Reel them in

Ready by succession?

When asked if she was ready to replace President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. if he falls, Vice President Sara Duterte was firm: “There is no question about my readiness… I am the first in line of succession.” Lately, she has gone further, claiming that she “witnessed firsthand” how the DepEd budget was manipulated under this administration.

That is a remarkable pose from someone who once hounded Congress for confidential funds, stonewalled questions on how her own office spent hundreds of millions, and walked away from DepEd with backlogs and a fund mess unresolved.

If you truly saw manipulation up close, why stay silent until the Marcos ship started to sink — and only then recast yourself as whistleblower-in-waiting?

Being “first in line” does not automatically translate to being prepared to govern a country already strained by inflation, weak institutions, and geopolitical tension.

Succession can make Sara Duterte president the moment Marcos goes down. But a president installed by legal default, trading on the outrage she helped normalize, is not the clean break this crisis demands.

If readiness is grounded only on succession and not substance, are Filipinos being asked to accept power by default? The UniTeam once sold the promise of a “Bagong Pilipinas,” but that promise has clearly frayed. What many Filipinos now want is not simply a bagong mukha elevated by circumstance, but leadership anchored on prinsipyo and isang salita.

Kaibigan mo? Probably. Kaibigan ko? Definitely neither “Bongbong Marcos” nor “Inday Sara… Duterte.”

— Jason Mago

Angel Zaldy

Zaldy Co keeps talking. Six videos (and more?). The newest one on Wednesday saw the same performance. A man in hiding insisting he had nothing to hide. A fugitive claiming credibility while refusing to stand before the law.

He shows photos online like they are proof. He thinks that’s all it takes. He wants the public to believe that every accusation against him is fabricated and he is the victim in a billion-peso scandal.

No one buys the story that “he did not receive money.” No one buys the image of a “delivery man” who somehow owns private jets and multiple properties. Wealth like that does not come from coincidence or kindness. Everybody knows that.

His letter to the President tried to paint him as an angel. A misunderstood good man. He is not.

No matter how innocent you think you are, Zaldy, the Trillion Peso March will force the reckoning you fear. The crowd is not marching for sympathy or excuses. They want every name involved held up to the light and torn down from their pedestal.

You will be crucified, just like everyone else who bled this country dry. — Carl Magadia

Small catch, big news

This week, after former lawmaker Zaldy Co implicated several officials as masterminds behind irregularities in flood control projects, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. released a less-than-three-minute video claiming that seven suspects in the scandal are now in custody.

On the same day, the PCO released six photos of those allegedly detained, while the DILG presented images of eight officials in custody during a separate press briefing. The DILG also named four others implicated in the scandal, with Zaldy Co — whose location is unknown — being one of the few big politicians actively being pursued.

On Thursday morning, these eight — all officials of the DPWH and accused in the Oriental Mindoro flood control mess — pleaded not guilty to graft charges filed at the Sandiganbayan.

The government may think it is fooling the public, but people are demanding accountability from the big names. Why publicly crucify only DPWH officials and construction firms when the real powers behind the mess sit in the Senate, Congress, or even the Palace?

So far, only Zaldy Co’s assets have been frozen — as if he alone is the sacrificial lamb. Let’s be clear: Co deserves the humiliation, but he is not the only one responsible. Those above him — possibly even Palace insiders and relatives — remain protected and untouchable.

It’s high time we investigate all those implicated: Senators Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada, Chiz Escudero, among others. Investigate Bongbong Marcos and Martin Romualdez. Force them to show the fullest transparency they can provide.

We obviously have a bigger net, but we are deliberately catching only the small fish.

Enough with the prawns; we want the sharks.