Team Unity: A very visible break-up
From the Newsrooms, November 6 to 12
THE CRACK-UP of the UniTeam which carried Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte to victory in 2022 became the big story of the week as newsrooms picked up the quick moves to secure the power hold of Speaker Martin Romualdez over the House of Representatives (HOR).
Reported by media on October 11, former president Rodrigo Duterte called the HOR “the most rotten institution in government” on SMNI, a Davao-based broadcast station owned by his friend, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy. The senior Duterte was responding to the rejection of confidential funds (CFs) as requested by his daughter for her two offices, the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education. The remarks triggered a chain reaction in HOR.
On November 6, in the first plenary session following the holiday break, Salvador Gonzales, representative of Pampanga 3rd district, took to the floor to announce his resignation from the PDP-Laban, the party chaired by the former president Duterte, in protest of Duterte’s attack against the House.
On the same day, HOR adopted House Resolution 1414 to defend the “integrity and honor” of the lower chamber; and to express appreciation and support for the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Two days later on November 8, media reported the removal of Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Pampanga 2nd District) and Representative Isidro Ungab, (Davao City 3rd District) from their posts as senior deputy speaker and deputy speaker, respectively. The two did not sign on to Resolution 1414. Reports included the call of Edcel Lagman, Albay 1st District Representative, to clarify exactly the purpose of the resolution.
Obviously, the resolution served to uphold the position of power of Speaker Romualdez, directly challenging any other political player in the House.
Having sponsored the Marcos-Duterte alliance, former president Arroyo seemed secure in her perch as senior deputy speaker, the second ranking office to the Speaker. But this senior rank had been taken from her in May supposedly to “unburden her,” leading to her eventual removal as deputy speaker. In reporting her fall from grace, media did not refer to the role she played and the credit she openly claimed as bringing together Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte for national leadership.
Romualdez claimed his triumph, delivering a speech to defend the decision of the chamber to remove confidential funds from civilian agencies, saying the House “did not favor anyone.”
From TV5’s Frontline Tonight, Ed Lingao’s explainer noted that a little over a year into their terms, UniTeam’s partnership had shown fissures of division. The reestablishment of Philippine ties to the US was a major break in policy from the preceding administration. Marcos’ also said he would move away from the bloody methods of Duterte’s war on drugs. But money matters were the proverbial straw that forced the breakup out in the open. HOR’s rejection of CIFs for Sara’s two offices inflicted wounds that may not heal so quickly.
The falling out seems to have thrown out Arroyo as a power player, but given the nature of Philippine politics, it may be too early to say what will eventually evolve from this still fluid dynamic. Marcos, Romualdez, Arroyo and Duterte all come from political dynasties practiced in battles for power rather than principles or ideas. At this point, the shifting balance of power may not be permanent, but it has definitely weakened the collective ruling alliance.
Sara won’t push for confidential funds
Ironically, the banner story on November 10 of Manila Standard, Philippine Daily Inquirer and The Philippine Star reported that Sara Duterte was no longer asking for confidential funds.
Michael Poa, DepEd spokesperson, told the media that Duterte recognized that the funds were divisive and that she had “sworn to keep the Philippines peaceful and stable.”
Political scientist Cleve Arguelles told ANC that Duterte committed “fatal mistakes,” overestimating the power of her influence over HOR and believing that her father’s allies would accommodate her the way they did him when he was president. Most media accounts held off from gathering more negative comments about Sara’s performance in national public office.
24 Oras, The Philippine Star and other online news outfits reported on November 11 Duterte’s admission that her family is going through a “rough patch” in terms of politics, including the pledge of support for her father coming from none other than Senator Imee Marcos, the president’s sister and Martin’s first cousin.
Other Issues
Economic growth: Media reported on November 9 that the country posted an economic growth rate of 5.9 percent for the third quarter of 2023, an increase from the previous quarter’s rate of 4.3 percent largely due to government spending.
Economist JC Punongbayan in his op-ed piece in Rappler argued that these claims of high economic growth mask the real picture, presenting data that showed the weakening, even disappearance of sources of real growth, namely, consumption and investments.
Journalists should learn more from economists who like Punongbayan believe that “the economy could have grown more rapidly if consumers were more ready to spend and investors more willing to invest,” and investigate why this is not happening.
China harassment again: A front-page story on November 11 detailed China’s harassment of the Philippine Coast Guard boats, using water cannons to block a resupply mission to a small station in Ayungin Shoal. So far, despite the frequency of these incidents, no media outfit has kept up a running count of these assaults, which could present in more concrete terms the reality of China’s actions in Philippine waters.
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