The arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte by the Philippine National Police (PNP) on orders of the International Police Organization (Interpol) and on orders further by the International Criminal Court (ICC) sent shockwaves in all corners of the political landscape in the Philippines.
Once the country's most powerful man who ordered policemen to kill, kill, kill---Duterte has become a frail and blurred shadow of his powerful self just a couple of years ago.
Now we see him accosted, shoved and bullied by the very policemen he once defended with his own life, doubling their salaries and giving them perks and privileges no President has ever done.
In this low point in Duterte's political life, the old man will just have to roll with the punches, face the music and make good on his promise which very often we heard from him then---that he will take all the responsibility and the blame for his official actions.
Such is the way the wheel of fate turns: up and down, win and lose, victory and defeat. And in every phase of the journey, especially if one is a leader, the people around you will behave according to their essential characteristics.
A philosopher once said that a person should not be shocked when one stabs you in the back; what should surprise you is when you turn around and see who's holding the knife.
The quote above is classic Et tu, Brute?, and the bitter lesson did not---and should not---escape Vice President Sara Duterte, for after giving way to Bongbong Marcos in running for the presidency, this is what happened to her father, and to her, with the looming impeachment trial.
Have we not learned from recent Philippine history when after giving way for Cory Aquino, Vice President Salvador Laurel was eased out like an old, dirty rag following Cory's consolidation of power.
And what about the way Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wrested power from President Joseph Estrada? And lest we forget, Vice President Noli de Castro salivated for the presidency once, especially during the time when Macapagal Arroyo's cabinet members were resigning and her hold to power was at its weakest.
As Senator Imee Marcos said on Duterte's arrest: "We never learn."
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