The falling-out between the Marcoses and Dutertes led to a lively online buzz about what friendship means in politics. Vice President Sara Duterte appeared to be an expert on this matter having authored a children’s book on friendship (Isang Kaibigan). But when asked about the cost and the rationale of using taxpayers’ money to publish the book, Sara went ballistic and turned to shameful name-calling in a Senate budget hearing.
Her unfriendly behavior didn’t end in Congress as she publicly rejected the notion that she considers President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, her running mate in the 2022 election, as her friend. In response, Marcos said he felt deceived.
Sara’s tirades went even further as she threatened to exhume the remains of Marcos Sr and throw them into the West Philippine Sea. She added that she once thought of beheading Marcos Jr out of anger. So much for writing a book on friendship and distributing it to schoolchildren.
Sara’s public meltdown revealed not just her state of mind but also the irreparable rift between erstwhile allies. Even the son of Senator Imee Marcos has expressed shock that Sara would crudely chide her “loyal friend.”
Only the naïve expected the “uniteam” to last until 2028 or even until next year’s midterm polls. It was after all a tenuous partnership between the country’s most corrupt and murderous political dynasties. It was a matter of time before the greedy maneuver for power and wealth would rip apart this fragile coalition.
There were fancy names to describe the Marcos-Duterte tandem but “friendship” was not one of them. It was not even based on a principled alliance since the only aim was to ensure their electoral victory. Both would quickly abandon the unity pledge if it was in favor of their political clan. They both come from the same political class known for its allegiance to no one but their own selfish interest.
However, their bitter and pathetic feud is mildly interesting but only because it allowed us to recall how previous leaders entertained the public with their insincere musings on friendship.
In 2004, President Gloria Arroyo defended the pullout of Filipino troops in Iraq to secure the release of a hostaged OFW. “You have a government that cares. Your life is held more dearly than international acclaim. And you have a President who is your friend.”
Of course, only few believed her. A year later she struggled to keep her position in light of the incriminating “Hello Garci” electoral fraud recording.
In 1998, a memorable line in President Joseph Estrada’s inaugural speech was about the shunning of opportunistic friends. “Walang kaibigan, walang kumpare, walang kamag-anak o anak na maaaring magsamantala sa ngayon.”
He soon proved that he had no intention of being true to his promise since he colluded with friends in raiding the public treasury. He could claim that his gang was amateurish compared to the Martial Law cronies but this doesn’t justify plunder. He did have one good friend who even agreed to run for president but it was a story that only ended in political tragedy.
In 1986, United States President Ronald Reagan welcomed the arrival of the Marcos family after being deposed by People Power. “In his long term as President, Ferdinand Marcos showed himself to be a staunch friend of the United States.”
Indeed, the Marcos dictatorship facilitated the sell-out of the country’s patrimony and sovereignty in favor of American monopoly corporations and the geopolitical agenda of the US.
Friends curry favors but the relationship cultivated by US colonialism and imperialism was a lopsided one that relegated the country into a vassal state. Despite the unjust terms of the relationship, the US proclaimed itself as friend and “big brother” to the Filipino people even after the massacres, the looting, the snatching away of our independence, the suppression of liberation forces, the neocolonial rule after World War II, the parity rights, the bases and their toxic legacy, the decades-long abandonment of veterans who fought with the US army, the support for the Marcos dictatorship, the neoliberal exploitation of the economy and our workforce, and the escalation of conflict in the region.
Friends sometimes turn a blind eye to the shortcomings and excesses of their friends but we have always overlooked what the US has done to our country over the past century. The myth of friendship persists which allowed the US to expand its bases and military presence while claiming that all this is for our own good. To punish us for the sins of the few ungrateful ones, they even asked a former bully to play their war games in our backyard. What’s next, Mother Spain joining the fray to avenge the “terrorism” of Katipunan?
Again, it is from the playbook bequeathed to us by our colonial masters that we hype the need for a reliable friend to fight the enemies lurking within our ranks and those who are conspiring to do us harm. They could be foreigners near our borders, foreigners who infiltrated the islands, foreigners who brainwashed the minds of the innocent, and the local enemies of the state threatening peace and order.
But if we seriously heed the lesson of history, we will arrive at the conclusion that not all those who feigned friendship should be trusted and the supposedly monstrous foe might not be the bigger evil they were depicted to be.
History and the people’s struggle will be the ultimate judge. In the meantime, the Marcoses and Dutertes are deluding themselves if they think that their families and foreign patrons can continue the long con of pretending to be friends of the masses. They are rabid, vindictive, and repressive because they don’t want the people to know that they represent the real enemies who need to be vanquished so that the nation can be free. 
