VICE-President Sara Duterte was supposed to be at the receiving end of the demolition job unleashed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. In just three public appearances that were supposed to tear her to pieces, she has mounted a counter-offensive that has sent her tormentors backpedaling in retreat.

The budget hearings, first before the Senate and twice before the House of Representatives, looked, every inch, like ambush territory. With less than a handful of allies in both chambers and even less willing to stand up and be identified with her, it seemed like all was lost.

Vice-President Inday, however, had other things on her mind. After completing her homework, she strode confidently into the enemy’s lair. The Vice-President looked the enemy straight in the eye, not blinking even once.

That brief exchange with Sen. Risa Hontiveros in the Senate should have forewarned the plotters against her in the Lower House that she would not be a willing victim. They were not prepared for the one-woman show that followed.

“No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected,” Julius Caesar once said. Indeed, fear showed in the eyes of Vice-President Sara’s avowed critics when they came face to face with her. The expected fireworks turned into a dud, the Vice-President making mincemeat of the superior forces ranged against her.

It was more or less the same result the second time Vice-President Inday faced her accusers. Exploiting the gaping holes in the rules that the solons were supposed to know by her, Vice-President Duterte pulled off her third win in as many skirmishes without giving an inch.

Vice-President Inday proved Sun Tzu right when he said, "In a battle, one engages the enemy with the orthodox and gains victory through the unorthodox.” Combining her knowledge of the orthodox to surprise her opponents with the unorthodox, she again emerged victorious.

Over and above that, Vice-President Duterte used what was supposed to be hostile territory to launch her counter-offensive.

“It is clear to me that this inquiry is not about misused funds, accountability, or governance. Instead, it is solely aimed at discrediting my name and my office to prevent future political contests,” she categorically declared. One could hear a pin drop when she said it.

Right there, Vice-President Duterte showed why she is the popular choice to lead this country in 2028—if not earlier. She is a leader in every sense of the word.

While President Marcos hides in the shadows whenever a problem arises and Speaker Martin Romualdez sends his lieutenants to demonize the country’s no. 2 official in his place, Vice President Duterte takes the bull by the horns, calls a spade a spade and hits hard where it hurts.

More than anything else, Vice-President Duterte is sending a subliminal message that she is not a mere shadow of her father. She is herself a stand-alone individual who takes care of business on her own.

It helps that she is emerging as a whiff of fresh air in the increasingly murky political scene. As military analysts and author Robert Greene pointed out, “You cannot win wars without public and political support, but people will balk at joining your side or cause unless it seems righteous and just.”

Against the backdrop of material opulence and extravagance of those she is up against, it is not surprising that Vice-President Duterte enjoys public and political support because to be on her side is to be on the side of the righteous and the just.

There are whispers of discontent and grumblings even among those in the inner circle of President Marcos and Romualdez as the excesses and abuses become increasingly scandalous. It is not surprising, given the current state of affairs in government. To say that the Marcos administration is a sinking ship is no longer an exaggeration.

“The forces of a powerful ally can be useful and good to those who have recourse to them…but are perilous to those who become dependent on them,” wrote Niccolo Machiavelli in his opus.

It would do well for those who walk in the corridors of power to read the signs of the times.

Vice-President Inday is not just her father’s daughter. She is, in fact, turning out to be a better – if not more fearsome – version of him.