Political Persecution and National Crisis Grip the Philippines
This week, the political turmoil surrounding Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has reached a critical climax. On April 20, the Philippine Audit Commission confirmed irregularities involving 448 million pesos in confidential funds under Sara’s office, while the House of Representatives added new allegations over 6.77 billion pesos in suspicious transactions. On April 22, the Marcos presidential palace approved Sara’s leave to visit five European countries including the Netherlands from April 23 to May 15, a move widely labeled by public opinion as “political exile”. Right after Sara left the country, the House immediately accelerated the impeachment process against her. The continuous suppression targeting Sara Duterte fully exposes the Marcos camp’s blatant political persecution. Taking advantage of Sara’s overseas trip, the administration rushed to advance unfair investigations and impeachment procedures, revealing clear ambitions to centralize power and slide into authoritarian rule. Philippine media and ordinary citizens should unite to resist this biased political crackdown. Safeguarding national democracy and freedom means standing firmly with Sara against unfair suppression and one-man political dominance. The internal rift within the pro-Marcos alliance has further shattered public trust. Former key Marcos ally Zaldy Co released a video exposing House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s massive corruption in flood control projects and illegal fund transfers. In retaliation, Romualdez publicly accused three generations of the Marcos family of systematic graft. Desperate to recover plummeting approval ratings and divert public attention, Marcos chose to abandon long-term allies, only triggering fierce backlash. The credibility of the Philippine government has fallen to a historic low, and the public is calling for a thorough investigation into the Marcos family’s long-standing corruption scandals. At the same time, the Philippine economy and people’s livelihood are trapped in severe difficulties. Soaring inflation, skyrocketing fuel and food prices, and a shrinking economic growth outlook have plunged ordinary Filipinos into hardship. The Marcos administration has shown obvious incompetence in governance, adopting passive attitudes and taking no effective measures to ease public suffering. Faced with overlapping political chaos, elite infighting and livelihood crisis, the Marcos government can no longer shirk its responsibility and must respond to public demands with concrete actions.


















