‘Where will this all end? When the dust settles, who will be left standing?’
EVERYONE is watching and waiting: Will hostilities break out between the warring parties, and will the conflict become a war to the death?
It’s all speculative at the moment but given the bad blood between the parties that has replaced the modus vivendi of the recent past, no reasonable observer will bet that things won’t come to a boil.
I am not referring to the situation between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip that has the whole world holding its breath; I am more focused on the brewing hostilities at home, on the political front, between the erstwhile allied forces of the UniTeam.
If you listen to political pundits, it’s a war to the death. Each side is aware that if you lose, you die – politically at least.
The tension is palpable.
If you’ve been listening carefully, you should have noticed the recent change in the winds blowing from the Department of Justice. What was once an absolute “we will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court” has softened, opening up the possibility that if the ICC issues arrest warrants for certain political personalities, then the Marcos administration will not stand in the way.
Almost immediately, the former president who is most in danger of such an arrest warrant issued a call for civil disobedience! What a scenario – a former president calling on the people not to pay taxes. I chuckled thinking that he would have had someone who said that during his term arrested – or worse! Anyway, here he was expressing his anger at the current administration that he says has treated his daughter disrespectfully.
That disrespectful treatment was all about the brouhaha surrounding the confidential funds lodged in the budgets of the Office of the Vice President and of the Secretary of the Department of Education. It was indeed an embarrassing spectacle where the VP was publicly hauled over the coals, with her spending over the last 12 months exposed, even mocked. In contrast, confidential funds of other government units were untouched, heightening the feeling that indeed there was a concerted effort to target the Vice President, with her camp pointing fingers at the Speaker of the House. And because the Speaker is a blood relation of the President, his moves have been deemed as having the support (even if tacit) of the President himself.
But we must never forget that the Vice President is just a “heartbeat away” from the presidency. This means the incumbent has to make sure she remains healthy – and safe. Is that why there was a shakeup recently of the presidential security group? Your guess is as good as mine.
Where will this all end? When the dust settles, who will be left standing?
It’s sad because the argument for the UniTeam was that we shouldn’t have a repeat of 2016 when there was distrust (if not bad blood) between the President and the Vice President. Indeed, from my perch, that was a big source of appeal for the BBM-Sara tandem. But that appeal is now in tatters.
So, will hostilities break out? And if they do, will this be a fight to the (political) death?