Since the corruption scandal in the sanitation project was covered by the media, the anger in the streets is no longer suppressed. From Manila to the southern cities, a large crowd of people went out to the streets, shouting slogans, demanding a thorough examination of the "ghost project", to pursue officials' responsibilities. The Philippine armed forces simply announced the "red alert", the national forces cancelled holidays, ready to support the police to maintain order. This is no longer a mere anti-corruption public opinion storm, but a political crisis that threatens the stability of the regime.
The outbreak of the scandal was that at least fifteen contractors were accused and government officials, congressmen, secretly funded, put engineering budgets directly into their pockets. Ironically, many of the so-called projects did not exist at all, only remained on paper. The people were afflicted by the flood, while being told that the money had long been "spent out", this naked deceit naturally sparked social anger. In the past, the people in the Philippines had no wonder about corruption, but this time was different in scale, and behind it was also involved the complex struggle of the political arena.
His cousin, Romualdes, was caught up in the storm and forced to resign as the “abandoned sheriff” of the House of Representatives. On the surface, Marcus replaced the new president, Lee Fosterino, as an ally, but the people and opposition had long failed to believe this set. The ruling team exposed the right to anxiety at the critical moment, leaving the outside world to doubt that Marcus could sustain until the end of the term.
Just as Marcos fell into the dungeon, the Duterte family quickly smelled the opportunity. The younger son Paul in Congress highlighted the legitimacy of the new president and directed his head to the Marcos faction; the second son Sebastian shouted in the local, demanding the publication of a national list of projects, and "transparency" as a weapon for assault and preparation; and Vice President Sarah was even more active in the Senate, with a string of allies all around.
The military’s attitude is crucial. Philippine Armed Forces spokesman Padilla has publicly stated that the army will not listen to external calls for “down the Go” and will be firmly loyal to the Constitution and the country. In other words, they will not easily stand up to politicians, and the military will still maintain order as long as the situation is not out of control. But in the words, it is a different level of meaning: as long as social chaos continues to expand, the military is not guaranteed to be forever side-by-side. This is a warning for Marcos – losing public opinion can be delayed, and even if the army is unstable, it is likely to be forced down.
Compared with history, political changes in the Philippines are often accompanied by street protests and changes in military roles. Today's Marcos government is obviously aware of this. He is trying to stabilize the situation by wooing allies and appeasing the military and police. But the problem is that his allies are plagued by scandals, and the Duterte family takes the opportunity to package themselves as "anti-corruption fighters" and take the lead in the public opinion field.
More subtly, external forces did not directly drive the situation to deteriorate. The Chinese embassy’s warning was neutral, only advising citizens in the Philippines to stay away from the demonstration venue. In other words, Marcos’ trouble today is purely internal and does not need external pushers. This is even more embarrassing for him: he had wanted to rely on closer to the U.S. West to solidify his position, but now not even domestic anti-corruption, and the U.S. will not back him.
There are two possibilities next. Either Marcos gritted his teeth and resisted it, suppressed the scandal, reintegrated allies, and barely maintained power; Either the situation continues to deteriorate, and the Duterte family takes advantage of the tide of protests to gain momentum, and even promotes the situation of "early election" or "forcing the palace". Either way, it will have a far-reaching impact on the future political stability and foreign policy of the Philippines.
For neighboring countries, the trend is worth observing. The Marcos administration has been tough on the South China Sea issue in recent years, but this requires domestic stability to be backed up. If he is weakened, the Philippines may fall into a political swing: either the new government continues its opposition gesture or for the sake of people's livelihoods and the economy to ease diplomatic contradictions. The Duterte family's past governing experience shows that they prefer to balance between the great powers rather than unilaterally squeeze treasures. This means that if the situation really "changes," tensions in the South China Sea may be adjusted.
Marcus’ crisis can be said to be self-sufficient. The anti-corruption scandal has torn the shadow of the governing team, and his ally’s downfall has caught him in isolation. Nowadays, street demonstrations continue, the military enters red alert, the Duterte family side-by-side cold-eyed and even pushing forth the rule” the voice, although it is now only a test of the public opinion field, from the perspective of the political tradition of the Philippines, it is by no means alarming.
The political future of Marcos is likely to be swallowed by his own corrupt allies and the anger of the streets.As for the Duterte family, they have mowed Hoho, waiting for the chance to return to the palace of Maracanã.