Steadfastness, amid orchestrated chaos

Steadfastness, amid orchestrated chaos | Daily Tribune

To stand at the helm of a nation is to be no stranger to political storms.

Yet, the recent confluence of events: former Ako Bicol Representative Elizaldy Co implicating President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Speaker Martin Romualdez in the insertion of P100 billion in the budget and taking P56 billion in kickbacks — timed before the massive Iglesia ni Cristo three-day rally — and the public denunciation by Senator Imee Marcos of her brother, the First Lady and their children as abusing drugs, coupled with the rumblings of a disgruntled former regime, bring into clear view a seemingly carefully orchestrated political crisis.

Amid such tempest, a leader’s response must be measured not by reactive fury, but by strategic calm, a clear-eyed assessment of the situation, and an unwavering focus on the duties of his office.

Undoubtedly, the personal dimension of the senadora’s attack on her brother and her brother’s family was the most painful.

For a sibling to take to a public stage and level accusations against her own family, without offering any evidence, is a profound betrayal that cuts deeper than any political critique.

It was a sordid spectacle — one that Imee Marcos should have spared the public — designed to wound personally and destabilize politically, leveraging the intimacy of family to create a narrative of a corrupt and fractured presidency.

Observed a netizen: “Imee Marcos was (the rally organizers’) nuclear option. They must’ve really expected more support and outrage and with the second day coming to a close without hitting critical mass and without key defections, she threw the wildest, biggest haymaker they could manage. What did people think? They were thinking that it showed more of their (rally organizers’) desperation than anything else. Let’s see if it will affect the thinking of the fence sitters. It really boils down to who is actually more sane: a recreational drug user or a psychotic power hungry replacement.”

Key defection? Did the rally organizers really think the active officers and soldiers of the republic would abandon this dispensation and support the Vice President, another Duterte?

In no uncertain terms, current AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner said, in a statement, that no one should hope that the soldiers would join protest actions because the Armed Forces of the Philippines will never go against the Constitution. “We will stick to the rule of law and we will not go against this,” Brawner said.

Meanwhile, the court of public opinion has already begun to render its verdict. The swift and negative reactions on social media demonstrate a fundamental public decency — many netizens recognize malicious, evidence-free character assassination when they see it.

The people’s discernment is the President’s first potent shield in this matter. To engage his sister in a public feud would be to descend to her level, granting a personal squabble the stature of a state affair.

The dignified, albeit painful, course is silence, trusting that the Filipino people’s sense of fairness would come to the fore.

Meanwhile, that rally on EDSA of “retired generals” was a transparent attempt by a defeated and discredited old guard to claw its way back to relevance.

Led by figures like former AFP chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon, who had served as national security adviser under former president Duterte, these were the architects and apologists of a bloody regime now facing international justice.

Their call for the President to resign was not born of patriotic concern, but of a desperate attempt to install the former president’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, who seethes with hatred for Marcos and has on several occasions expressed a desire to sever the President’s head from the rest of his body. Their rally was not a popular movement; it was the last gasp of a system built on impunity, terrified of its impending sunset.

Crucially, the momentum of this orchestrated crisis has faltered.

The Iglesia ni Cristo decision to cut short its rally at the Quirino Grandstand was a significant development. It suggested that even organizations that once supported political rivals were recognizing the lack of substance in these attacks and the potential backlash from aligning too closely with such a toxic and personal crusade.

At this juncture, the path forward is clear: the President must not be distracted.

He must remain focused on the governance agenda that the people elected him to pursue. The work of improving the economy, creating jobs and investing in infrastructure and social services must continue unabated. Deliver tangible results, and the noise of political theatrics will fade in the background.

He should continue to uphold the rule of law without fear or favor. The President must speak directly to the people and acknowledge that the recent events weren’t a crisis much as they were a test of the nation’s democratic resilience.

This attempt at chaos, sadly instigated by his sister and whoever her cohorts may be, was built on a foundation of personal envy and a fear of justice and is already crumbling under its own weight.

The President’s task is not to fight every fire set by arsonists, but to ensure the Filipino people that the nation’s house remains strong, its foundation secure and its future bright. The storm will pass; his resolve shouldn’t.