SOMEONE ELSE’S WINDOWS: Ay, Inday

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 22 October) – From the looks of it, Vice President Sara Duterte ignored the script prepared by her handlers for that press conference that became instead a tragicomedy in the eyes of many. Tragic for her and comic for her detractors.

But let’s put aside the elements of Plautian drama in that regrettable, if embarrassing, episode of yet her biggest meltdown. Let’s focus on how it has impacted her political future, now that she has been reduced to an object of ridicule, satire and – more importantly – doubts as to the true state of her mental health.

As one meme on Facebook put it, “If the Palace needs a follicle test, the OVP needs a mental test.”

Was the Vice President thinking that ranting against the Marcos camp would divert public attention away from the House investigations into how she had spent the funds entrusted to her office? Apparently, her refusal to answer allegations of misuse of taxpayer’s money has pulled down her ratings. And that press conference didn’t help to turn things around.

If I were her PR guy, I would have advised Duterte to give Marcos and his allies a dose of their own medicine, meaning, come up with hard evidence that they too need to explain how they’re handling people’s money. She could have started with the national budget, which is surely heavily laced with “pork” as incentives for the 2025 polls and beyond.

She has a problem though if the people around her are too lazy to do their own research and sleuthing. But her remaining allies in Congress would have provided the data on how the largesse is inserted into the allocations.

She could also have challenged the President himself to explain how he had been spending his own confidential, intelligence and discretionary funds.

Or, she could have rallied people’s sentiment against the illegal transfer of P90 billion from PhilHealth – money coming from the members’ contributions – to the Bureau of Treasury. However, it would sound awkward and ridiculous for her to wage a campaign for accountability given her own cavalier attitude toward the same thing. That’s why she resorted to theatrics and hysterics, hoping to regain sympathy and an eroded political base, if the collapse of the Maisug thing were to serve as gauge.

During the campaign for the 1992 presidential elections, rumors that she was suffering from “Sulking Achilles Syndrome” worked against Miriam Defensor-Santiago, earning for her the derogatory moniker “Brenda,” a play on “brain damage.” She lost to administration bet Fidel V. Ramos, but insisted that the elections were rigged.

Duterte’s critics and the Marcos camp might use the same tactic against her.

Will she be able to parry further blows and shield her presidential ambition from the fallout of her gross miscalculations?

Butuanons and Surigaonons would say, “Ay, Inday (Oh, I don’t know).”

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. H. Marcos C. Mordeno can be reached at hmcmordeno@gmail.com).