Something good can come out from even the most difficult time. That’s a confession Vice President Inday Sara Duterte made as she tries to make sense of what is happening to her life.
A lesser soul would have succumbed to depression, or worse.
Four years ago, life seemed so simple for the two-term mayor of Davao City. Looking at a third term that was virtually in the bag, the next three years seemed like a breeze.
What happened next would change her life forever.
Sen. Imee Marcos, one she always considered a friend, pleaded with her to run for Vice President under her brother, ex-Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The mayor declined but she was persistent, pointing out that they needed her to bring in the votes for Mindanao and the Visayas. She eventually relented, assured that their tandem would assure continuity to the programs initiated by her father, President Rodrigo Duterte.
The next chapter is a well-documented story of betrayal, ingratitude, abuse, oppression and persecution.
These days, Vice President Inday finds her hands full attending to the day affairs of her father who is detained – illegally, insists his lawyers – inside the detention facility in The Hague, thousands of miles away from home. As a lawyer herself, she is also actively involved in her father’s case which has gained worldwide attention owing to the virtual global outpouring of support on his 80th birthday.
Perhaps it is the sight of Filipinos, thousands of them she does not know by name, cheering her and declaring solidarity with her father right in The Netherlands in the darkest time of his life. Perhaps it is the unusual bonding with her sister so far away from home imposed upon them by an event no one saw coming. Perhaps it is the answer to the prayers tens of thousands of their countrymen to strengthen and eventually deliver them from this cruel fate they would not wish on their enemies. They know that the redemption of the Dutertes will bring about the deliverance from the sufferings the Marcoses continue to inflict on the nation.
Whatever it is, VP Inday now comes up with this startling albeit refreshing perspective rare among those of us who are not meant for bigger things. Something good from something this bad?
We heard her say it. It’s a silver lining to the dark clouds of adversity for the Dutertes.
On the other hand, come to think of it, can the Marcoses see the light from the tunnel they dug themselves in? Perhaps, but the light of an oncoming train that is.
