It was years ago when lawyer Claire Castro showed up on social media just when the popularity of Raffy Tulfo peaked and lawyer Randolf Libayan provided a counterfoil to that popularity by giving his own take partly on issues that Tulfo took up in his popular blog that tackled mostly family issues. Tulfo ended up becoming a senator, while President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. eventually hired Castro to beef up his press relations team. Castro was not hired as Marcos’ spokesperson because the President apparently speaks for himself, but she speaks on affairs involving the Palace. Like when reporters sought out her reaction to the recent claims made by 18 self-styled former Marines and lawyer Levito Baligod about money supposedly changing hands years ago to influence how the country was governed. Castro described those claims as following a “lousy script.”
Judging from the public’s reaction to those claims, it is not hard to see why. Nobody seems to believe in it, unlike in previous exposes that led to the downfall of regimes. Marcos Jr. remains firmly in control of the country and Baligod and the 18 self-styled former Marines have remained in the periphery. Nobody seems to be listening to them, which just shows that their claims failed to light up the people’s imagination. A “lousy script” indeed.
Baligod belongs to the camp of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently being held by the International Criminal Court or ICC in The Hague. Which only means that with the failure of the recent initiative, the influence of the Duterte camp is waning. With only his daughter Sara marshaling his forces in the Philippines, the so-called diehard Duterte supporters or DDS seem lost. This is not a good sign for the vice president, who has announced her candidacy for president in 2028.
The DDS, though, are still holding on to the hope that the ICC would allow Digong to come home by granting him an “interim” release although that prospect was obviously jeopardized by the Baligod initiative, which claims that some of the ICC judges received bribes from the money that was supposed to have been coursed through Trillanes. Trillanes has denied that claim.
After this, the next stop would be Sara’s impeachment case. Bongbong Marcos had previously stated he is not in favor of Sara being impeached, but with the VP continuing to take potshots at BBM and with the efforts to oust him, that anti-impeachment stance could change. Then there is the possibility that the President would jeopardize Sara’s chances in 2028. A BBM coalition with Leni Robredo would be damaging to the VP’s ambitions.
Sara is, according to consensus, the most winnable presidential bet currently. But 2028 is still far away and analysts see a change in the setup once 2028 nears and the electoral picture gets clearer. I am one of those pushing for a second Leni Robredo presidential run. A Robredo coalition with BBM forces and the forces of Risa Hontiveros, I say, would be devastating.