The party system in the Philippines has long been mired with turncoatism, or in local parlance, pagiging balimbing. Political parties in the country are not held by a well-defined ideology or concrete set of platforms. Rather, politicians jump from one party to another based on self-interest and opportunism.

You could say political parties serve practically no purpose other than being an exclusive club where bureaucrats pool over the new guy on the block. Case in point: Within less than a month since Duterte assumed office in 2016, members from the Liberal Party, Nacionalista Party, and other political parties immediately jumped ship the President’s own Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), forming an unprecedented “supermajority coalition” in Congress.  Without a solid framework, it is no surprise then that this same political party is now crumbling down due to warring factions within it.

The national council of the purported “original wing” of the PDP-Laban, led by Sen. Koko Pimentel and Sen. Manny Pacquiao, has ousted Pres. Duterte as party chairman yesterday, August 29. Sen. Pimentel himself replaced Duterte’s vacated position as chairman, while Sen. Pacquiao has been elected as party president, ousting Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi from the position.

Back in December of last year, several PDP-Laban members questioned the apparent appointment of Pacquiao as party president by the Pimentel-led faction. This led to the creation of the Duterte-Cusi faction. Since then, both factions have submitted their claims for legitimacy to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), but the commission has yet to decide on which to recognize as legitimate.

As the crisis in the country continues to sharpen, these reactionaries will continue to splinter. More and more factions will be borne out of their desperate need for self-preservation. When push comes to shove, politicians will leave their allies for opposing forces that they could benefit from. Bureaucrats have their pawns, too, whom they discard when no longer needed.

Senator Bong Go is currently being questioned for his links to former Department of Budget and Management (DBM) head Lloyd Christopher Lao, who is tagged in the questionable procurement of COVID-19 supplies amounting to P42 billion. Lao has denied any links with Go, and vice versa. But a quick review of Lao’s previously-held positions would show us that he was assigned to the Office of the Special Assistant to the President, an office created by Duterte specifically for Go, until 2018.

During the Senate blue ribbon hearing where the DBM’s questionable procurement was being investigated, Go cleared his name and reiterated the lie that Lao never worked for him. Before ending his speech, Go went on a tangent as if to shift attention away from him, and called on Duque to “make the supreme sacrifice” when the time comes. He said he felt pity for Duque due to the public backlash he faced amid the Commission on Audit’s (COA) flagging of the Department of Health (DOH) for various deficiencies in fund-handling.

“We don’t want that because of issues about you, your output will be compromised, especially now that we both know lives are at stake,” Go explained. In response, Duque issued a statement telling the public that he is ready to resign when needed.

Indeed, chaos reigns in the ruling party, and it is expected to even accelerate as election season nears. This administration is a sinking ship, and the reactionaries are quickly regrouping. The fascist wing of Duterte and his cohorts are starting to implement diversionary tactics to downplay the many crimes they are implicated in.

Recently, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested judicial authorization to proceed with an investigation into the possible “crimes against humanity” committed by Duterte in the country. The international court further stated that the majority of the “war on drugs” victims fully support their ongoing investigation. Currently, the judges of the ICC are in the process of analyzing the testimonies of the victims and will then issue a decision “in due time”.

With issues of graft and corruption, questionable intelligence funds, a pending criminal case in the international court, and a complete failure of a pandemic response, this administration is a bubble that is about to burst. The people must take advantage of these warring factions to further isolate the narrowest target: Duterte himself and his goal of prolonging his seat in power. 

Until then, let the fools party to their heart’s content as they make a joke of themselves, while we focus on sharpening our tools and continue mobilizing the broad masses towards genuine democracy. The widening cracks in the ruling class could just pave the way for us to throw a final, fatal blow to the dictator.

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