SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III disclosed last week that former president Rodrigo Duterte was not sure to attend a Senate blue ribbon subcommittee hearing on the previous administration's antidrug campaign scheduled for Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. Yet, lo and behold, the 79-year-old statesman made a surprise appearance during the probe.

Rodrigo has made unpredictability an indelible trademark. I can only speculate why he has purposely made himself unpredictable. I suspect this has to do with his experience as longtime mayor of Davao City. Historian Reynaldo Ileto has convincingly explained in his book, 'Knowledge and Pacification,' that a small-town mayor operates under a situation where powerful forces abound, putting them under constant threat of being squished if they make a wrong move. Thus, mayors learn early on to mask their moves with unpredictability to throw off powerful forces operating in their jurisdiction in order to accomplish certain objectives.