By Manny Mogato
(May 20, 2025) – “Ayoko ng gulo,” Pres. Bongbong Marcos declared in his podcast released by office to the press on Monday.
“Gusto ko magkasundo sa lahat ng tao…Marami ako kaaway. Hindi ko kailangan ng kaaway, kailangan ko kaibigan,” he said.
The president was conciliatory to the Dutertes, particularly to the vice president, a week after the administration’s dismal performance in the 2025 midterm elections.
Independent pre-election surveys had predicted his “Alyansa” team would dominate the balloting, winning eight to nine seats in the Senate races to fill a dozen vacant positions.
But the outcome was far from what the president had hoped. Only five of Marcos’ candidates won. An equal number of Duterte supported candidates also won and two others were from the opposition.
The May 12 midterm election was a classic face off by Marcos and Duterte and ended in a tie. The rift was exacerbated by the arrest and transfer of former president Rodrigo Duterte in March and the looming Senate impeachment trial of his daughter.
Back in November, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, in a fit of anger, threatened to have the president, his wife, and cousin killed if something happens to her.
The political differences appeared to be irreparable because of these two factors: Duterte’s arrest and his daughter’s impeachment trial.
But, something different happened on the fifth Sunday of Easter in the Roman Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar.
Pres. Marcos was suddenly conciliatory. He must have taken to heart last Sunday’s Gospel reading in all Roman Catholic churches worldwide.
Taken from Evangelist John’s Gospel that reported Jesus gave the 12 disciples a new commandment: “Love one another.”
Is Ferdinand Marcos Jr. really serious in waving an olive branch to Sara Duterte-Carpio? Could this be a ploy to deflect blame if the vice president escapes conviction?
It appears Sara Duterte may win big in the impeachment trial after five of her supposed allies won in the midterm elections – Bong Go, Bato dela Rosa, Rodante Marcoleta, Camille Villar, and Imee Marcos.
They would join five other incumbents: Robinhood Padilla, Alan Peter Cayetano, Mark Villar, Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva.
Sara only needs nine senators to block a conviction which would remove her from office and ban her from seeking any public office.
Some political observers say the president’s latest conciliatory gesture was a sign of weakness. Does he really want a reconciliation and hope the vice president would be more lenient in case she is elected president in 2028?
No one really knows what is on the mind of the president. That could put Sara on the defensive and tone down her attacks on his administration.
Some political observers believe it could be a strategy to regain his popularity and put all the blame on the poor election performance on his first cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Marcos has started to distance himself from the impeachment issue. There were reports his son, Ilocos Norte Congressman Sandro Marcos, was only forced to sign the impeachment motion.
However, it appears Romualdez is invincible despite getting blamed for Marcos’ coalition to lose in the Senate races.
About 100 members of his political party Lakas-CMD won in the elections. More than 60 other political allies from other parties have secured seats in the House of Representatives.
In short, Romualdez may have at least 60 percent support from House members and may defeat any potential challengers.
In the Senate, there were some dynamics involved that could still remove Sara from her position even after her allies won in the elections.
The senators who are sitting as judges in the impeachment would set their eyes on the 2028 elections in making a decision to declare Sara’s innocence or guilt.
If they think Sara would win the elections three years from now, they might block her conviction. But. if some are thinking of running against her, they could take the opportunity to remove her as a threat.
Take Bong Go for instance. Emerging the Senate elections’ topnotcher, he may entertain some ideas to run for the presidency.
In 2022, former president Rodrigo Duterte was pushing Go to run for president in tandem with Sara. However, Sara rejected it and ran with Marcos.
Go will now have his chance to rise and Sara stands in his way. Thus, he may vote to convict Sara or choose to abstain, taking one vote from the vice president.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) may issue an arrest warrant against Senator Bato dela Rosa later this year, or before the trial ends. That could remove another vote from Sara and deny her enough votes to defeat the impeachment trial.
Marcos remains in power. He can still apply pressure on other senators to convict Sara. For instance, Jinggoy has a pending graft case in Sandiganbayan while the Villars faced numerous complaints on their water utility company for poor quality water services.
There are more than 101 reasons the other senators could be swayed.
It will be premature for Sara and her allies to celebrate an impeachment trial victory. Marcos appeared to be lame duck after the midterm elections but he still had influence and clout until a year before the 2028 elections.
The rise of the political opposition on the wave of the youth vote could be another factor in favor of Marcos against the Dutertes.
Francisco Baltazar, a Filipino poet during the Spanish colonial period, also known as Balagtas, has written a perfect warning in “Florante at Laura”, saying never to trust a friendly face who smiles at you, he or she may be your secret enemy.
The views expressed by the columnist do not necessarily reflect that of the media organization.
