Vice President Sara Duterte Carpio, in a recent statement made in Zamboanga City said the present administration is undertaking a “systemic persecution” of politicians who dare raise issues against the government and what its top officials are doing. She also accused government of doing cover-ups to divert people’s attention.
She added that the government does its retaliatory moves in order to cover up serious mistakes that place the country’s leadership in a bad light. To cite a few VP Sara mentioned the strong push for her impeachment when the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) was questioned in the Supreme Court because of the alleged blanks in the copy of the budget submitted by the Joint Committee as its report after it made the final deliberation of the appropriations bill.
Another was when there was this alleged news report in the United States that mentioned the name of FL Liza Araneta Marcos as one of those listed inside a room in a hotel where later one prominent Filipino was found dead. The death was allegedly caused by an overdose of substance believed to be cocaine.
In order to cover that report up here in the country VP Sara said the government “kidnapped” her father and brought him to The Hague, Netherlands where he was subsequently detained up to this time for allegedly committing “crimes against humanity.”
Then there was this recent report where her brother Cong. Polong Duterte of the city’s first district is charged by a Davao businessman for allegedly attempting to hurt him while they were inside a local bar.
VP Sara said this came about immediately after severe criticisms were heaped on the launching in the market of a P20 per kilo rice last May 1. When questions were raised on the sale in the market of the low-priced rice as to its sustainability and branding the move as a simple “pambobola” the sale was immediately terminated. And to cover the very negative impact of the mess, VP Sara said the government immediately release to the media the story about the case filed against her congressman brother.
We are just a bit perplexed on VP Sara’s claim that the issue on her impeachment was brought to a higher plane when the GAA was questioned in the high court. We had been closely following on the impeach story and we are certain it was the top story in the country much ahead than the blanks in the GAA issue.
In our own personal observation, it was the questioning of the GAA in the Supreme Court that temporarily “sidelined” the impeachment issue on the Vice President.
Meanwhile, the VP claimed that the “kidnapping” of her former President father and flying him to The Netherlands, was done to cover up the report that the President’s First Lady was with those inside the room where a Tantoco scion was found dead of overdose of alleged cocaine.
Surprisingly, those who claimed that there was such report in the US media, were unable to present documentary evidence like photocopies of the news story, picture, say of the First Lady booked by the police or undergoing tactical interrogation, or held in detention.
Having some exposure in the workings of the U.S. media, we know that such story as a President’s wife caught involved in shenanigans in that counry cannot escape getting carried as its continuing top story.
But of course, the report of the alleged involvement of the President’s wife in that incident came from the social media accounts of known personal critics more of the President than the administration.
Given the preceding circumstance was it worth allowing the “kidnapping” of a former President just to drown the story allegedly involving the Philippine First Lady? Did the supposed “kidnapping” of the former President kill the story on FL Liza’s inclusion in the list of possible Tantoco’s companion? It did not of course. Proof is the VP’s categorically mentioning the same story in supporting her claim of “systematic persecution” by the present government of those who go against it.
Intriguingly, VP Sara did not mention anything about the lightning-quick issuance of a Preventive Suspension Order against Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia by the Ombudsman. Garcia, of course, is allied with the President and Ombudsman Samuel Martirez is an appointee of her father. Is the VP in agreement with the President who said that the suspension of the Cebu governor is a simple compliance of the responsibility of letting justice run its normal course? Therefore, political persecution does not apply in Governor Garcia’s case.
Anyhow. Let us all Filipinos just wait where all these political imbroglios experienced by our country these days bring us.
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