We've got to hand it to those who seek to destroy the good name of Vice President Sara Duterte: They never miss an opportunity to besmirch her at every turn. Unfortunately for them, often, in their overzealousness, the hack jobs blow up in their faces.

Case in point: The issue of confidential funds. Questioning the grant of such funds to the Office of the Vice-President and trying to make her look corrupt through disinformation by harping on the issue retroactively by involving even her confidential funds while mayor of Davao City, the critics did not count on two things: First, her defenders emphatically pointed out — backing their assertion by data — that Davao City was one of the safest and most peaceful cities in the country precisely by the use of such funds; and second, other government instrumentalities also had confidential funds, and thus became collateral damage in the ensuing media melee. Talk about the law of unintended consequences!

Now comes another issue that resulted in having eggs on the faces of those who publicized it. Less than a week ago, areas of Commonwealth Avenue were closed to the general motoring public. An irate motorist recorded on video a conversation he had with a ranking policeman on the scene, wherein the said cop informed the driver that the other cars had to give way because the vice president was about to pass through. Incensed at the traffic being caused, the driver made a big to-do about the incident and posted the video online, never mind if such protocols are the standard operating procedure for high-risk public officials everywhere in the world. As it turns out, the mortified motorist was a certified Pinktard. Not to be outdone, that flatulence of an activist called Teddy Casino lost no time in reposting the video, as did other Duterte critics. The whole incident became viral.

As it turned out, the Vice-President was nowhere near Commonwealth Avenue. She was confirmed to be in Mindanao for a teachers' convention on that very day. No, not Mindanao Avenue, which would have been nearby, but in Mindanao. You know, the second-largest island in the Philippines is located in the South, which is literally more than a thousand kilometers away.

Karma, having become officially digital around 2010, the backlash was widespread. The indiscreet law enforcer who spoke without thinking (and who, for obvious reasons, should not even be disclosing to civilians the identity of the VIP passing through, especially if he was not sure) was suspended and is now facing charges. The abashed officialdom of the Quezon City Police Department had to apologize profusely to a rightfully indignant Sara Duterte about dragging her name into something she had absolutely nothing to do with. Commentators and vloggers who shot from the hip and immediately started throwing brickbats at the veep were suddenly acquainted with the taste of an avian specie with the scientific name of Corvus brachyrhyncos or, in common parlance, the crow. As for Teddy Casino, well, he was, for the nth time, exposed as a dolt of the highest order.

One can only conjecture as to the people behind the relentless attacks on Duterte and, lately, her strongest allies, such as former President Arroyo, who is once again on the receiving end of a recycled complaint before the Ombudsman that is a rehash of an issue already laid to rest years ago. Good thing for Arroyo that she reportedly has a very good lawyer who, as a bonus, is reputedly bursting with sex appeal.

As for VP Sara, just like her father, she appears to have an inborn coating of polytetrafluoroethylene, more commonly known as Teflon. Nothing sticks because a more discerning public with ready access to accurate information knows the kind of person she really is. Those who tangled with her in that latest "closed encounter" have again come out worse in the end.