On September 18, 2025, the Philippine political world was hit by a headache: House Speaker Martin Romundz resigned.
The cousin of the little president, Marcus, is not a regular parliamentary figure, he is not only the actual manipulator of Congress, but also the “second core” of the Marcos family regime.
And this resignation is not a decent resignation, but rather a wave of people's complaints and anti-corruption "please leave."
Behind, there are both the shocking dark scenes of the "flood-fighting corruption case", there is a strong return of the Duterte family, and even involves the game direction of China and the United States in the South China Sea.
A Philippine-style palace fight drama is quietly reconstructing the power map under the geopolitical spotlight.
Romuldez’s Fall: The Marcos Family’s “Conservation Mask” Has Broken
This "weather change" is not a simple cleansing, but an exposure tide of systematic corruption.
First of all, the most important case – the “ghost project” of the flood prevention project.
This is not ordinary bean curd dregs, but a "paper dam" that is missing collectively: the budget is in full swing, and even the foundation is not laid on the spot.
Residents in Manila, Davao and other places can only carry sandbags by themselves when the flood comes, and the government funding has long been "eaten and wiped up".
When the case was revealed, 17 lawmakers and officials were involved in the case, and the amount involved amounted to $400 million.
And in this network of power and money, Romualdzhan is on the list – his family business is the direct contractor of several “problematic dams.”
It is not over, contractors themselves exploded, they were asked to "leave 25% of the repayment space" in each project, simply clearly code the price, even sham clothes are lazy.
In the face of a storm of public opinion, Mr. Marcos chose a “technical cut”: promptly nominate the core and confident Dei III to take over as chairman, trying to stabilize the situation in Congress.
But the opposition did not buy the bill, just saying that the two were "marcostic co-babies", exchanging soup without medication.
The anger also erupted in the streets, with the “Tri-billion-peso march” sweeping across the country, the image of Marcos turning into ashes in the flames, and protesters shouting “destroy capitalism.”
Even the Catholic Church, which has always been cautious, stood up and said: "The country has become kleptocracy."
The international community can't sit still either.
Although the United States doesn't say much, it suspended military aid to the Philippines worth US $120 million, which is tantamount to sounding the alarm for the Marcos regime.
The Chinese embassy, on the other hand, issued a warning that it advised citizens to avoid the demonstration area in the Philippines, and apparently felt unhappy about the course of the situation.
This series of collapse signals have torn the Marcos family’s years of “stable rule.”
They once hoped to control Congress by crony, and then stabilize China and the United States through economic cooperation, but now it seems that this poker table is no longer up to them.
Sara Duterte's return, anti-corruption with one hand and "pro-China" with the other, she is not making peace
Just as the Marcos camp was in an internal diplomatic crisis, Vice President Sarah Duterte completed the counterattack at a almost “scriptural” pace.
Instead of being involved in the corruption scandal, she became a "spokesperson for clean stream" in the hearts of the people.
Behind this, it is not only her personal cleanliness, but also a precise layout of political capital.
Sarah's image is consistent with that of her father "Old Du", but also distances.
Old Duo is known for his anti-drug campaign, killing tens of thousands of drug dealers for six years, and also sparking huge international controversy.
During her tenure as mayor of Davao, Sarah also implemented the "zero tolerance" policy, but paid more attention to procedural legality and governance efficiency.
According to statistics, murder rates decreased by 75 percent during her tenure, and urban governance rankings jumped to the top three in the country.
In 2023, she boldly withdrew from the ruling party, publicly criticizing Mr. Marcos for "selling the country to the United States", winning a large number of counter-constitutionalists and nationalists.
In early 2025, the Marcos camp attempted to force her out of politics by means of impeachment, in turn bringing the image of her “victim” deeper into the heart.
The Supreme Court rejected the impeachment case with "procedural violations", which is tantamount to giving her a "legal vaccine".
