Joel Guinto
Live reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesBongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte were unstoppable during the 2022 elections. Under a system dominated by personality politics, the so-called “Tiger of the North” and “Eagle of the South” were seen as a dream team.
Bongbong, the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, commanded votes from the country’s north. He recast his father’s rule, which was marred by allegations of widespread corruption and human rights abuse, as the country’s golden age.
Sara, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, hails from the south and promised to continue her father’s tough stance on crime while redistributing power long held by the Manila elite.
But in the end, there was not enough power to share between them, and the alliance crumbled soon after they assumed power.
Since then Sara has been laying the groundwork for her campaign for the 2028 presidency, while Marcos has been trying to line up a friendly successor who will not go after him when he leaves office.
Today’s trial shifts this long-running power struggle to a new battleground, one that will play out on livestreams for the entire nation to watch almost everyday.
Ahead of the 2028 election, this trial will test how much support Marcos and Duterte can muster both from the Senate and from the public.
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