The Vice-President as "Designated Survivor"

PHILIPPINES - In Brief 13 Jul 2024 by Diwa Guinigundo

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As reported in the broadsheets recently, the popularity and approval ratings of Vice-President Sara Duterte, one of the frontrunners to the Philippine presidency in 2028, are being pulled down by no less than his namesakes. The reason, as pointed out by a political commentator, is the shared brand of the Dutertes. It is the Vice-President’s own father, the former President Rodrigo Duterte, who seems to be doing and saying all the wrong things that have the effect of undermining her political standing. All the key political issues today in the Philippines involve the former President. First, with the charges levelled against the elder Duterte for his drug on war and the alleged extra judicial killing, the Vice-President was also included as a co-accused in the International Circuit Court (ICC) case. Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced that he would uphold the sovereignty of the Philippines but at the same time, disclosed that he would not stand in the way of ICC members visiting Manila on a personal capacity. Second, the former President’s charges that while he himself was on pain-killing drugs, he accused the President of taking dope. People thought this was in bad taste but unfortunately, the Vice-President was also dragged along. Third, and here by her silence, the Vice-President seemed to confirm it, the former President’s loyalty to China. China has been accused of bullying the Philippines out of its own exclusive economic zone despite an international arbitral ruling in favor of the Philippines. Uncharacteristically, the Dutertes were rather silent about this issue of overriding national importance. In particular, China anchored its claim of keeping t...