Earlier this month, Duterte claimed he is seriously considering a run for Vice Presidency in the upcoming 2022 elections. In a recent press conference, however, he took this back and said he only said it to spite the opposition. Nevertheless, his cohorts in office seem to be open to the idea, too.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra even claims that there are no legal impediments for Duterte’s plan to run for the VP post. On a Duterte-Duterte tandem, Harry Roque says “Nothing is impossible.”

Amid the international backlash and the Filipino people’s growing resistance against him, Duterte seems to tighten even more his grip on state machinery to prolong his tyrannical legacy. In Negros, various Run Sarah Run posters have been spotted. In Binalbagan, an alleged local chapter of the campaign was held with participants even doing chants and taking an oath.

Even executive meetings of Duterte’s political party, PDP-Laban, are being aired on PTV-4. As it is a state-owned broadcast channel, the airtime is paid for by the people’s pockets. In its 2020 audit report, Commission on Audit (COA) notes the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) spent Php 70 million-worth for contractual workers. The PCOO claimed they were social media specialists.

It is clear that this regime has used disinformation and state propaganda to maintain itself in power. Even worse, such schemes are paid for by the Filipino people. As elections season nears, the dictator Duterte will even spin new desperate lies and concoct schemes to continue its bloody legacy. Not only is he doing this for sheer greed for power, but also because he is running away from accountability for his many crimes against the Filipino people. 

With the ongoing International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation, Duterte would do all means to avoid prosecution. Even if a Vice Presidential post does not make Duterte immune from an internal court ruling, a Duterte-Duterte tandem would make it harder to implement justice. In fact, the tandem would spell out more bloodshed and poverty for the Filipino people. 

Thus, the next months leading up to campaign season is crucial for the Filipino people. Duterte remains to be our narrowest target. And the only way we can hit the target is by mounting a strong opposition against him and his clan. They are steps ahead, and so we must triple our pace, too.

We must take advantage of the cracks in the ruling class to further isolate Duterte. A lot of traditional politicians will dress themselves as the opposition as Duterte becomes unpopular in the International (specifically, Western) community and among the Filipinos. We welcome them as tentative allies in mounting a broad united front against the Duterte regime. However, our alliances with the ruling class must always be principled and driven by the people’s agenda.

All these may sound like a gargantuan task, but history is on our side. Through the collective action of the masses, no dictator ever survives.

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