Their thunder stolen

From the looks of it, the made-for-TV hearings in Congress have all but lost its audience after Vice President Sara Duterte stole the thunder from the members of Congress using an unconventional counter-offensive.

After the quad comm enjoyed having the number 1 show on radio, TV and online for months, the Vice President’s unusual and disturbing behavior has captured the curiosity of the viewing public and the full attention of Philippine media, local and national politicians, as well as international media to boot.

After having the cameras all to themselves, the members of Congress were suddenly “no contest” to the Vice President’s fierce, unflinching drama and rhetoric. Like a wizard drawing from her bag of tricks, the Vice President had her enemies and critics running around in circles like cats chasing feather toys on a stick, every time she uttered some curse or spell of sorts.

Most critics were certain that the VP was falling apart, undergoing an emotional or mental illness, or going on self-destruct mode. Others were convinced that she would run back to Davao as the resigned Vice President or eventually be impeached. But it seems that there was a method to the madness behind Sara Duterte’s mercurial puzzling antics.

As Garfield the cat is often quoted as saying: “If you can’t convince them, confuse them.” The VP certainly had all of us confused. Who was plotting to kill the VP? Who did the VP appoint as her afterlife assassin? Why does all of this alleged planned assassinations and plots sound like pages from the life and times and play book of senator Miriam Defensor Santiago when she ran for president?

And if the Vice President is killed or impeached, is it true that the Speaker of the House Martin Romualdez will automatically be the vice president? That click bait material certainly revived memories of the phrase “The Conjugal Dictatorship” and had more worried about the President’s security of tenure.

In their confusion, people instinctively sought more answers, and the Vice President took advantage of that by luring the media to her Facebook page and impromptu pronouncements and away from the quad comm and her enemies.

Once she had everybody’s attention, she methodically “picked and chose” her topic or target, shifting schedules and appearances to the point that her “prosecutors and persecutors” ended up competing for time with the VP.

Things got so crazy that certain individuals started pointing at each other as being behind the plot to impeach the Vice President, while the ombudsman briefly engaged with a DOJ undersecretary regarding jurisdiction and points of law. In the latest tit for tat, the VP has debunked the claim of a junior congressman from Zambales that the VP’s woes were a result of her eagerness or rush to become president.

It is really interesting how many people were singing that tune last week, even in media. As one apolitical CEO put it, “How quickly people forget that it was Sara Duterte who gave way to PBBM as presidential candidate, aligned herself under the UNITY ticket as suggested by former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, only to find themselves dumped by Martin Romualdez et al on mere suspicion of intent to stage a coup for the position of Speaker of the House.”

A senior journalist I consulted claims to have asked a very senior congressman if the rumored impeachment was really serious and if it had the approval of “the man upstairs,” meaning PBBM. The reply was a thumbs up followed by a hand gesture of slitting the throat. That shared information is just one of many signs that certain individuals have been using the President’s name in vain, at his expense.

Last week, as I surfed news and commentary programs, jumping from one station to another, I could not help but notice that several radio and online commentaries seemed to sound alike. It was almost like people were reading from the same book. Out of curiosity, I started asking my friends in media if some PR person had been going around making a pitch against the Vice President or to pour fuel into the fire, so to speak.

The first person I asked immediately and unabashedly confirmed my suspicion about the similarity in talking points and that someone had reached out to him as well. This of course is nothing new. It is common knowledge that PR firms or experts do the rounds to get the media on board concerning an issue and position.

Some appeal to a shared view, others ask help as a personal favor, and the desperate or well-funded offer 30 pieces of silver, so to speak. What’s interesting is that the PR was not a PR but a political aspirant.

In spite of it all, I believe I will once again be proven right that after all is said and done, there will be much more said and very little done. President Bongbong Marcos has risen above the muck raking and character assassination and declared that he “does not support any impeachment moves against Vice President Sara Duterte because impeachment will not improve the life of a single Filipino.” As the saying goes, “The king’s word cannot be broken, no, not even by the king.”

If PBBM is true to his word and imposes his will, then it will be a sad day for the people who bankrolled the entire circus directly or indirectly. They may have hurt the Vice President’s image, but they have not captured the OVP. I did say once in this column that 2028 is so far into the uncertain future that anyone who tries this early, will pay too high a price and that seems to have been the case to date.