It was a sight to behold: billions of pesos worth of seized drugs, sealed in plastic, and under heavy security fed into a roaring industrial incinerator. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stood by, face mask on, watching calmly, almost dispassionately.
Later, the President uttered a line that landed like a well-placed jab: a war on drugs, he said, doesn’t need to be bloody to be effective.
The symbolism was not subtle. And Vice President Sara Duterte, ever attuned to political undercurrents, took it for what it was: a swipe at her father. Former President Rodrigo Duterte—now detained at The Hague on allegations of crimes against humanity tied to his violent anti-drug campaign—was not named. But he did not have to be.
Sara fired back. She dismissed Marcos’ public display as hollow grandstanding, unbecoming of a sitting president. But her critique came with its own blind spots. It was not long before Malacañang responded—with receipts. A photo resurfaced of her father, in office, grinning while holding a bag of seized drugs, just before those too were destroyed. The message was clear: Do not rewrite history.
Still, her reaction was not just personal—it was tactical. With her own impeachment trial looming, the Vice President may be attempting to shift the narrative. To position herself not as a defendant, but as a political target. And with 2028 on the horizon, every move matters. By her own telling, she is the frontrunner. But if trial proceeds—and ends the wrong way—her candidacy could be dead on arrival.
Curiously, she says she welcomes the trial to clear her name. But her lawyers have asked the Senate, sitting as the impeachment court, to dismiss the charges outright. A contradiction? Maybe. Or maybe just an effort to have it both ways. Either way, it shows the stakes are too high to play fair.
Had her allies in the Senate acted quickly and decisively, they might’ve buried the case before it took root. But they hesitated, perhaps misreading the public mood—or overestimating their own clout. Now, the Senate has opted for a strategic delay. It did not dismiss the charges. It sent them back to the House, where the soon-to-be prosecutors promptly rejected the maneuver.
And so the standoff begins. Both sides are circling the wagons. Power blocs are firming up. Messaging is sharpening. Everyone is waiting.
If the trial moves forward, it will likely begin when the 20th Congress convenes by end July. But whatever the outcome, the political fallout will shape the road to 2028. Because this is not just about guilt or innocenc. It’s about survival.
And in Philippine politics, that’s a war all on its own.
