After Quiboloy: Are Dutertes next?

When Sara Duterte and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. joined forces ahead of the 2022 elections, which ultimately sealed the fate of that historic race, a bizarre torrent of monickers and iconographies burst onto the scene.

For the supporters of the “UniTeam,” the tandem represented an unbeatable coalition between the “Tiger of the North” (Marcos Jr.) and the “Eagle of Davao” (Sara Duterte). Thus, the birth of a surreal cottage industry of posters, memes, and billboards drenched in self-aggrandizing zoological fantasies.

For critics, the so-called “UniTeam” was nothing less than a coalition of brats, namely the alliance of convenience between the untested and unproven offspring of two notorious Filipino strongmen. On her part, Sara Duterte had no relevant experience beyond local government politics. She simply lacked the audacity and eloquence for national leadership, which would require a certain effortless pizzazz in dealing with global statesmen.

She also seemed like a poor copy of her dad—an already problematic original—in wit and spontaneity. As for Ferdinand Marcos Jr., he had all the glamour and eloquence of his parents, thanks to his exposure to the global elite throughout decades at the pinnacle of national power.

But the namesake son neither have the gravitas and academic credentials of his dad nor the spontaneous charm of his notorious mom, who dazzled world leaders—from Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro to Muammar Ghadaffi—throughout her unforgettably decadent reign as the Philippines’ de facto queen.

The tandem ended up winning the greatest share of votes in more than half a century of presidential elections in the country. And then came the inevitable political divorce. A very ugly one at that. It didn’t take long before former “UniTeam” aficionados turned on each other with gusto.

The most notorious propagandists ended up turning on their former patrons with exquisite brutality. Some went so far as accusing the incumbent of being a “drug addict” (“Polvoron Boy”) and, in a zoological reversal, ended up branding now President Marcos as a kitten (“Kuting”) rather than a Tiger (“Tigre”). Bizarrely, former president Rodrigo Duterte has echoed similar statements, thus exposing major political realignments within a tempestuous landscape.

So far, however, “Team Kuting” has proven itself as far more formidable than its former ally, which will likely be redubbed as “Team Itik,” since the self-styled venerable eagle has looked as vulnerable as a baby duck. By all indications, the Dutertes and their proxies have devastatingly underestimated the incumbent.

Mr. Marcos may not be a tiger himself, but he clearly surrounds himself with capable ones. Earlier this year, one of those tigers told me that the President is not going to be a sitting duck. If anything, he will strike back—at the moment of his choosing. And that political moment seems to be arriving, at last.

The “repatriation” of Bamban’s former Chinese mayor Alice Guo was clearly headline-grabbing news, but the Apollo Quiboloy “surrender” may be the real clincher. After weeks of tense standoff, Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III ably salami-sliced Quiboloy’s gigantic compound until the de facto fugitive was forced to come out of hiding. In the process, Torre defied all odds, including constant pressure from Davao’s political and legal establishment, and deftly avoided both violence and fatigue until the enemy blinked.

In retrospect, this should have come as totally unsurprising. As General Torre told me during the first night of siege: “We are under great pressure [to see this through].” Quiboloy’s arrest marks a milestone on many levels, especially for justice, thanks to the tireless efforts of the likes of Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who single-handedly exposed all alleged abuses within the controversial pastor’s sect.

Most fundamentally, it broke a major psychological barrier, namely the impunity of the Duterte-Quiboloy joint kingdom in Davao. As one of Mr. Marcos’ tigers recently told me, there are currently more than 200 legislators who are open to backing impeachment proceedings against the Vice President based on a myriad of charges. Another admitted that the International Criminal Court has been communicating with them ahead of a potential issuance of a warrant of arrest. In many ways, this month may end up as the most consequential one in Mr. Marcos’ presidency. Will he decisively strike at the Dutertes, or risk confronting their vengeance in the future?

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rheydarian@inquirer.com.ph