No, gentle reader, it’s not THAT; this one is spelled with a double “n”. However, since “annus horribilis” is Latin for “horrible year,” and one of the big reasons for this year having become horrible is a man called Ralph Recto, whose name in Latin nomenclature is “Rafaelis RECTUM,” the initial impression may not be far off.

That phrase “annus horribilis” gained worldwide currency in 1992 after Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom used it in a speech, describing what happened in a single year after Prince Andrew separated from Sarah Ferguson, Prince Anne divorced Capt. Mark Phillips and Lady Diana published a tell-all that became tabloid fodder for months. To top it all, Windsor Castle almost burned down.

In our country, 2025 was one such terrible year. Especially for the President. What’s sad for him is that most of his troubles were self-inflicted. In March 2025, the Marcos government, demonstrating extremely poor judgment, suddenly decided to execute an extraordinary rendition on the immensely popular former President Duterte based on a warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a move that didn’t go down well with many, even some government supporters. Done notwithstanding the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC and without observance of due process and our extradition laws, the resulting backlash resulted in a near-massacre for the administration’s senatorial candidates and several local stalwarts.

A softening of the country’s war on drugs and a long-running Communist insurgency led to resurgent crime and instability, and a deteriorating peace and order situation made tourists shy away, dropping the Philippines to the very tail end of tourism in ASEAN. An unabashed pivot towards the United States and an openly hostile diplomatic posture against China, coupled with the previous crackdown on POGOs, resulted in investments and trade interactions with the world’s second-largest economy slowing down to a trickle. 

Unfazed by widespread perceptions that the present administration is persecuting the Dutertes for political ends, the Palace-controlled House of Representatives pressed on full speed with the impeachment of the Vice President, only to be embarrassingly stopped cold by the Supreme Court which unanimously ruled that the complaint violated the Constitution. After that, the Senate, in one of its rare shining moments, voted overwhelmingly to archive the impeachment articles, another slap in the face for the Palace.

As if those were not enough, the Supreme Court also voted to order Malacañang to return the P60-billion unceremoniously taken from PhilHealth upon orders of the aforestated Finance Secretary Ralph Recto. This combination punch sent the Palace reeling against the ropes. 

And now, of course, in the midst of other scandals big and small, the coup de grace: FLOODGATE, the Mother of All Corruption, the Greatest Thievery in Philippine History. No need to belabor the details; every Filipino and his dog (and a host of foreigners) know every sordid detail.

As Marcos Jr. enters the antepenultimate year of his rule, he does so as a double lame duck: not only is he on his way out, but he is so unpopular that his political endorsement may become the proverbial kiss of death for the next elections. He is not going to land on his feet; he is going to land on his pwet (anus).