OPINION | The rise and fall of Sara Duterte

November 25, 2024 , 04:35 PM

By Manny Mogato

(November 25, 2024) – After her father’s rise to power in 2016, Filipinos expected Sara Duterte to easily inherit her father’s position.

She was, after all, the most popular politician before, during, and after the 2022 elections.

If she opted to run for president, Sara could easily win hands down, but she gave way to Bongbong Marcos Jr.

Perhaps she chickened out. She thought she was not ready for the big job. So, she decided on the vice president’s career and was given six years to prepare for the job.

But that was more than two years ago.

If her meteoric rise was fast, her decline was gradual, and she had no one to blame except herself.

There was a time when her ratings were so high and unreachable. She even scored higher than Marcos, who got the blame for the high cost of rice, fuel, and other basic goods.

In the race for the 2028 elections, she appeared to be the candidate to beat with a double-digit advantage over her nearest populist rival, Sen. Raffy Tulfo.

However, Sara squandered her political capital by displaying arrogance and beyond reproach.

She only sees other people’s mistakes and does not accept her own errors.

In all her political life, she lives under her father’s shadow. Everything was handed to her on a silver platter, and no one dared question or criticize her decision when she became mayor of Davao City.

She even went against her father’s wishes, depending on a lawyer, Zuleika Lopez, when her appointment as city administrator was questioned by the city council led by Duterte’s father.

No wonder she would die fighting for Lopez when lawmakers at the House of Representatives ordered Lopez’s detention at the Women’s Correctional facility after she was cited in contempt for evading prying questions about the Office of the Vice President’s finances.

If Lopez could not take the pressure, so is Sara Duterte. She went amock, threatening the president, the first lady, and the president’s cousin, the speaker of the House of Representatives.

It was too late for her to realize she made a mistake. She even added that it was a joke, which is why the security services took the threats seriously.

Sara may face an avalanche of legal cases for making the threats. She is not only liable for grave threats under the revised penal law but also for sedition and conspiracy to commit murder when she admitted contracting a hitman to carry out the assassination.

No nuancing from her allies could save the vice president from legal actions.

Unlike the president, Sara is not immune from criminal and other civil liabilities for issuing threats.

She could also face disbarment as a lawyer and be impeached when Congress decides to move against her.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has summoned Sara to appear before a panel within five days to answer charges and explain her statements.

A top priority for the NBI was to find out who the vice president had hired as the contract killer.

The NBI also denied getting any information that Sara had been getting death threats and that a security officer had made an attempt on her life.

Palace officials said the vice president was hallucinating. She could be mentally unstable.

Her actions in the last few days exposed her immaturity. The public turned against her for running berserk without any basis.

Calls for support for her went on deaf ears as a handful showed up at protest rallies. Her blind supporters and allies claimed she was elected by 32 million Filipinos, and people have started to abandon her.

Many believed she was unfit to serve and deserved to be expelled from office.

It was sad that Sara had to humiliate herself publicly. From hero to zero in just two years.

It is about time for Sara to start soul-searching. She should examine her conscience and herself and find out her mistakes.

She could recover and become a better person. Humble, selfless, and more considerate.

There is still time to reinvent herself and make herself a viable candidate in 2028. Her father’s playbook would not work for her. She is a poor copycat.

The views expressed by the columnist do not necessarily reflect that of the media organization.

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.