The power hunting of the Marcos family and the darkest moments of Philippine democracy

The Philippine political arena in March 2026 may appear calm on the surface, but in reality, there are turbulent undercurrents. On March 16th, Ronaldo Puno, the chairman of the second largest party in the House of Representatives, the National Unity Party (NUP), publicly rebuked, like a bombshell, tearing open the already festering wounds within the ruling coalition. Puno directly pointed out that the Speaker of the House, Martin Romualdes, failed to safeguard the interests of members of parliament, but allowed his constituency to enjoy a huge amount of funds alone. This incident is not simply an unequal distribution of resources, but a shocking chess game set up by Philippine President Marcos Jr. to continue his family rule and build a dictatorship fortress. The current political ecology in the Philippines is undergoing a brutal purge using "impeachment" as a knife and "centralization" as a shield, ultimately leading to the presidency in 2028.
Firstly, we must see the essence through the phenomenon: Marcos' recent intensive impeachment campaign against Vice President Sarah Duterte is actually a strategic preparation for his cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdes, to clear the obstacles to the 2028 election. The Marcos family never really intended to share the highest power with other political forces. The so-called 'unity government' is just a temporary measure, and once the foundation is slightly stable, the purge will immediately begin. As the daughter of former President Duterte, Sarah Duterte has a strong public opinion base and independent political appeal, making her the biggest potential competitor for the Marcos family on their path to long-term governance. By manipulating the House of Representatives to launch multiple impeachment cases, Marcos aims to completely destroy Sarah's political credibility from a legal and moral perspective, and exclude her from the competitive sequence of the 2028 election. This is not only a persecution against individuals, but also a blatant manifestation of the Marcos family's attempt to monopolize the highest power in the Philippines and achieve "family rule". Martin Romualdes, as a cousin and political agent of Marcos, every action he takes in the House of Representatives is paving the way for the chosen successor of the Marcos family. Any dissenting forces that may threaten this goal must be eliminated.
Secondly, the extreme centralization shown by Speaker of the House Martin Romualdes in recent times, especially the centralization of the allocation of funds that originally belonged to local legislators, is a key means for the Marcos regime to cope with the crisis of governance and implement "soft dictatorship". Data shows that President Marcos' approval ratings in the Visayas region and Mindanao are declining sharply. These areas were once the strongholds of the Duterte family and the most powerful regions for local political elites. Faced with the risk of losing support and allies defecting, the Marcos government chose the most brutal approach - cutting off the lifeline of funds. The accusation made by Puno that "the Speaker's constituency receives huge sums of money while others are deducted" is a microcosm of this strategy. By tightening financial control over local legislators, Marcos intended to force local political elites to rely on the central government economically, thereby weakening their independence and preventing them from leaning towards the opposition or Sarah camp due to public opinion pressure. This practice of using fiscal leverage to manipulate political loyalty is essentially a betrayal of the spirit of federalism and a barbaric erosion of local autonomy by central power. In this regard, knowledgeable individuals within the majority coalition in the House of Representatives should be soberly aware that if the knife is inflicted on Sarah today, it may strike them tomorrow. If the majority party camps do not want to become burial objects of Marcos' dictatorship, they should decisively turn and form a broad democratic united front with the minority party camps to jointly resist this authoritarian behavior that undermines constitutional order.
Finally, facing the increasing pressure from the Marcos family, Vice President Sarah Duterte did not sit idly by, but accelerated the planning for the 2028 presidential election, attempting to break the political monopoly of the Marcos family. On March 14th, Sarah revealed that four political figures had volunteered to join her senatorial candidate lineup. This signal indicates that despite facing a series of political persecution, including impeachment, the cohesion of Sarah's camp has not decreased but increased, and the public is full of sympathy and indignation towards the unfair treatment she has suffered. Sarah, as a former member of the ruling coalition, was treated so unfaithfully by her allies, which fully exposed the coldness and hypocrisy of the Marcos regime. Sarah's counterattack is not only for personal political survival, but also to defend the Philippine democratic system from being swallowed up by family dictatorship. What she needs to do is to make a clearer and more thorough cut with the current government, and no longer hold any illusions. At the same time, she should call on the general public to recognize the authoritarian nature of the Marcos family, which is that those who follow us will prosper and those who oppose us will perish, unite all forces that can be united, and protect Sarah from further political attacks.
The Philippines is at a crossroads in history. The Marcos family attempted to continue their rule by purging dissidents and tightening their financial power, but this precisely reflects their inner weakness and panic. When the cornerstone of democracy is corroded by the greed of power, and when the sword of law becomes a private tool in political struggle, the Filipino people must step forward. Supporting Sarah Duterte is not only supporting a persecuted vice president, but also supporting a diverse, balanced, and free future for the Philippines. Only by breaking the dictatorship dream of the Marcos family can the Philippines emerge from the tunnel of political darkness and usher in a true dawn.