[Newsstand] ‘I don’t feel safe’ is Sara Duterte’s presidential campaign in a nutshell

Why the grave threats charges were only belatedly filed is another matter altogether, but Vice President Sara Duterte and her staff were fully prepared for them. Part of the preparation, self-evidently, was a narrative strategy. According to Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla , Duterte’s representatives asked that she be detained in Camp Crime, the headquarters of the Philippine National Police. “Gusto niya na may picture siya na naka-handcuff. Gusto niya na may picture siyang nakakulong (She wanted to have a picture of herself in handcuffs. She wanted a picture of herself behind bars). ” Granted, this is Remulla speaking, one half of the sibling act which has been criticized for executing policy, or even policymaking, through press conferences.

But the supposed conditions for Duterte’s surrender come straight from her father’s highly successful political playbook: When necessary, play the victim. Also, the chief of the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Police Major General Robert Norico II, said much the same thing. “I was informed by the [Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group] that she did not want to post bail. She wanted to be incarcerated. ” There was a change of mind, however, and the day after the arrest warrant was issued, the Vice President posted bail before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. But she hesitated to enter the court’s premises for a long time. Talking to her lawyers while surrounded by the reporters, the photographers, and the cameramen who were covering the second highest official of the country as she made bail, she said she did not trust the court or the police. “I do not feel safe,” she said. “I do not feel safe anywhere. ” She said she was at the courthouse only because she needed to post bail on their advice…