, was considered as the highest-grossing film of all time. It was based on the novel written by Mario Puzo, and starred the inimitable Marlon Brando. There was a scuttlebutt that the incredibly-huge commercial success of the movie prodded the producers to make “The Godfather Part Two”, starring Al Pacino, in 1974. So, as rumored, it was all money matters and not the sterling performance of Brando nor the exposure of the violent Mafia world that motivated the production of part two of the movie.

This article today should be treated as a sequel to my write up last Thursday which I titled as “A Manchurian Candidate”. Unlike “The Godfather” which was produced because the first film netted millions of dollars, this sequel is composed simply because I lacked space last Thursday. I could not put to print a probable idea that could have explained why former senator Leila de Lima was forceful in her assertion that Vice President Sara Duterte Carpio would be Communist China’s candidate for Philippine president in 2028.

Judging from the number of social media posts in favor or against the Dutertes, I think that this Davao family has still some following and conversely, detractors. This claim of mine though may not really be scientific, but the constant presence of FB posts need to be considered too for whatever worth they may have.

Some sectors in our society favored the way the former president dealt with Communist China. In their minds, confronting the Chinese in their invasion and occupancy of some islands in the West Philippine Sea would have been both dangerous and useless. They asserted that we could not fight any kind of warfare against the Chinese or we would be destroyed in just a matter of days. Peaceful existence was more important to them than upholding our territorial integrity. That was why they did not mind the supposed “gentleman’s agreement” reportedly entered into by Duterte and Xi Jingping, no matter how obnoxious it could be. I think that there are still such Duterte believers and maybe, just maybe, Inday Sara still counts on them.

The ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration favoring the Philippine claim over the West Philippine Sea against China’s Nine-Dash Line in 2016 is a stain on China’s domination of these sea lanes. The Chinese know that their claim is legally infirm and no diplomatic efforts can ever help them. So, instead of letting the rule of law reign supreme, they took the legal order literally in their powerful hands and invaded and occupied some parts of the West Philippine Sea which are ruled to be within our Exclusive Economic Zone. Unfortunately, the past administration of Duterte, friendly to Xi Jingping, tolerated the illegal Chinese act. In any case, these communists also know that the Philippines is incapable of militarily defending our sovereign territorial rights.

At present, the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is not that friendly. Since he began his term in 2022, Marcos has caused to be filed a total of 97 diplomatic protests against China for all of the latter’s criminal activities in the WPS. Clearly then, it is in the best interest of China to have a new Philippine leadership. A new president in 2028, in a Duterte-like Inday Sara, can be talked to toning down our legal claim. For all we know, the military facilities that China built on some WPS islands can enjoy the blessings of a friendly Duterte.

This is the most compelling reason why China will likely, though furtively, push for the incumbent vice president to run for the presidency in 2028. Senator Leila de Lima must have observed the emergence of this Duterte political strategy and her alert is most timely.