IT used to be just Sen. Leila de Lima and a few others who dared stand up to President Duterte. With a presidential election approaching and Duterte’s term nearing its end, a few others are desperately trying to prove that they are not afraid of crossing the man they used to be palsy-walsy with.
Let’s start with Manny Pacquiao. He ran for the Senate in the ticket of an opponent of Duterte but when they both won, he was the first one among his peers to pledge his loyalty to the new President. He was true to his vow; until Bong Go and Bato Dela Rosa arrived, no senator was as devoted to Duterte as the boxing legend.
Pacquiao’s blind obedience did not go unappreciated by Duterte who, at one time, even publicly endorsed him as successor. Pacquiao apparently took the indorsement seriously and began acting like he was his own man. Duterte promptly cut him down, citing the senator’s lack of formal education as reason why he should not speak on matters of the state like the Chinese occupation of the West Philippine Sea and giving his blessing to Pacquiao’s removal as PDP Laban president.
Before he left for the US for another boxing fight, Pacquiao bared instances of alleged corruption in the Duterte administration and promised to expose some more upon his return.
Pacquiao found an ally in another Mindanao senator, Koko Pimentel, whose father, Nene, was a co-founder of the PDP-Laban. From Senate president, the younger Pimentel has seen his role in the party marginalized by the new kids in the block. Not surprisingly therefore, Pimentel backed Pacquiao in fighting off his dismissal as party president and became a target of Duterte’s acerbic tongue.
Until his election as president, the PDP Laban was just a father and son party, Duterte sneered, adding that the Pimentels were not even recognized in Cagayan de Oro (where they came from).
Senate President Tito Sotto and Sen. Ping Lacson have so far escaped Duterte’s wrath but until when? They have not spoken ill of the President either, not yet anyway, but as the campaign heats up, the existence of the Lacson-Sotto tandem will surely become an irritant especially if the Duterte-Duterte ticket pushes through.
What Duterte-Duterte ticket, you say? Isn’t the other PDP Laban wing backing a Go-Duterte pairing? Seriously, do you really think Go will dare run against the President’s daughter? He might file a certificate of candidacy in October, but he will drop out of the race either by refusing to campaign or withdrawing his candidacy.
Strange things are already happening with a little more than a month and half to go before the filing of certificates of candidacy. Stranger things will happen in the run-up to the elections. Trust me.