The world is getting smaller for the Dutertes

The release of former senator Leila de Lima, the filing of criminal charges of grave threats against former president Rodrigo Duterte, the removal of the Confidential and Intelligence Fund from the budgets of the vice president and DepEd secretary, as well as rumors of possible impeachment charges against the vice president, all these are not unconnected events. They are all designed to disable a political opponent in 2028. Even a freshman Law student can draw an obvious political hypothesis.

You need not have an IQ of 228 like Marilyn vos Savant of St. Louis, Missouri, to figure out that all these are interlinked and are being orchestrated by a scheming political strategist. Now that former senator Leila is out, she can actively help the International Court of Justice in the revival of the charges of alleged extra-judicial killings and the so-called summary executions in Davao. She can testify and give aid and comfort to the investigators. She can share all the documentary and object evidence that she might be in possession of. With the former senator out, due to the recantation of all the principal witnesses against her, the former senator can pursue a charge of malicious prosecution against the former president, and subornation of perjury to those who allegedly coerced witnesses to falsely accuse her.

Former senator De Lima can conduct press conferences to drum up support for the continuation of the efforts to indict the former president. De Lima can link with Rappler's Maria Ressa, the human rights groups here and abroad, tie up with former vice president Leni Robredo, and run for senator again to regain her vantage position with which to run against the Dutertes. Former senator De Lima will be one of the most effective campaigners against the presidential campaign of putative presidential candidate Sara Duterte Carpio. Justice Secretary Boying Remulla made a statement that he believes that former senator De Lima will most probably be acquitted. Her acquittal will be a big slap to the face of the former president and will definitely be a campaign issue against the vice president's run for the presidency.

The removal by the House and the Senate of the budget for Confidential and Intelligence Funds from both the proposed appropriations of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education is obviously intended to deny the presidential candidate for 2028 the big financial muscle with which to build party organization in the next presidential fight. Related to this are the rumors about a House investigation of the questionable transfer of millions from the Office of the President to the Office of the Vice President in 2022 as well as the alleged indecent exhaustion of so much in a matter of 11 days are all palpably designed to make life more difficult for the putative candidate for president in 2028. This is further exacerbated by rumors of possible impeachment of the vice president in this connection.

The demotion of former president GMA as senior deputy speaker of the House to a mere ordinary deputy speaker and later her total removal from the House leadership along with Duterte loyalist Isidro Ungab are also visible and overt acts of pushing all pro-Duterte politicians to marginalization. Speaker Martin Romualdez and his henchmen in the House are now visibly all-out against the vice president. The die has been cast. The Rubicon has been crossed. Let us not kid ourselves, The Marcos-Duterte alliance is now over. Marcos, of course, is behind the speaker, his first-degree cousin. And Sara Duterte Carpio is the single obstacle of Martin's declared ambition to succeed his cousin in Malacañang.

Therefore, it is to the advantage of the Marcos-Romualdez axis of power that the Dutertes should be marginalized. The stay of the vice president in the Cabinet is now precarious and may be severed once there is a triggering event that shall constitute as the last straw that broke the camel's back. The Marcoses and the Dutertes can no longer stay in one boat. Their ultimate and open disengagement is now a matter of time. Just wait for the rest of the story.