A university publishing house’s Facebook post gained traction after it was perceived to throw shade at the current headlines about the Marcos-Duterte alliance.
Ateneo University Press on Tuesday shared a photo of two non-fiction books, “The Marcos Era: A Reader” and “A Duterte Reader: Critical Essays On Rodrigo Duterte’s Early Presidency” with the caption:
“Today’s suggested reading.”
It was accompanied by an eyes emoji.
According to the publishing house, “The Marcos Era: A Reader,” edited by Leia Castañeda Anastacio and Patricio Abinales, features historians, journalists, political scientists, pundits, lawyers, and economists engaging in a collective assessment of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr’s regime.
On the other hand, an author describes “A Duterte Reader: Critical Essays On Rodrigo Duterte’s Early Presidency,” edited by Nicole Curato, as a book featuring essays by leading experts in diverse fields who offer a “portrait of a volatile administration.”
Meanwhile, Ateneo Press’ Facebook post that caught online attention has reached about 2,000 likes and reactions, over 400 shares and 26 comments so far.
Some perceived it to be a “shade” or jab at the recent happenings between members of the Marcos family and the Duterte family, who have landed headlines for their tirades against each other.
“Nice shade,” a Facebook user said.
“#iykyk,” another user commented, referring to the initials of the phrase, “If you know, you know.”
“MIMA, WHAHAHA THE SHADE,” exclaimed a different Pinoy with a laughing emoji.
“UNITEAM!!!!” another user commented with the same emoji.
“Ay, siya, magsi-away ang dating tandem noong eleksyon,” a different Filipino said.
The rift
Last Sunday, the public saw two different rallies — one in Manila and one in Davao, the Duterte’s bailiwick.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led his administration’s “Bagong Pilipinas” kick-off rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, while a multi-sectoral prayer rally called “One Nation, One Opposition” was held in Davao City.
The prayer rally was held to protest the use of government programs and public funds to mislead voters into signing documents intended to support amendments to the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
It was attended by Marcos’ predecessor, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte.
Vice President Sara Duterte was present at both events.
During the Davao prayer rally, Rodrigo in an expletive-laden speech accused his successor of being a “drug addict” and claimed that Marcos had been on the watchlist of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). The agency has since denied the accusations.
The Duterte patriarch also warned Marcos that supporting charter change or Constitutional reform “will divide the nation and be bloody.”
Rodrigo also claimed that politicians behind the signature campaign, including Marcos’ cousin House Speaker Martin Romualdez, were “swindling” the people and trying to perpetuate themselves in power.
The former president’s youngest son, Baste, also called for Marcos to “resign” if the latter does “not have love and aspirations” for the country.
Baste also accused Marcos of being lazy and lacking compassion for the Filipinos.
Marcos, in response to the drug accusations, blamed the painkiller fentanyl for his predecessor’s comments against him and said it might have affected Rodrigo’s thinking and behavior, adding that the latter “has been taking the drug for a very long time now.”
The president’s sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, also revealed that Baste has already apologized and dismissed it as a response out of fear that the International Criminal Court (ICC) might possibly arrest his father and sister.
The ICC is specifically looking into allegations of possible “crimes against humanity” that occurred during the implementation of Rodrigo’s bloody “war on drugs” campaign.
Imee was also present at the prayer rally against charter change in Davao City.
Amid the headlines about a supposed rift between the two families, Marcos on January 30 maintained that his relationship with Sara is “exactly the same” despite engaging in a word war with her father.
He also said that the “UniTeam” alliance is “still vibrant” and “still working.”
“If you remember, ‘Uniteam’ is not just one party or two parties or three parties. It’s the unification of all political, hopefully, all political forces in the Philippines to come together for the good [of] the country,” the president said.
Marcos also said Sara will retain her post in the Cabinet as an education secretary.
Their coalition, the “UniTeam,” was formed ahead of the 2022 national elections which ran with “unity” as a platform. It had the aim to unite Filipinos in recovering from the crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marcos also presented himself as a unifying leader when he initially announced his presidential bid.
The “UniTeam” coalition carried Marcos and Sara to election victory.