From the Newsrooms: March 10 to 16, 2024

Duterte attends rally to support Quiboloy; hits Marcos’ “leisurely travels” and Cha-cha push

THE STATE of the ruling alliance has taken back the news spotlight as the President and his predecessor engaged in yet another sharp exchange, suggesting that all is not well in Team Unity. The depth of hostility between the two remains the subject of public speculation.

The media this week reported yet another back-and-forth between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the former president, Rodrigo Duterte. The exchange spotlighted the underlying tensions in their turbulent relationship.

Since Marcos became president, Duterte has been critical of his leadership, even instigating querulous accusations against him in interviews and speeches. Earlier in January, Duterte aired his opposition to the “unfair treatment” of his close friend and political supporter, Apollo Quiboloy, founder of the cultish Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), as Marcos allies in Congress summoned him to investigate several charges. Quiboloy in February also tagged Marcos for conspiring with the US to “eliminate” him forcing him to go into hiding, eventually assigning Duterte as administrator of the KOJC properties. Duterte’s latest tirade against Marcos on March 12 seemed to rise from deep-seated anger. Spoken during the last day of a prayer rally in Liwasang Bonifacio to support Quiboloy, the words lit up a fire among the flock who began calling out for Marcos to resign.

The prayer rally was the evangelical response to the summons issued by Congress to Quiboloy so that he could answer questions about the various charges against him: the franchise violations of his media enterprise, human as well as sex trafficking charges against him by former members of KOJC. Quiboloy’s refusal to appear in Congress despite Duterte himself saying “just face the music” prompted House leaders to issue an arrest order and the Senate, a show cause order. Quiboloy was also indicted in a US federal court in 2021 for sex trafficking, fraud, and smuggling.  

Days after he was named as administrator of KOJC, Duterte criticized Marcos’ penchant for leisurely travel. The former president also accused Marcos of pushing for constitutional amendments to extend his presidential term.

In reporting the term extension allegations, the Philippine Daily Inquirer on March 13 highlighted Duterte’s speech which drew parallels between the President and his late authoritarian father: The older Marcos changed the constitution so he could continue being president. Now, decades later, the younger Marcos is doing the same.

Marcos, who was on a working visit to Berlin from March 11 to 13, responded to Duterte’s remarks in an interview with the Filipino media delegation. On March 13, TV news programs featured a clip of the President showing his schedule and countering Duterte’s comments about his supposed leisurely pursuits. After Berlin, Marcos went to Prague in the Czech Republic for a state visit from March 14 to 15. Just before the European tour, Marcos had back-to-back visits to Australia: on February 28 to 29 for an official state visit and March 4 to 6 for the Association of South East Nations Special Summit.

News accounts also highlighted Marcos’ restraint in not responding to Duterte’s claim about the purpose of the constitutional changes pursued by Congress. The Manila Bulletin reported on March 13 that instead of talking about it, Marcos switched emphasis, pointing out Duterte “confusing” stand on Cha-cha. Marcos said that he needed to examine Duterte’s latest speech to understand his position completely. Marcos didn’t add further to prove his point. Indeed, Marcos is not the only one confused. Media did report how Duterte approved charter change (Cha-cha) for economic measures in February just after he had led an anti-charter change rally in Davao in January.

In the same interview with the press delegation, Marcos told the media that he talked with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation of Duterte’s war on drugs. 24 Oras reported on March 14 that Marcos stood by his position that the Philippines does not recognize the ICC. Frontline Pilipinas highlighted that Marcos said that talking to Scholz, he emphasized the departure of current strategy from Duterte’s violent drug war, shifting his focus to prevention and rehabilitation.

According to the The Philippine Star in a report on March 15, Marcos said that despite Duterte’s criticism, he does not hold any grudge against his predecessor; and that he knows how to separate personal issues from work.

If real, the Marcos-Duterte rift would affect the electoral prospects starting 2025.

Vice President Sara Duterte showed up at the Quiboloy rally as an expression of solidarity. OneNews reported that lawyer Salvador Panelo while speaking on stage, floated the idea of Sara running with her father in the 2028 elections for the presidential and vice presidential positions respectively. The same report stressed that the rally also became a venue for calling for the resignation of President Marcos.

Rappler on March 13, asked if Sara’s attendance at the rally could mean her muted support not only for Quiboloy but also for the call for Marcos’ resignation.

The report recalled several instances backing the assumption: On March 11, the Vice President released a statement defending Quiboloy saying that the church leader was “being treated unfairly.” In February, there were allegations that Sara and her father got bags of assorted firearms from Quiboloy. In January, Sara attended a prayer rally against Cha-cha in Davao where her father and his brother Davao Mayor Paolo Duterte lambasted the President. However, media also noted that Sara did not utter a word to indicate that she herself shared the anger openly expressed by her father and her brother.

Meanwhile, in other news:

• Media outlets continue to report on the tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) giving only piecemeal information as these happen. This week, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) responded to a The Manila Times report on March 11 quoting an unnamed Chinese official who claimed that the Philippines ignored China’s proposals on the WPS dispute. Philstar.com, among others, said on March 12 that the DFA criticized China for making the negotiations public and stated that the proposals did not align with the country’s interests. Additionally, the DFA submitted counter-proposals that China did not consider.

• On March 13, news about a resort in Bohol, the Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort, went viral, sparking a wave of netizen outrage on social media. The resort was built in a valley within the field of famed Chocolate Hills in Sagbayan, Bohol province. The media reported the social media exchange that questioned the local government (LGU) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for issuing permits to build on the natural wonder. Frontline Pilipinas reported on March 16 that the DENR temporarily closed the resort due to lack of an Environmental Compliance Certificate. In the same report, the Sagbayan LGU maintained that no hills were damaged, while the governor of Bohol pledged to establish a regulatory body to safeguard the protected area.
  
  So far, coverage on digital and legacy news media has only words and more words from officials concerned. Mainstream media should follow up with reports checking on whether government agencies have acted on their statements.