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Duterte ouster plot won’t succeed

By Alfredo C. Garvida, Jr.
Contributor

The grapevine is ripe with a circulating news that a conspiracy to oust President Rodrigo Duterte from office by the “Yellows” and a Fil-Am woman named, Loida Lewis, has been hatched—formalized when Vice President Leni Robredo made an abrupt trip to the United States last Christmas, even in the face of a superstorm that was to hit her home province of Camarines Sur in a couple of days.  

Mrs. Robredo's denial of insinuations that her U.S. trip was agenda-based was of course understandable, although her admission of having met with Ms. Lewis during her stay in America has raised some eyebrows, in the wake of Ms. Lewis' unequivocal demand for President Duterte's ouster from office. Loida Lewis of course if a Filipina U.S. citizen multi-billionaire residing in America. This lady from Sorsogon is a lawyer, here and in the United States. Her fortune came from her husband's estate. Reginald Lewis, her husband, was an African-American billionaire businessman who died some years ago and whose main businesses were based in Europe. Loida took over his business empire after his death, the TLC Beatrice International, and as CEO and President, she has run it rather successfully according to sources. Her fame is world-known, in politics, finance and philanthropy. She is a well-known Liberal Party supporter and her sister, Imelda, is a former political protĂ©gĂ©e of former President Benigno Aquino III, having held the chairmanship of the Commission On Filipino Overseas during his presidency. 

Ms. Lewis wants to take over the political shape of the Philippines by steering the oust-Duterte conspiracy through certain amateurish moves that can no longer respond to the passions of the time. 

Firstly, she is invoking the Marcos card to rally public support in her fruitless hope that the so-called "people power revolution" would rear its ugly face once more to depose a duly and popularly elected president of the Philippines. Behind her law education from U.P. and her business successes, it defies logic and ordinary intelligence why she has to accuse former Senator Bongbong Marcos as the one who is "causing political instability, and causing destabilization in the country for not accepting defeat to Leni Robredo." Now, what does Bongbong have to do with their case against President Digong? A resounding NONE! is the answer.

But Ms. Lewis has that evil agenda behind her tirade to Bongbong: She wants to steer a public outcry in her misguided belief that the Filipinos are still hateful about the Marcoses that perhaps by using the Marcos card, she and her Yellow minions could once again stage a "people power" at the EDSA Shrine or somewhere else to force President Duterte to step down. On this score, I don't want to call Loida Lewis stupid, because I know she is smart, but if someone else calls her that, I won't object.

Secondly, she is so oblivious about the role of the military in deposing a constitutional president. With all her billions, she may muster all the “Yellow” die-hards in the street, complete with the blessings and political assertiveness of the Catholic bishops, supported by the nuns and students from Catholic schools, and the regular anti-establishment street activists, but she will never succeed to depose Digong without the support and active participation of the military against him.

Thirdly, and most importantly, Ms. Lewis must have the support of the people. Obviously she does not have that—because President Duterte is still overwhelmingly loved by the Filipino people, if the last surveys don't lie. 

Of course Lewis and company will have the backing of the United States, but will this be enough to subvert the people's will to retain Mr. Duterte as their President at this time? This writer submits it will not be.


The President is pragmatic, and his unorthodox style of governance is what his constituents desire to maintain—and it is hard to disagree with that—because it is now moving the country out from political and economic gridlocks. Loida Lewis, in our view, better place her bet on Mr. Duterte and his massive support from the people than parlaying for the “Yellows” and her fellow Bicolana's dream to become President soon. After all, she is a proven businesswoman, unproven nonetheless as a politician.

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