Degrees of Separation

The public may have not noticed yet but the well-planned and coordinated attack to discredit and oust the Duterte administration has begun in earnest.

The tokhang kidnap/murder of the Korean Jee has spawned revelations of other extortion operations carried out by rogue elements in the PNP. Former PNP Chief and now Senator Panfilo Lacson showed a CCTV footage at the Senate inquiry into Jee's murder of alleged PNP operatives planting shabu in a call center raid in Binondo. It's ironic that Lacson is now burning down the very organization he used to head.

In the same week, Amnesty International released a report of an investigation detailing how policemen were paid P5,000 - P10,000 per addict or pusher killed in the drug war. The report didn't provide any names as the revelations supposedly carried with it, the guarantee of anonymity.

Opposition Senators have called for an inquiry into the Amnesty International report but Dick Gordon, the Chairman of the Senate Committee in charge, dismissed the Amnesty report as "hearsay," to the consternation of the opposition Senators.

To cap the week off, the New People's Army announced it was terminating it's unilateral ceasefire against the government and that hostilities will resume. Chief government peace negotiator Jesus Dureza recommended to the President that the government not suspend it's own ceasefire but on Friday afternoon, Duterte announced that the ceasefire would be lifted by 12 midnight. He issued the directive to AFP Chief of Staff Eduardo Ano. Ano promised to go after the rebels for the death of soldiers who died in ambushes conducted by the NPA in the same week.

Clearly, there is an ongoing realignment in the Senate. Those who had been quiet before have suddenly joined the opposition chorus. Senators who may have switched sides already include Lacson, Escudero and Poe. This is in addition to Drilon, De Lima, Aquino, Hontiveros, Recto, Angara and Pangilinan. Those who continue to support the Duterte administration make up the balance. Senate President Koko Pimentel can't be expected to be relied on if and when push comes to shove. Just look at how Pimentel Sr. dumped Erap in 2001.

The Communists have also put the President on the spot. Their claim is Duterte is pandering to the military by lifting the ceasefire and refusing to release political prisoners. These detainees are only labeled as political because of their supposed ideology. But the crimes they're accused of are nowhere near political. They basically fall into the category of acts of brigandage, robbery and extortion, as what the NPA had been known to do in their areas of operation.

The Reds have also turned against the President in the drug war on the issue of alleged extra-judicial killings. This is ironic because the CPP/NPA has undertaken several purges in the past where it had been proven that they have summarily executed members they suspected of being spies or not being true to the cause. This is the main reason for the leadership vacuum they are experiencing.

Clearly the Reds and the Yellows are in an alliance to destabilize and bring down the government. They have united against the President because of his close association with their common enemies, the Marcos family and the camp of former President and now Congresswoman Glorial Macapagal Arroyo.

Imagine, the Left supporting the liberal oligarchs whom they are supposed to hate with a compunction. But they did support Grace Poe, who wasn't a natural born Filipino, in the Presidential contest where she lost miserably also despite Leftist support. But in a bid for survival and to avoid extinction in the event of a Marcos-Macapagal alliance, they will band together and figure out points of disagreement after victory has been attained. Their biggest problem is credibility at this point. The people are more inclined to accept Duterte, Marcos and Macapagal, warts and all in exchange for a government that works than be under a government which is inefficient and unproductive, where corruption runs rampant and peace and order is only a figment of the people's imagination.

This piece was taken from RG San Luis' Facebook page. To follow him, click on above image.