The end of the Duterte-Marcos alliance: Who loses more?
It is very clear now that the temporary political alliance between the Dutertes and Marcoses is at an end. It is over and done with.
What remains as a result of that coalition is that we have an elected president from the camp of the Marcoses and an elected vice president from the camp of the Dutertes. It may be asked if there is anything worth saving in that political union, and the consensus seems to be that the time and opportunity to mend and repair the situation have come and gone, and that both parties are better off being apart from each other.
Now the big question is who lost in that severance of political bond: the Marcoses or the Dutertes?
Here, we have to understand that the pact made by Vice President Sarah Duterte and President Bongbong Marcos was simply a joining of forces with the aim of gaining the two highest elected positions in the land. This has come to pass, and whatever promises and commitments were made to cement and further that political union are now probably obsolete, considering developments in the ambitions of their other allies and relatives who also seek to be elected to the positions now enjoyed by President Marcos and Vice President Duterte.
For VP Sarah, falling out of favor with the president and his allies has opened a slew of accusations leveled against her, and notwithstanding her being the second-highest official of the land, she no longer enjoys the comfort and protection afforded to her by the present administration. Truth be told, because the alliance has been severed, she no longer holds any sway or influence in the current administration, and her competitors for the presidency in the next elections in 2028 are already ganging up on her to ensure that she also falls out of favor with voters at large.
If the congressional investigation into the budget of the Office of the Vice President and the eventual decision to slash that budget for 2025 to a meager 733.2 million from the original 2.02 billion is any indication, the administration lawmakers and their allies are eager to pull out all the stops to emasculate Sarah and her political ambitions, thus relegating her office and position to irrelevance.
To be sure, Vice President Duterte can still count on her supporters, especially those in Davao, but with the way she is now being unceremoniously eased out of power and influence, she can only hope that the presidential elections were held sooner rather than later. However, with three more years to go, this is more than enough time for her detractors and competitors for the presidency to further whittle down her popularity and influence.
While the vice president still presents herself as very assertive and combative, continuing to assail the President of the Republic will only reveal how desperate she has become, knowing that she has lost more from her alliance with President Bongbong Marcos than she cares to admit. Finally, becoming a pariah from the present administration will likewise diminish her access to relevant and vital information that she might need to further her ambition to become the next president of the republic.
