The holes we dig ourselves into

“When you fall into a hole, don’t dig deeper” was one remark a political analyst made in response to a question on whether the tough-talking trademark of former President Rodrigo Duterte and which his daughter, VP Sara Duterte, has now assumed in blasting President Ferdinand R. Marcos and certain particular allies of his, would succeed in ripping the latter to shreds and, second, get her out of the hole she seems to have fallen into since she came out battling Malacañang.

She’s been on a slippery slope since she resigned as Department of Education secretary, going aggressive against members of the House hearing on the proposed budget, for the Office of the Vice President (OVP), refusing to answer questions from the committee regarding the budget, as well as to clear up indications of what seemed to be the questionable use of confidential funds released to her office early in her term.

Her recalcitrant behavior has marked consequences, evident in survey ratings. In August, two years after she won the most votes for any Filipino who ran for a national office, her net satisfaction rating in a survey by the reputable Social Weather Stations dropped to its lowest level. That survey, conducted from 23 June to 1 July, found that her net satisfaction rating of +44 (satisfied less dissatisfied) was her lowest since she assumed the vice presidency in 2022.

Contrast that with her +73 net satisfaction rating in October 2022, which rose to +77 in December 2022, settling at an average of +64.5 through 2023.

To recall, on 10 June, prior to the SWS survey, the VP quit her post as Education secretary, a position in which she had been roundly criticized for her apparent lack of expertise as an educator handling the affairs of the agency, as well as for her nonchalance toward China’s aggression against Philippine uniformed personnel in the West Philippine Sea, a particularly sensitive issue for Filipinos.

A long-winded press conference she held on 18 October drew much flak mainly because instead of addressing the issues surrounding the alleged misuse of funds by the Office of the Vice President, she used up two hours mostly telling media about her disappointments with the President.

That included what she said was the President’s failure to give her what she alleged had been agreed upon — that she would get the national defense portfolio — as well as his non-fulfillment of allegedly, a promise he gave that she would have use of a plane to fly her to Davao so she could be with her kids on a regular basis. She found out later, she said, that where use of an aircraft was concerned, “I was not the priority; (the First Lady) Liza Marcos is the priority.”

There were many criticisms and gripes, as well as such weird matters that she aired, including her urge to decapitate the President after she heard him denying the request of a graduating Philippine Military Academy cadet for his watch, and how she had told Senator Imee Marcos that if the attacks against her continued, she would have the body of the Marcoses’ father, the late former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., exhumed from his grave and have it thrown in the West Philippine Sea.

There’s more to come, she told media, in what promises to be a series of gripes, complaints and revelations implicating the First Lady and Speaker Martin Romualdez, and who knows who else, soon.

Will her continued beast mode against Malacañang and Congress pull up her trust and satisfaction ratings? Does she care at all that from June to September 2024, for instance, her net trust rating plummeted by close to 20 points — a reflection of how she’s faring in the people’s perception?

Doesn’t the VP even bother to wonder if the steep drop in her ratings had anything to do with the unanswered allegations regarding her alleged misuse of confidential funds, and other such issues tainting her credibility?

At this juncture, the only way by which the VP can restore the people’s trust is to face the issues squarely and answer clearly what she did with the people’s money entrusted to her. How were the funds used? Is that difficult to answer, provided their handling was legit?