We, Filipinos, have a unique word which aptly describes the Malacanang tenants over things they imagined might happen during the signing of the 2026 General Appropriation Act. “Praning.” Paranoid.

It was extremely irrational to ban journalists from using cellphones, iPads and laptops in the Palace during the formal signing of the GAA, which, after all, was touted by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Senate President Tito Sotto and House Speaker Faustino Dy as the cleanest yet and corruption-free.

“Praning” also best describes some senators and representatives, including some of the new breed of “analysts” and bloggers, out to demonize Vice President Sara Duterte.

Senator Risa Hontiveros cannot hide her morbid fear of Sara Duterte. She expressed her irrational behavior on Sara potentially following in the footsteps of her father.

“While Vice President Sara Duterte is in power, the threat of a full-blown Duterte comeback is still a very real and present danger,” she warned. It turns out she herself has presidential ambitions.

Hontiveros is not alone in her fear of Inday Sara’s ascent to the presidency. Putschist Antonio Trillanes and the woman with frailties, Leila de Lima, share the same repugnance for yet another Duterte as president.

The leftist faction in Congress has actually agreed to a bawdy alliance with politicians identified with Marcos and former speaker Martin Romualdez to wage a concerted effort to discredit VP Sara.

Outside the politicians’ circle, Richard Heydarian, an analyst whose skills border on mediocrity, has been so motivated to discredit Sara’s leadership he referred to Davao City as “sub-Saharan.” In contrast, international rating agencies have rated Davao City as “the most livable,” “peaceful,” “top tourist destination” in the country, to cite a few citations.

Never mind Ronald Llamas, the foremost endorser of Risa Hontiveros for president. They had been partners in many ways as hinted at in various commentaries on Meta. Recently, Llamas came out with “disclosures” that he had meetings with several foreign ambassadors in the country whom he quoted as saying that the Philippines will become a failed state if VP Sara becomes president. The diplomatic corps has a lot of explaining to do over their intrusion into the country’s political squabbles.

But here is what actually has Sara’s political adversaries extremely worried, leading to their state of paranoia. All three of the country’s top survey firms, namely, Social Weather Stations, Pulse Asia and Publicus Asia, have Sara’s trust and approval ratings way above President Marcos’s, whose negative rating in both categories makes him a classic example of a lame duck who does nothing but quack.

That is the situation for now. With the unmitigated corruption and the economy in a state of stagnation, the people have no other recourse but to hang on until 2028. Their endurance could snap but that is not for me to assess as yet.

So let’s endure this ordeal for the two more years ahead of us.