An explosive mix

Mariano Carrasco

THESE are sensitive times. Everybody’s expecting  something from this new president, although others think there isn’t much to expect from one person alone unless the strength of the people that supported him is used as an offensive and defensive force. Duterte should take advantage of his popularity, organize his supporters to support and defend his programs for change. It is not easy because he needs to appease the forces of the Left and Right. His own life is at stake. Aside from the ideological forces, he has to deal with the big-time drug and crime syndicates and the hardline religious extremist groups that are equally powerful and deadly.

If he oversteps towards the Left, he could be subjected to a coup. If he leans too much towards the right, the leftist rebels would remain in the hills and continue with the armed struggle to change society. Some are thinking that by appointing leaders or sympathizers of the CPP-NDF to cabinet positions, their armed comrades would lay down their arms. In reality, that is a very long and complicated story. It presupposes that the leftist rebels are not hardcore believers of Karl Marx.  Only God knows what is the future of this country. All that I know as of now is that perhaps we have reached the zenith of social decay as shown by the massive and shameless vote-buying and vote-selling. Perhaps, from hereon, and this is a long shot, vote-buying and vote-selling will be a thing of the past. That is an overly optimistic view, of course, and less ideological, too.

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My estimate is that Bongbong Marcos will never be allowed to become vice president even if he really won the vice presidential election. With Duterte as president and Marcos as vice president, so much would be unexpected and bad for business, and considering the anti-Marcos sentiment of the leftist forces, he, Marcos, would be a serious explosive source of instability and reinvigorated rebellion. If Duterte is eliminated by the vested economic interests, then Marcos would take over, and once again, society and the vested interests would have a serious problem at hand that could fuel the armed rebellion.

Someone like Leni Lobredo, a moderate, a sentimental grieving widow,  a congresswoman who rides a bus to Bicol (smells of Magsaysay), would help maintain political stability. The CIA, their local counterparts, big business and landlords, and the institutional and conservative religious leaders, must be having a headache trying to reconfigure what to do, and how to salvage a difficult and deadly governmental situation, a dangerous and unexpected one. As the song goes: “Come on Baby, let’s do the twist!” He he. Interesting times.

 (Mariano B. Carrasco is a lawyer based in Cagayan de Oro.)