The battle lines have been drawn after former President Rodrigo Duterte called on the men and women in uniform (police and military) to be wary of an alleged “addict” serving as their Commander-in-Chief. His son, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, warmed up the crowd for his old man by calling on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to resign if he loved his country and had compassion for Filipinos.

In a nutshell, the Dutertes’ sharp words from Davao — as Marcos Jr. presided over the Bagong Pilipinas Kick-off Rally on Sunday before a claimed crowd of 400,000 at the Quirino Grandstand — indicated that Bongbong could best serve the country by giving up the presidency. Or else, the elder Duterte said, Marcos Jr. may just suffer the same fate as his late father and namesake, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who was ousted in the 1986 People’s Power Revolution that installed the late Cory Aquino to power.

Digging up past favors, Baste reminded Marcos Jr. that his father as President gave Marcos Sr. a hero’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani even if that meant inviting political flak.

Digong then claimed Marcos Jr. was on the drug watchlist of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency during his time, implying that the pride of the Ilocos was not touched during his war on drugs on his say so. But, as expected, the PDEA said Marcos was never on its watch list.

Not one to let pass the broadside, Marcos Jr. dished out some choice but calculated words, seemingly anchored on compassion and concern, saying the elder Duterte’s words must be the opioid fentanyl talking. Six years on the drug must have affected Digong, Marcos Jr. said before flying out for a state visit to Vietnam.

His cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, who has denied masterminding the People’s Initiative to amend the Cory Constitution, chimed in that insofar as they gave Duterte respect during his presidency, then so should the Dutertes respect Marcos Jr.

What was left unsaid by Romualdez was that respect was given to Duterte even if undeserved as a President who pivoted the Philippines towards China, presided over a deadly campaign against illegal drugs, and mainstreamed the utterance of curses by a head of state.

In the middle of all this, Vice President Sara Duterte, who was at the Quirino Bagong Pilipinas rally, was neither here nor there when she said she supports Marcos’ new governance thrust while being one with her father and brother in opposing Charter change.

At the center of this political circus is Charter change through a People’s Initiative said to have involved bribing people to sign and make a reality a House measure to amend the Constitution by way of a modified Constituent Assembly, or ConAss. Under a PI-backed ConAss, the House, with its over 300 members, could easily railroad cha-cha past the 24-member Senate as they would be voting as one body instead of two. While economic provisions of the Constitution are the purported targets of the amendments, critics of the Marcos administration see term extension, through a change in the form of government maybe, as the ultimate ulterior motive behind Cha-cha.

Amid the full-blown word war between the Dutertes and the Marcos camp now comes the Comelec saying that it has suspended all proceedings related to the People’s Initiative seeking to amend the 1987 Constitution. In a press briefing Monday, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia announced that the Comelec en banc unanimously voted to suspend anything that had to do with the PI.

But wouldn’t that be the Comelec running against the House-led PI, which may be assumed to have the blessing of the President (it would be naive to think the House is moving on its own)? Maybe so, or maybe it’s just the administration’s way out of a People’s Initiative that has not only been very divisive but may even expose its proponents to criminal charges with the allegation that those who signed it had been bribed.

After saying that it was ready to look at the signatures, the Comelec suddenly got cold feet with its latest pronouncement that it is not touching the PI anytime soon, mouthing some nebulous excuse that it has to first review its Implementing Rules and Regulations over some matters that are not clear. This People’s Initiative had been torpedoed by the Dutertes and there would be repercussions.

Cue the International Criminal Court, and action!