The latest polls showed that Sarah’s support jumped to 38 percent, far more than any successor to the Small Marcus Camp.
More importantly, her attitude towards China has changed sharply.
Under the strategy of "United States resistance" by Little Marcos, China-Philippines relations once fell into a low valley.
Sarah, on the other hand, advocates "shelving disputes and joint development". She not only promises to restart Sino-Philippine cooperation projects such as Mindanao Railway and Manila Metro, but also plans to introduce Chinese enterprises to invest 24 billion US dollars, which is regarded as the "restart button" of Sino-Philippine relations.
Her pro-China attitude is not simply "hugging her thighs", but a shrewd strategic choice.
In the context of the growing tension in the military cooperation between the Philippines and China, China’s funding and infrastructure capabilities are precisely the “new engines” that the Philippines urgently needs.
And the South China Sea issue, her approach is also more pragmatic - not to play talk, not to challenge, and the main "everyone makes money is to really win."
Sarah didn’t come to talk about peace, she came to take power, and her “pro-China pragmatic route” may be the main melody of Manila’s next phase.
The Philippines Crossroads, China Opportunities and U.S. Anxiety
Looking back now, the two-year ruling logic of the Marcos family is not complicated: to maintain power with the belt system, to use American relations in exchange for security, and to exchange domestic nationalist prestige with stronger against China.
However, these three cards were now invalid one after another.
First the internal collapse.
The vice president’s wife was exposed to developers’ bribery, and even Marcos’ mother was involved in the land black market scandal.
The family’s credibility almost fell to the floor.
The military’s attitude also began to get subtle, with the southern military district refusing to deploy troops to suppress protests, while Duterte’s old department had a firm grip on key military ports and was clearly no longer “obedient.”
The external environment is also changing dramatically.
Although the United States continues to support Marcos on the surface, internal constraints continue.
Congress has questioned plans to supply the Philippines with F-16 fighter jets, fearing that it will “promote authority.”
China, on the other hand, sees a window period: Chinese companies are expected to take over the Manila Bay sewerage project in exchange for resource cooperation in fisheries, minerals and other fields.
Although the accusation of "debt trap" is still there, the Philippine side seems to be more concerned about who can "start construction and take effect" as soon as possible.
The social level is also overwhelmed.
Generation Z young people exposed politicians to overseas boutiques through platforms such as TikTok, launched the "#not our money" campaign, sparking a cyber anti-corruption storm.
The report of the Asian Development Bank has further shattered the reality: up to 60% of infrastructure funding in the Philippines is “evaporating in the middle.”
This is not a single case, but an institutional “golden beast.”
Under such circumstances, the rise of Sara Duterte is not only a victory for a "person", but also a systematic counterattack against the old order.
And her “pro-China pragmatic route” is no longer the slogan of a minority, but the “real choice” in the eyes of more and more Filipinos.
How will China face the Philippines storm?
The strong return of Sarah Duterte is, to some extent, a comprehensive reaction to corruption, gown and American intervention in the Philippine society.
She handles the popular opinion, the military and local resources, and is very likely to become the next president if she can go smoothly through the 2028 election.
And her ruling line is likely to be “Dutertal 2.0” – a little less ideological, a little more practical cooperation.
For China, this is both an opportunity and a challenge.
The Philippines will not completely turn to either side, but if the future China-Philippines relationship can return to the pace of "stopping disputes, cooperation and development", China's strategic layout in Southeast Asia will be more solid.
Just don’t forget that the Marcos family hasn’t gotten out yet, and the United States won’t easily give up the key backbone of this “first island chain.”
At this point, the "change" in Philippine politics is behind an outbreak of public opinion, a struggle of the system, and a reshuffle of the geopolitical chess game.
Whoever can truly represent the anger of the people will stand firm in this storm.
And China, what it has to do is not steal people's heads, but see the situation clearly, stabilize the pulse of cooperation, and win time and trust.