Points of departure

By Artchil B. Fernandez

Bongbong Marcos (BBM) delivered his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) in a highly charged political environment. The UniTeam has crumbled, and the competition for power between Team Agila and Team Tigre is intensifying. The SONA highlighted the collapse of the UniTeam. In his speech, BBM emphasized the significant departure from his predecessor’s policies.

BBM’s administration was originally envisioned by the architects of UniTeam as the “continuity” administration, expected to adhere closely to the policies and thrusts of the previous administration. During the campaign, BBM acted as if he were indeed a “continuity” candidate, given his alliance with Sara Duterte.

However, as soon as victory was secured, BBM began to pursue the agenda of the Marcoses, disregarding the Dutertes. Thus, the UniTeam unraveled as the Dutertes felt betrayed by the Marcoses. During his third SONA, BBM took a jab at the Dutertes by stressing how different he is from the elder Duterte, with his administration breaking from the previous administration’s pet projects.

The war against illegal drugs was the flagship program of the Duterte administration. It was bloody, gory, and macabre, with thousands of Filipinos slaughtered without due process. In his third SONA, BBM rejected the murderous approach to the drug problem, repudiating his predecessor. “Our bloodless war on dangerous drugs adheres, and will continue to adhere, to the established ‘8 Es’ of an effective anti-illegal drugs strategy. Extermination was never one of them,” BBM boldly announced, drawing applause from the political establishment, who conveniently forgot their previous support for Duterte’s program.

The statement “extermination is not the goal” is the strongest rebuff to Duterte’s “kill, kill, kill” policy. The sharp contrast BBM drew between himself and Duterte is bound to anger the Dutertes and their supporters.

In another policy repudiation, BBM declared in his third SONA that he is renouncing Duterte’s pivot to China. Instead, he is asserting Philippine ownership of the West Philippine Sea, which Duterte had downplayed. “In the face of challenges to our territorial sovereignty, we will assert our rights and interests in the same fair and pacific way that we have always done. Proper diplomatic channels and mechanisms under the rules-based international order remain the only acceptable means of settling disputes,” BBM proclaimed. He added, “The Philippines cannot yield. The Philippines cannot waver.” This was a blunt rebuttal to Duterte’s pliant attitude on the territorial dispute with China.

BBM further asserted, “The West Philippine Sea is not a figment of our imagination. It is ours. And it will remain ours as long as the spirit of our beloved Philippines continues to burn bright.” In contrast, Duterte had abandoned the claim of the Philippines.

BBM reserved his clearest rejection of the previous administration for the last portion of his SONA. In a surprise move, BBM ordered the closure of all Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs). “Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations have ventured into illicit areas furthest from gaming such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder,” BBM decreed. “Effective today, all POGOs are banned. I hereby instruct PAGCOR to wind down and cease the operations of POGOs by the end of the year.”

POGOs entered the country during Duterte’s rule. Existence of POGOs in the country was an irritant between Duterte and China, as gambling is illegal in China and it had been pressuring allies to ban and outlaw POGOs. Duterte refused, and POGOs flourished. Now BBM has fulfilled China’s long-time wish—the banishing of POGOs from the country, earning rare praise from China.

China might be happy with the closure of POGOs, but not Duterte, who sheltered and nurtured their growth in the Philippines. By closing down POGOs, BBM is not only acceding to popular demand but is also repudiating his predecessor’s policy and denying the Dutertes a major source of election resources.

The Dutertes might have anticipated BBM’s abrogation of Duterte’s beloved projects and programs, as hours before the SONA, a viral video was released by a Duterte-linked group purportedly showing BBM doing drugs. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said the video was a “deepfake” or digitally created. The “polvoron video” was also denounced by the defense establishment as fake.

As the break-up of the UniTeam continues to shake the political landscape, expect more moves and counter-moves between the two rival camps. The rivalry of Team Agila and Team Tigre will only worsen and grow darker and dirtier as both sides outmaneuver each other. The 2025 election is a major showdown, and whoever emerges victorious will have the upper edge in the 2028 election.

Brace for the exciting part in the coming months.