Determining forces

Going by the current true standing of political forces, it is increasingly clear that the moderate opposition and centrist conservatives now determine the balance of power.

And, nothing illustrates this crucial fact than Duterte-camp stalwart Senator Bato dela Rosa’s Freudian slip on Facebook last week that “tahimik ang Pinklawans at Komunista sa exposé ni Zaldy Co (the Pinklawans and Communists are silent on the exposé of Zaldy Co).

“Pinklawan,” of course, is the Duterte camp’s sneering epithet for moderate oppositionists like Congressperson Leila de Lima and the 15 million who actively campaigned and voted for former Vice President Leni Robredo in the last presidential election.

The moderate opposition also counts varied groups of left-of-center organizations, center-leaning civil society organizations, and bishops of the Catholic Church and other religious groups in its ranks.

Anyway, in his outburst, Dela Rosa complained “pinklawans” were “strategize muna sila (still strategizing on) how to appear righteous and anti-corruption while at the same time preventing the downfall of this government they benefitted from a lot.”

While Dela Rosa’s complaint is self-serving since “pinklawans” have always been critical of anti-corruption and impunity, the point is that he manages to show “pinklawans” are presently preventing any untoward political machinations by his camp towards the administration from succeeding.

With “pinklawans” surprisingly not wanting to remove the incumbent, the Duterte camp has gone bonkers. The Duterte camp, as we all know, is now locked “in an existential, zero-sum battle” with the Marcos Jr. administration.

At any rate, nothing is more evident of that fact than the consensus on the political position to take regarding resigned representative Zaldy Co’s so-called “bombshell” against Mr. Marcos Jr.

Immediately after Co aired his somewhat spurious charges against Mr. Marcos Jr., the Roman Catholic Church, the moderate opposition, and conservative centrist politicians all called on Co to come home and, under oath, file the necessary charges.

On that position, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) gave the most succinct statement, echoed by both the moderate opposition and conservative members of Congress.

“Public declarations on social media, however alarming, cannot take the place of formal testimony in the appropriate legal venue. For the good of the nation, such claims must be examined transparently, impartially, and in accordance with the rule of law,” the CBCP said.

Likewise, conservative Senator Ping Lacson said that “to have any probative value,” Co’s claims “have to be properly authenticated, made under oath or affirmed in the Philippine consulate in the country where he is now staying.”

If Co fails do so, Lacson said, “no matter how many parts or episodes his narrations are, they will all remain as such — narrations.”

Meanwhile, the frustrated Duterte camp kept a stony silence on the demands that Co return. Instead, some of the noisier pro-Duterte voices proclaimed “delivery boy” Co some sort of “hero,” without batting an eye.

Such outrageous proclamations, say astute political observers, indicate Co’s allegations are now exploitable political fodder.

Exploitable fodder the CBCP is taking exception to. The CBCP says it is calling for “truth, justice, and due process to prevail,” emphasizing that the “Filipino people deserve clarity, not conjecture; truth, not rumor; accountability, not manipulation.”

In clearly stating that position, the CBCP brings out what we all are going to perilously face and must guard against in the days ahead: wave upon wave of disinformation spread by malign actors equipped with money, political incentive and impunity.