Duterte seen as ‘lame duck’

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate. Screengrab from House of Representatives livestreaming

MANILA, Philippines — Ignored by the forces that backed him in 2016—the same ones now allied with former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, President Duterte has been reduced to a “lame duck” and a “shadow of his former self.”

This was the observation of an opposition lawmaker, who warned that the partnership between Marcos-Duterte and the camps of two former presidents, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Joseph Estrada, was “an alliance made in hell” and for “political convenience.”

House deputy minority leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate said the developments bode ill for the country and should spur “all democratic forces and nonadministration candidates to unite and prevent a ‘dictatorannical’ regime” from returning to Malacañang.

Dynasties united

“It’s a coalition MADE (Marcos, Arroyo, Duterte, Estrada) in hell. While it is clearly for the political convenience of the dynasties it represents, the coming together of these forces will only further the misery of the Filipino people now mired in much poverty due to antipeople, sociopolitical and economic policies pursued and implemented by these same people,” Zarate told the Inquirer.

“As for the President, he’s clearly now a lame duck, reduced to an ignored shadow of his former self by these same forces that backed him up in 2016,” he added.

The parties of Marcos and the younger Duterte signed on Thursday a “UniTeam alliance” with the Partido ng Masang Pilipino of former President and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada.

Malacañang, on the other hand, was unfazed by the development.

“That’s a political exercise, and parties are free to do what they think they should do as long as they are well within the parameters of our election laws,” acting presidential spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said at a press briefing.

Conspiracy theory

But Presidential Adviser on religious affairs Butch Belgica, in another press briefing, accused some allies of Duterte of conspiring against and undermining him.

He did not identify the people he was referring to, saying only that they had forgotten the President once helped them.

“They did not consult Mr. Duterte. They should at least have talked to him,” he added.

Marcos is the presidential candidate and chair of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, while Mayor Duterte sits as cochair of two parties: Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) and Hugpong ng Pagbabago, which she founded. She is also the vice presidential candidate of Lakas-CMD, whose president emeritus is Arroyo.

Duterte had expressed dissatisfaction over his daughter’s decision to run for the second highest position in the land even if she was performing well in surveys.

He later took a swipe at Marcos, calling him a “weak leader” and “spoiled brat.” The President also rejected the possibility of teaming up with Lakas-CMD because “Marcos is there.”