[Vantage Point] ‘Crimes against the treasury’ and political opportunism

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House lawmakers investigating Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential funds have unearthed what appeared to be another set of fictitious recipients of those public funds.

While the whole country is agog with what is happening over at The Hague, Netherlands, where former President Rodrigo Duterte has been detained for crimes against humanity on the strength of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) warrant of arrest, VP Sara’s impeachment appears to have been put on the back burner by the Senate.

Now, the House has again found what appears to be fabricated names comically similar to grocery items on the list of recipients of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds (CFs).

House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V of La Union has dubbed these  freshly discovered names as “Team Grocery,” fortifying allegations that large sums of taxpayer’s money were siphoned off to fictitious individuals.

Here’s the new list of doubtful names of CF recipients whom Ortega said have no official birth, marriage, or death records filed with the Philippine Statistics Authority: Beverly Claire Pampano, Mico Harina, Sala Casim, Patty Ting, and Ralph Josh Bacon. These names resemble a popular fish; the Tagalog word for flour; a homonym of the pork shoulder cut routinely used in Filipino dishes, a small flat cake of minced meat, and cured and smoked pork, respectively. 

It was the OVP itself, Ortega said, which submitted these names to the Commission on Audit. “What’s even more concerning,” Ortega pointed out, “is that the list keeps growing. Is this just a typo? It seems like there’s a deliberate effort to fabricate names to cover up where the funds were spent.” He also noted that out of 1,992 supposed recipients of the OVP’s CF, 1,322 had no birth records, 1,456 had no marriage records, and 1,593 had no death records.

There appears to be a solid basis to suspect that the OVP’s confidential funds were misspent or plundered, unless of course VP Sara herself could explain where these funds went. The problem is that she barks at the idea of publicly explaining her side, save for the online vitriol her followers throw at whoever dares accuse their idol.

The controversy over the CF forms part of the alleged malfeasance that VP Sara has been accused of in her impeachment case which unfortunately remains stalled. It could have been an opportunity for VP Sara and her lawyers to clear her name.

Escudero unperturbed

Many view Senate President Francis Escudero as a hindrance. 

His decision to postpone to July 30 the convening of the Senate as an impeachment court is seen as a unilateral move to protect VP Sara from eventual political demise. He could be taking a calculated gamble, believing that by shielding her from the immediate Senate impeachment trial, Escudero could win Duterte’s political constituency to become either her running mate in 2028 or become the presidential candidate himself if the first scenario does not materialize.

If VP Sara were either removed from office or acquitted in what is to be expected to be a tumultuous impeachment trial, Escudero foresees himself as the winner. In case of political acquittal, he sees himself as Sara’s running mate in 2028. If Sara were impeached, Escudero could up the ante by becoming the presidential candidate himself.

Could this be why why he is taking the bull by its horn to protect VP Sara? It is a win-win situation for him, or so he believes. There’s no way for him to lose in the political rumble.

The current political situation could be best understood within the context of the political relations between President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr and the Dutertes, particularly the former president as the family’s patriarch and VP Sara. The political break from Marcos Jr. has been so acrimonious to the point it has left deep wounds on either side.

Because of the subsequent deterioration of their political relations, the Marcos administration has come out with its political plan to extinguish the Dutertes from the Philippine political scene, or at least render them irrelevant and powerless. They shouldn’t be left with any rhyme or reason to survive or resurrect their political careers by 2028.

The scenario seems simple: There shouldn’t be a Duterte-Part 2 this year. All Dutertes and their minions running in the May 12 midterm elections should face defeat and political extinction within this year. The political plan could be reduced into a single sound bite — a Duterte-Free Philippines 2025.

It would appear that Escudero has read clearly the key political objective of the Marcos camp. He sees the Marcos side as a calculating, but thoroughly ruthless and unforgiving political group. He knows, howeer, that he is a political outsider. The Marcos camp would only cooperate with him, but not make him a direct participant in its machinations. Neither would he benefit from it.

In Escudero’s calculating mind, it is best for him to side with the Dutertes. He foresees a political role for him in the current political equation, when the Marcos and Duterte camps are totally embroiled for political supremacy.

The China factor

It is also important to consider China’s role in Philippine politics today or beyond. Escudero knows that China is a generous donor to influence the course of Philippine politics. Knowing that its interests are at stake, Beijing wants to ensure it can influence the elections in 2025 and 2028 by providing generous financial and moral support to its local lackeys.

Escudero knows that by supporting the Dutertes, particularly Sara and Rodrigo, who are identified as China’s local lackeys, he would get China’s support and the billions of pesos of campaign funds it would roll out in 2028. It’s a win-win situation for him to throw his political hat with the Dutertes.

How about his potential competitors in the Duterte camp? He can adroitly handle them. Sara’s political fortunes could go either way, and Escudero will still be there. He can likewise handle with ease and comfort the emergence of Senators and Duterte supporters Bong Go and Robin Padilla. In his reckoning, the two are political lightweights.

Bong Go can win the 2025 midterm elections, if recent surveys are to be believed. But to his political misfortune, Go may not be able to return to the Senate because he could face a multitude of charges that could immobilize him completely. So far, he is not yet the target of major political operations to disqualify him from holding any political office.

The current plan to extinguish the Dutertes out of the country’s political arena has a key component to eliminate even key minions like Bong Go, Bato dela Rosa, Robin Padilla, and embedded agents like Francis Tolentino. The moment the Marcos camp steamrolls this component plan, Bong Go will be totally unable to participate in 2028.

Many doubt if Robin Padilla has the mental acuity to understand the current political situation. He is considered by many as a non-factor in 2028, especially now that the former resident is in the ICC prison facility at The Hague.

In so many ways, Escudero could see himself as the emerging winner in this political brouhaha. He has the political acumen to take advantage of the current political situation. This does not mean, however, that the Philippines will be in safe hands with him at the helm. Although he is known for his political savvy in this power-hungry world of political opportunism, Escudero does not have the reputation for doing what is considered best for the country. – Rappler.com