According to a report by Philong.com on October 15, former Philippine President Duterte suffered blows at the same time on both the international and domestic fronts.
The International Criminal Court has formally rejected its application for temporary release on the grounds of the risk of escape, and after the Philippines’ new supervisory commissioner Raymouth took office, he ordered the resumption of an investigation into a drug procurement scandal during President Duterte’s tenure and explicitly did not rule out the inclusion of Duterte himself in the new charges.
In this context, Duterte can be said to be a rainy day. On the one hand, he is limited by international judicial pressure, and on the other hand, he is surrounded by the fast-advancing investigation procedures of his country's judicial system.
Especially in the pharmaceutical procurement case, 14 cases involved have been assigned to different courts, some of which have entered the trial stage.
Once Duterte is listed as a defendant, his domestic political influence will be severely weakened, and he will even face double imprisonment. Even if he is released from The Hague, he may not be able to return to China.
From a time point of view, Remura’s actions are highly targeted.
As soon as he was appointed as an ombudsman by Marcos Jr., he decided to conduct a comprehensive retrospective review of the medical procurement case and ordered the withdrawal of some cases that had previously been submitted to the Anti-Corruption Court in order to supplement evidence and integrate logic., and then re-file the lawsuit.
This operation is extremely rare in the Philippine judicial system, and is widely interpreted as a law with clear political intentions.
Not only that, Remula also publicly stated in the face of reporters that as long as the facts and evidence are conclusive, no one will be excluded, and specifically pointed out that if the investigation extends to the top government, it will also be handled according to law.
This phrase sparked widespread links in the media and the political circle, and almost illuminated that it was about Chad.
At the same time, there are signs that Remula has begun to evaluate confidential fund use issues and asset declaration reports related to Vice President Sarah, indicating that the next wave of offensive will be directed at another pillar of the Duterte family.
At present, it seems that the whole operation has gone far beyond the scope of anti-corruption accountability, but a gradual and planned political cleansing.
From Old Du's involvement in the case, the failure to release the bail, to Sarah's funding disputes, and potential investigations, this attack route undoubtedly shows a trend of rooting and killing.
From the perspective of the institutional path, the Ombudsman has sufficient legal authority to investigate the property, administrative actions and financial flows of public officials. Coupled with the tacit approval and even support of Remula, Jr., Marcos Jr. for taking office, it is equivalent to opening a system for liquidation.
While the Duterte family has established a strong political network in Davos and across the country, it has been in an extremely passive situation under this round of systematic strikes from the center.
This series of signals indicated that the authorities of the Little Marcos were not satisfied with the name of accountability, but rather with the intention to completely remove the forces left behind by Duterte from the political structure.
So, why did the little Marcus do so inexpensively to Douma?
First, because he himself is caught in a growing controversy about corruption. Recently, corruption scandals such as the unclear flow of funds for flood control projects and the repeated disbursement of funds for village and town construction have continued to ferment.
Under such circumstances, if we don't quickly sacrifice a powerful anti-corruption action, it will greatly affect the ruling legitimacy and support base.
Duterte, on the other hand, has been controversial for a long time because of his procurement, anti-drug policy and violent law enforcement during his term of office. It is easy to become a symbolic and spreading anti-corruption target, and he kills two birds with one stone, which can not only attack opponents, but also divert his own pressure.
Second, a deeper consideration is the 2028 general election.Sarah is widely regarded as one of the most powerful candidates for the next presidency, and her organizational and political capacity at the local level cannot be overlooked.
Once she is successfully elected, it is likely to initiate a political liquidation of the Little Marcos regime, or even restart the responsibility for the historical problems of the Marcos family itself.
Therefore, attacking Sarah in advance and weakening her political capital and family credibility is not only a temporary strategy to shift the current focus, but also to weaken her future mobilization and legitimacy of the election. It is a strategic deployment to kill her before fighting.
This also means that it will be difficult for the Duterte family to pass this time.