By Diego Morra
Cogito, ergo sum. It is supposed to be Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio’s “philosophy,” as published in her San Pedro College of Davao City yearbook. It is a borrowing from Rene Descartes, who wrote it in Discourse on Method (1637), and commonly translated into English as “I think, therefore I am” or “I am thinking, therefore I exist.” It doesn’t mean “I think, therefore I am right,” or “I insist, therefore you are all wrong.”
There is nothing Cartesian in Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio. By the way, the surname Zimmerman means “wood worker” or “carpenter” in German and is usually the surname of Ashkenazi Jews in Germany, with “Zimmermann” with the double N used universally by ethnic Germans and those descended from German-speaking Gauls in France. On the basis of the ego cogito, Sara can certainly exist without thinking, but she cannot think without existing. Similarly, she cannot debunk the allegations against her in the twin impeachment complaints simply because she opts to evaporate, allowing her lawyers to contrive arguments against documentary and testimonial evidence.
Asked about his regular monthly payoffs from Sara at the Department of Education (DepEd), resource person and Duterte lawyer Michael Poa devised a strange retort: Those were really reimbursements for purchases of goods that Sara wanted bought. In his previous testimony before the quad committee of the Lower House, Poa’s excuse should melt outright. If the Vice President can bring her 433 bodyguards to any event she chooses, surely she has the money to fund their meals and other necessities and sundry expenses. Di kailangang magpaluwal si Poa dahil nakabuntot palagi ang finance officer ni Sara. Durog si Poa at lalong durog si Sara dahil ang mga envelope para sa kanyang mga underling sa DepEd ay pawang hindi listed. If these were not recorded, the logical conclusion is that the money was being dispensed for illicit purposes.
Inasmuch as the Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio keyboard warriors are busy pouncing on Ramil Madriaga’s testimony, they are losing sight of the fact that targeting him for providing the detailed narration of events, from the time he was seconded by the late J. Roilo Golez to the Duterte campaign and later shipped to help Sara’s mayoral candidacy, only strengthens his claim not only to knowing Sara but also for being a key player in her parallel political organization. Sara can no longer deny knowing Ramil Madriaga as videos, screenshots of events and birthdays demolish her perjury case and confirms that Sara is not even an accomplished liar.
The reaction of former Ombudsman, former Supreme Court (SC) associate justice Samuel Martires to Madriaga’s revelations about delivering cash to the Office of the Ombudsman is strange and funny in equal measure. Martires said he does not know Madriaga and Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio. But he surely would know his fraternity brother Rodrigo Duterte, whose reward system for tokhang operations involved not only trusted lieutenants like Bong Go but other personnel in Davao City and in Malacañang. Acting like a Mafia boss, the old man Duterte used many useful idiots for illegal transactions and layered operations that enable him to escape culpability. The operative word is “plausible deniability.”
If Martires were lily-white, then his deputy at the Office of the Ombudsman, Ryan Quilala, should not have acted as the catcher of the money who would have instructed security guards to allow Madriaga’s vehicle to enter the premises and put in bags of cash at the designated vehicles. Martires apparently forgets that capos do not do the dirty job. They do not handle filthy *crip. Others do their bidding. Just the same, do we remind Martires that some justices also get enjoy profitable send offs. One was gifted a luxury car, which is more expensive than his favorite dried squids, all because of a decision in a major labor dispute that he reversed. Or some grafter in a government agency that operates a garment factory that doubles as the receiving room for bribes and commissions. It is not necessary for Martires to know Madriaga. The question is, “Did he receive the bags of cash or not?”
Martires is the same ombudsman who absolved Sen. Joel Villanueva from being ousted for making money out of congressional pork barrel and the same one who made it harder for journalists and citizens to secure copies of Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) of the Dutertes and other officials. Martires is arguing that he doesn’t know Madriaga from Adam. For the many years he ruled the roost at the Office of the Ombudsman, Martires made it terribly hard for inquiries to move as he was concerned with protecting officials than being transparent and righteous, virtues that were supposed to characterize on office that thrives on moral ascendancy.
Sara has become too big for her britches, her ego swamped by the delusion that she divinely groomed to march to Malacañang unhindered. Yet, according to Madriaga, there is nothing divine about a plot hatched in 2023 to kick out Ferdinand Marcos Jr. from his perch since he did not redeem his promise to share his presidential term with Sara. This is a stupid ploy inasmuch as the only chance for her to snatch the presidency is for Marcos Jr. to be incapacitated, or is assassinated. Since Bongbong hasn’t bought the farm, a coup d’etat is an option like bloody murder. That is the context of the threat to kill Bongbong, his wife and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. #
= = = = =
WORD OF THE DAY: Crip – slang for ‘an easy task.’
