Plunder girl

It’s not going to be impeachment that Sara should be scared about. It should be plunder.

If indeed there is a demolition job coming from the Marcos/Romualdez camp, mere impeachment of the vice president won’t do the trick. An impeachment process might produce more hard evidence, might even be sensational, and might convince more voters to switch off from the Duterte camp. The impeachment proceedings might be blockbuster, captivating even more viewers and listeners than the Alice Guo hearings ever titillated. But at the end of the day, Sara Duterte, stripped of her vice presidential title, will still be Sara.

A Sara at complete liberty to snap at her attackers. A Sara free to bite, to chew and to spit out. Indeed, if she wins the next presidential elections, she’s going to make mincemeat out of all of these (to her) two-bit, impertinent and infuriating pests of politicians now hounding her. She’s going to do a reverse demolition job - very thoroughly. (Remember how these mayors who were arrested on drug charges suddenly met nasty ends while “safely” in the hands of the police?)

To publicly take on Sara Duterte means a huge risk for these politicians. Not just politically. They and their families might have to end up hiding abroad if this backfires. The attack dogs have to be calculating that at the end of this process, she will be safely out of the picture. And that doesn’t mean just stripping her of the vice-presidency.

That liberty has to be curtailed. Her claws have to be pulled. And what better way to do that than throw her in jail for a non-bailable offense? Hence, the specter of plunder.

Remember plunder?  That crime so many politicians so very conveniently forget exists? It’s a crime on the books. And if plunder charges are brought, the accused isn’t afforded bail. Stay in jail while defending your good name. Might be a comfortable cell, might have Wi-Fi and all. Visitors might be allowed. But a jail all the same. Something like the same torment that Leila de Lima suffered while she was fighting the charges against her.

Congressman Joel Chua of Manila has so very bravely uttered the “p” word.  In his speech to his brethren, Representative Chua leapt to the conclusion that “sheer vastness of these potentially misused funds…these amounts easily surpass the threshold for the crime of plunder under our laws.”

There it is. The opening salvo.  The balloon has been floated. Papa P is in the house.

If I were Sara, and if I had been careless, I would be very concerned about the money trail. The documentation that she will leave behind if and when she vacates her office as veep. The messages, the memos, the bank transfers. For all we know, that very same forensic analysis that should be performed at the Office of the Vice President might very well already be underway over at the Department of Education, where millions have already been flagged by the Commission of Audit as being improperly accounted for.

Never mind if she did or did not pocket public funds. If her people, probably chosen for loyalty rather competence, made a misstep in keeping the proper records, she’s in deep doodoo.

The Department of Justice has just unsealed an indictment against Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City. To get to this point, they combed through his phone records as well as the records of his associates and staffers. Text messages were reviewed and analyzed, where they discovered bribery attempts. Employees were interviewed. Their own phones were confiscated.

What would a review of Sara Duterte’s records reveal?

Education Department Undersecretary Gloria Mercado has signed up early to be on the witness block, offering testimony as to irregularities at the Department under the watch of Sara.  Mercado claims she was handed envelopes with cash, which she has duly donated to charitable causes (after an interval I am not comfortable with).  The cash she received from Sara’s minions was meant to smooth over irregularities at biddings for projects, something Mercado testifies she balked at, and over which she was eventually let go.

The start of the parade of witnesses?  A demonstration meant to as a call to future witnesses, signaling that now is the time to open your mouths?  Come forth and ye shall shine in the limelight (and be amply rewarded). (A gentle note to future witnesses: if Sara isn’t incarcerated and she wins the next election, you know what to do.)

In New York, Mayor Eric Adam’s senior officials started resigning when news of the probe dramatically unfolded. Will Sara’s posse begin to feel the heat? Remember, during the pork barrel scandals that led to prosecutions for plunder, it wasn’t the three Senators that felt the heat.  It was their chiefs-of-staff.

Gigi Reyes, chief of Senator Enrile, spent time in jail. Richard Cambe, chief of Senator Revilla, was found guilty while his principal was freed. And where is the chief/appointments secretary of Senator Jinggoy Estrada, exactly?

Sara paid a surprise visit to former Vice-President Leni Robredo. Aligning herself with the forces of good?  Tick-tock. Time is running out!  What’s the next move?