[FMA] Marcos-Duterte, and the never-ending teleserye that is Philippine politics

The Marcos Jr. and Duterte tandem was once a formidable alliance that has now fallen apart. A shaky alliance from the start, their breaking apart culminated in a series of impeachment complaints, quadcom hearings in Congress, and the Marcos Jr. administration cooperating with the ICC arrest. Meanwhile, the Dutertes capitalized on the drama, fueling the already tense situation to appeal to the pity of the Filipino people.

The country witnessed a gripping narrative: a strongman and former president was arrested and taken to The Hague, leaving his children helpless and crying for due process — a right their father denied to the thousands of children and families of victims of the brutal drug war. 

The Marcos Jr. versus Duterte narrative represents the quintessential and cyclical drama in Philippine politics, the theatrics that politicians resort to so they can woo the public and as an attempt to appeal to the emotion of the voters; often garnering primetime viewership in place of the fight for justice and human rights.

As the 2025 midterm elections and political machinations for the 2028 Presidential race are shaping up, the political contest between the Marcoses and the Dutertes, including their allies, has turned into a circus of powerful clans vying for control.

The broader Filipino populace is forced to choose between two evils, the kasamaan vs. kadiliman; obscuring the reality that they are elites, corrupt, pro-corporate, and are from political dynasties. This political theater hides the everyday reality faced by Filipinos. 

In a report, iDefend underscores that under the Marcos administration, drug-related killings continue. The report also highlighted the government’s failure to implement structural reforms necessary to address the economic, social, and cultural rights of the Filipino people. An OCTA research found that the urgent top concern of Filipinos are the rising prices of basic goods, health, employment, and education.

In another survey, SWS found that 63% of Filipino families rated themselves as poor, highest in Mindanao at 76%. Publicly available data showed that there are 61% indigenous groups in Mindanao. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) notes that 32.4 percent of indigenous peoples live in poverty and are now the most affected group in the country. Another SWS survey found that severe hunger has been increasing for poor Filipino families. This is the reality of Filipinos, especially indigenous women. 

Amid the turbulent backdrop of the ongoing Marcos-Duterte feud, indigenous women occupy a pivotal yet overlooked position. They continue to confront deteriorating food security, climate change impacts, persistent human rights violations, and gender-based violence.

Locating indigenous women in the political controversy

Indigenous women in the Philippines have long defended their communities and advocated for their rights, yet they have historically been marginalized in formal political processes. Today, they face overwhelming obstacles that stifle their voices and hinder their participation in the public arena.

In attacks against human rights defenders, women are disproportionately affected, facing red-tagging at three times the rate of men, with threats of sexual violence frequently reported. This gendered dimension of violence underscores the specific risks they encounter in their advocacy. 

Under the Marcos Jr. administration, large-scale mining and agribusiness projects continue to displace indigenous people, with the late dictator’s son doubling down on foreign investments, green energy transition, and economic projects. These projects jeopardize not only the environment but also the cultural and physical survival of indigenous women who depend on their land. 

Among the figures enabling this exploitation are the Marcoses and Romualdezes, whose intertwined familial, political, and economic interests include ownership of large mining operations like the PASAR.

The arrest of Duterte has a significant impact for indigenous communities. It shows that no one can escape justice and accountability. And, in some ways, mirrors their struggles, though the path towards success remains bleak. However, this point on justice and accountability has been turned on its head, as Duterte’s arrest was transformed into a spectacle similar to a telenovela scene. Once again, indigenous women and others who continue to cry for justice were made invisible, and only the Marcos-Duterte narrative persisted.

Unyielding struggle and quest for justice

This only shows that the Marcos-Duterte feud removes the issues that matter. Their political marriage was empty just like their promises of a 20-peso per kilo rice, or a drug-free Philippines in six months. A promise of progress with a “Bagong Pilipinas” where indigenous people must surrender their land for corporate gain and environmental exploitation, or a Philippines cleansed by a drug war — a war on the poor, a war on human rights defenders, a war on women, and a war on indigenous people.

The experiences of indigenous women are no different from the women left behind by the victims of the drug war. Both are victims of state violence in direct and indirect ways. Indigenous women also experience EJKs, but there is also the violence associated with systematic attacks on rights, and persistent discrimination and marginalization. The former are overlooked, often seen as a hindrance to development as their lands are seen as resources ripe for exploitation. Meanwhile, the latter are vanquished, with their slain family members seen as the dispensable dregs of society. 

Indigenous women remain unyielding in their struggle for justice and recognition in a world that often seeks to stifle their voices and existence. Just as those left behind by drug war victims eagerly push to bring Duterte to court, seeking to hold accountable the architect of a ruthless campaign that has claimed countless lives, indigenous women continue to lead peaceful barricades against mining companies, document human rights violations and submit reports to seek justice and accountability to the continuing attacks against human rights defenders. 

Political contests between elite families are often a zero-sum game. The vanquished and overlooked pay the steepest price in this extraordinary contest between feuding dynasties. Yet, much like the inevitable downfall of Rodrigo Duterte, this chaos cannot last forever; all moving parts in this tragic saga will face the reckoning for their actions. After all, justice cannot be reduced to a mere contest between kasamaan and kadiliman.

This post is a contribution from (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights) is an organisation of indigenous women leaders, feminists, anthropologists, human rights advocates, environmentalists, and lawyers who support the struggle for indigenous women’s human rights.

Jayneca Reyes, is the Communications and Media Focal Person of LILAK Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights. She is also a film and media faculty at De La Salle – College of St. Benilde and Far Eastern University.

Jorelyn Viray is a designer, writer, and advocate for human rights and gender justice, working as a Communications and Media Staff at LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights).