[Edgewise] Sara’s fear, and ours

You saw The Scene . At first, Vice President Sara Duterte stubbornly refused to enter the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Hall to face criminal charges of threatening the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. , First Lady Liza Marcos and ex-House speaker Martin Romualdez. She grumbled to her hapless lawyers, in full view of news media, that she was afraid of being assassinated by the Marcos authorities inside the building, “like Ninoy Aquino. ” Critics pounced: “delusional,” “paranoid,” ”drama queen,” a bully-turned- scaredy-cat. Let’s pile on too, shall we? Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla claimed that Sara’s handlers, who were arranging her court appearance, hinted that she be put in handcuffs, shown lying behind bars, in other words, the penal works. His office, he said, refused to be part of “high drama” aimed at eliciting public sympathy for the accused.

Sara went on with the theatrics anyway, but her performance was more revealing than convincing. Brattiness overshadowed victimhood, visible anxiety belied any pretense of staunch martyrdom. Her eyes alternated between entitled rage and obvious fear. Fear of what? Fear that what she would have done to a political enemy would be done to her . Such is the warlord mindset of the Duterte political dynasty , the predisposition that led Sara to stream the vicious late-night threat that made her the subject of criminal proceedings. Violence, the heavy hand, is the Duterte family’s instinctive response to any perceived injury, personal or political. Inspiring dread Recall Sara pounding the face of an allegedly insubordinate sheriff. Bluffing Baste challenging General Torre to a boxing match; also publicly declaring that the only thing they wanted was “Bongbong Marcos’ head. ” Paolo menacing a pimp with a knife; and…