‘Gaba,’ succession
As if President Duterte’s admission that doctors are looking into a suspicious growth in his internal organ, the survey firm Social Weather Station released the result of a recent survey showing that his administration’s approval rating had gone down. This, as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) confirmed what economists have been worrying all along: the inflation rate for this month is 6.7 percent, up from last month’s 6.4 percent.
Am I the only one who has seen some officials of the Duterte administration starting to lose their swagger? The feeling of invincibility among them has obviously been eroded by these developments. That is bad considering that the success of administration bets in next year’s midterm elections is partly dependent on the perception of voters of the strength and capability of Malacañang’s top gun.
The biggest concern is the President’s health. If that suspicious growth in his internal organ is cancerous, that would be a game-changer. The President’s effort to diminish the capability of his constitutionally mandated successor Leni Robredo means he is worried of what will happen to his people and his policies if Robredo succeeds him. Consider that the difference in leadership style between Duterte and Robredo is like night and day.
By the way, this development on his health is one that some people talked about when he made that “God is stupid” statement. The belief in “gaba,” or karma, is deeply ingrained in the Filipino psyche. The thinking was that the President would get his comeuppance sooner or later for ranting against God himself.
Our belief in “gaba” is borne by experience. How often have we seen misfortune befall on people arrogant enough to challenge God’s power? The timing of the occurrence of the misfortune might just be coincidental, but it can prod people to make a connection.
Like, when a man suffers a stroke after doing something that many think was enough to anger God, the timing might just be a mere coincidence, but people can attribute that to “gaba.” Thus, if an illness strikes the President after he called God stupid some sectors may attribute that to gaba.
Anyway, I agreed with a former colleague when we once talked about power shifts and she said she favors the one wherein the President would use up his term of office instead of being ousted. But I also disagree with the attempt by the President to block Robredo’s ascension to power considering that millions voted for her as vice president in 2016. That mandate should be respected.
Good that the Constitution is clear on the process of succession and did not give the sick President the right to choose who would succeed him. If Robredo, a “dilawan,” succeeds him if he is forced, by reason of health, to leave the presidency, so be it. It’s like when Duterte assumed the presidency in 2016 and the “dilawans” were forced to accept that reality.
Admittedly, this is but a conjecture. For all we know the President is healthy. Which should bring us to the other points: the economic crunch and the people’s loss of faith in his administration, but that’s for another column.
The biggest concern is the President’s health. If that suspicious growth in his internal organ is cancerous, that would be a game-changer.