By Diego Morra
Just as his father needed a psychiatric evaluation to confirm that he suffers from malignant narcissism and could not fulfill his matrimonial and family obligations, so too must Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio be subjected to a thorough examination to find out if she is mentally fit to perform the duties of a Vice President.
In the case of Rodrigo Duterte, Dr. Natividad Dayan conducted the assessment as ordered by the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC) that heard the case for the declaration of the nullity of marriage filed by Elizabeth Zimmerman, Duterte’s wife, who is the mother of Sara, Apollo and Sebastian. Dayan’s report showed that Duterte was afflicted with Antisocial Narcissistic Personality Disorder (ANPD) or extreme self-conceit, a disorder similar to Trump’s, which makes Duterte think he is immune from mistakes, projects his mistakes to others and makes hurting other people a routine behavior. Duterte was notorious for womanizing and made it a habit to introduce his paramours as his wives.
Due to his ANPD, the Dayan report stressed, Duterte’s habit is to humiliate other people or violate their rights, insult anyone he fancies and threaten his adversaries. He is impulsive, has no self-control and his narcissism drives him to blame other people, including his victims, for the consequences of his actions. Dr. Dayan, who examined Duterte and Zimmerman thoroughly, concluded that Duterte does not fell any guild, does not exhibit remorse, and persistently rationalizes his actions. “For all his wrongdoings, he tends to rationalize and feel justified. Hence, he seldom feels a sense if guilt or remorse,” the Dayan assessment read. Asked in 2016 to comment on the assessment, Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio argued that nowhere in the court documents was anything said his father was not fit to lead the nation. “It doesn’t really reflect kung ano siya as a public servant, kung ano siya as a politician, kung ano siya as a government official. Iyun iyung mga private na mga nangyari sa buhay nilang mag-asawa. Ang final decision ng korte is 14, 15 years ago so ang tagal na non. Wala ng bad blood between my father and mother,” she said. Sara apparently idolizes her father.
Sensing that Rodrigo was winning the 2016 presidential race, Elizabeth said she has “good relations” with her ex-husband Rodrigo, who was cohabiting with Honeylet Avancena, with whom he shares daughter Veronica or Kitty. Despite the murderous rampage of the Davao Death Squad (DDS), Elizabeth said she will have a “down-to-earth yet kindhearted” presidency. “What sets him apart from the other candidates is that he has that sincerity. When it comes to work, he works hard, and he can do it. He is down-to-earth and practical. And kind-hearted,” he told ABS-CBN News. Her assessment in 2016, when she was undergoing treatment for cancer, is a mile removed from what she alleged were her psychological trauma during her marriage to Rodrigo. If Rodrigo were kind-hearted, why then did she file a case for the annulment of marriage? If he were sincere in making his relationship with Honey legitimate, why did he not contract marriage with her?
It appears now that between mother and daughter, Sara has “inherited” the ANPD of her father. Shared psychosis, known as folie à deux or “madness for two,” was coined by Lasegue and Falret in 1877. It involves the transfer of delusional beliefs from one person, known as the “inducer” or “primary” case, to another person, the “induced” or “secondary” case, who is often socially isolated and dependent. The influence comes from the dominant individual with a pre-existing psychotic disorder like ANPD. There are subtypes of this syndrome: Folie impose, the most common, in which the dominant primary case imposes the delusion on a weak secondary case; folie simultanée: the simultaneous development of similar psychoses in two individuals with a long, intimate association, like marriage, and; folie communiquée, in which delusions are transferred after a period of resistance from the secondary individual.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) classifies folie a deux under “Other Specified Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorder,” specifically as “delusional symptoms in the partner of an individual with delusional disorder.” Sara’s recent conduct invites not only attention but grave concern from many people who think she is starting to exhibit the effects of the ANPD and folie a deux since she had been schooled in Rodrigo’s political culture, which means never accepting any mistake, rationalizing his actions when cornered and justifying misconduct as a necessary element of his governance. Equipped with the same delusions of her father, Sara has tied herself into knots, flaying the rules of the Lower House when her misuse of P612.5-million was investigated, demanding the ouster of former ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro from the panel conducting the hearing and the replacement of former Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo who previously sponsored the budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP.)
After her financial shenanigans as Davao City mayor were exposed, from the hiring of as many as 11,000 “ghost employees,” misuse of confidential and intelligence funds totaling during the long years of the Duterte political dynasty, irregular infra projects and unexplained disbursement of billions of pesos, Sara cried harassment, howling about persecution and systematic character assassination. When she exhibited gothic behavior, like threatening to behead Marcos Jr., throw the remains of Marcos Sr. in the West Philippine Sea and eliminate the Marcoses and Romualdezes, she invented the concept of “conditional threats,” something not taught at the law school of San Sebastian College.
Her latest caper is her clowning glory, a risible turn, as she set two conditions before she materialized at the plenary for the approval of the P902-million OVP budget. First condition is that Marcos Sr. should also appear in Congress for the deliberation and approval of the proposed P27.3-billion budget of the Office of the President (OP). The second is that the Department of Justice (DOJ) should order the lifting of the immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) raised against seven OVP employees who were privy to Sara’s fiscal impunity. This is Sara’s goat rodeo, when she wants to upstage everyone, sabotage the parliamentary process and put herself in a superior position to the very chamber that constitutionally exercises the power of the purse. Clearly, she thinks she is already the President and no one must disobey her. Indeed, she believes, contrary to reality, that the 2028 presidential election must not be held as she has already beaten all her rivals in 2022. That is how folie a deux works. Let’s see what she will do on Oct. 6.
