The end is near
HISTORY tells us that the end of a regime is marked by economic and social chaos as the ruling class holds on to power by trying to decimate the opposition or stage “shows” to divert the people’s attention from their daily problems. The attempt of the Duterte administration to void the amnesty granted to Senator Trillanes by President Benigno Aquino III and Congress is a desperate move by an administration that knows time is running out.
The anti-drug campaign is not succeeding as huge amounts of shabu are still coming in, reflective of a failed strategy that targeted addicts rather than the big suppliers. The anti-corruption drive is catching top officials who are allowed to fade away rather than be charged in court. Some are resurrected in other government positions. It is coincidental that the arrest order for Senator Trillanes is issued as he presides in a Senate hearing on how Solicitor General Jose Calida’s family security agency has bagged millions in contracts with government agencies.
Recent statements of President Rodrigo Duterte bolster the belief that he is getting tired and frustrated of running the government. Yet he can not step down because he does not want his constitutional successor, Vice President Leni Robredo, to take over. Whatever his musings, the military will not succumb to any succession moves that are unconstitutional. The only way is to have the Presidential Electoral Tribunal which is also the Supreme Court, within the 41 days of the term of a chief justice whose previous votes in the Supreme Court have favored the Marcos family or have been consistent with the wishes of the President, come up with a decision finding Senator Bongbong Marcos as the rightful winner of the vicepresidential elections. Then President Duterte and the country can finally have a sorely needed rest.
To prevent any opposition to this plan, Senator Trillanes must be imprisoned, joining the only other vocal senator, Leila de Lima. Conveniently all his accusations of the Duterte bank accounts (easy for the President to dispute charges by issuing an authorisation for all banks in the Philippines to reveal his bank accounts and balances), association of Duterte family in smuggling, corruption of top officials like Solicitor General Jose Calida will be silenced. We have seen how the guards of Senator De Lima will cough in unison to drown out her statements. Will there be any senators as brave as these two to aggressively fight the Duterte administration and risk imprisonment?
Even media seems to be walking on egg shells. In the case of the amnesty, many accepted the presidential proclamation as voiding the amnesty when it should have been properly reported as an attempt to void the amnesty. How many in media carried the statement of former President Benigno Aquino III? Have the Duterte attacks and threats against the media finally succeeded in toning down the media coverage of the opposition?
Yet the best of plans can fail. The daily struggles as inflation adds to the misery of the people will force the administration to hold off these political moves. It must deal with the economy. Otherwise the end will not just be near. It will be the end.