RECENT developments surrounding the Vice President’s impeachment proceedings have laid bare a lesson as old as truth itself: whether the VP’s “masterstrokes” ended up as nothing more than bulok — rotten at the core?
Strike One. The VP’s Senate allies once delayed and denied to hold the impeachment hearing forthwith and so it was archived. Then the VP’s legal team succeeded to make a Supreme Court intervention to halt the impeachment process. It succeeded. Thus, it appeared then — at least on the surface — as a tactical victory. A six -month reprieve was secured. Time, in politics, is often power. It allows narratives to be reshaped, alliances to be reinforced, and public sentiment to be influenced.
Yet, that pause came with a price.
The conditions imposed only delayed but not erased the charges. Instead, the SC’s ruling reinforced to tighten the due process requirements and sharpen the scrutiny. What was perceived as the VP’s legal relief slowly turned into a nightmare on VP’s street. A calculated legal remedy is shaping fast to be a legal tragedy.
Strike Two. So it’s time for another VP masterstroke: an early declaration of a presidential run. The expectation was clear — to consolidate support, and to pressure institutions and political actors into recalibrating their positions. It was meant to sow a warning, a masterstroke that will result to a decisive shift in momentum to negate the VP impeachment.
But that masterstroke expectation backfired and never happened.
Instead of a groundswell of support, it only moved a negligible 3% of the masa support; the anticipated “hijack” of support from the House of Representatives did not materialize as the Justice Committee vote to proceed with impeachment was a decisive 54 to 1 against the VP. What was projected to cause political reversal for the VP only revealed the VP’s political isolation. And 51% of the populace wanted the impeachment to proceed forthwith.
Strike Three. Attempts to stall proceedings through multiple requests for Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs) – three at last count – yielded no results. The silence from the Supreme Court spoke volumes: Let the machinery of accountability continue to move forward.
And due to time delayed, the accusation even widened. A crucial Ramil Madriaga affidavit was now included in the chargesheet. Delay did not erase reality. It just widened the accountability.
This brings us back to the central question. Did VP’s three masterstroke s really achieve its purpose? After strike three, it looks like the masterstrokes failed big time and turned into bulok?
A masterstroke withstands scrutiny, delivers results, aligns strategy with truth. Here in contrast, it became a miscalculation, and while it appears brilliant at first glance — it slowly collapses under the weight of reality.
The strategic brilliance now appears increasingly hollow. The anticipated advantages did not materialize. The delay fortified the opposition. The declaration of candidacy failed to rally decisive support. Legal maneuvers lost their force. And the narrative — once tightly controlled — began slipping beyond grasp.
Before, the VP boasted of a bloodbath and duh, it turned instead to a cowardly aftermath. If three TRO wannabes filed within days of each other does not spell panic, then it can only mean a real pressure cooker panic – overload.
For the Filipino people, this moment offers more than political drama. It presents a deeper reflection on leadership, integrity, and truth. Events like these serve as reminders that truth has a way of asserting itself — patiently, steadily, and decisively. Accountability can be delayed, but never denied.
Falsehood may strategize. It may delay. It may attempt to outmaneuver. But truth endures.
Today, what remains is not the brilliance of the masterstrokes, but a trap turning into master blunders. So again, we ask: Were those masterstroke s ended up to be bulok?
Time, truth, and the unfolding of events seem to be answering that question with increasing clarity./PN
