Kamikaze

FIRST PERSON - AIl things considered, the "press conference" called by Vice President Sara Duterte last Friday was actually just a rant.

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It could not possibly be a component of a strategy. There were no other related tactical moves. It was a desperate voice lashing out against what she alleges is an orchestrated attempt to politically destroy her and her family.

I reviewed the "press conference" and studied the various reactions to it. There was no clear policy difference discussed. There was a lot of petty griev ance aired- emanating from an overblown sense of entitlement such as the expectation for priority access to the presidential airlift wing of the PAF.

There was a lot of hyperbole, to be sure, bordering on the bizarre. Sara mentioned daydreaming about cutting off the sitting President's head (which caught the attention of Western media) and an idle threat to dig up the remains of Marcos Sr. to dump it in the West Philippine Sea.

Stuff like these are really part of the dry humor native to the Duterte DNA. Rodrigo the father made countless bizarre statements, mainly to humor everyone.

But it was the stark (and really unnecessary) statements that made the headlines, of course. Surprisingly, many of the reactions were humorless. The Secretary of Justice looked into the possibility of some crime committed because these colorful statements were made. Some congressmen called for the Vice President to have her head examined.

Early in my career as an editorial columnist, I learned always to avoid satire or sarcasm. They are never properly appreciated as such by Filipino readers.