Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte didn’t hold back on Tuesday, taking a hard swipe at President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. over what he said was the latter’s concern about his “legacy” at a time Filipinos are dealing with rising costs and a worsening fuel crisis.

In a Facebook post on 30 March that quickly went viral, Duterte wrote: “I find it ironic that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is worried about anyone undoing his legacy. The only legacy I can think of is the legacy of corruption, which clearly you have surpassed that of your infamous father.”

He then turned to the people’s struggles, saying that “Filipinos are not concerned about preserving political legacies — they are concerned about their daily struggles, the rising cost of living, and a government that should be working for them, not for itself,” he said.

Then came the line that grabbed the most attention: “Your legacy is your corruption, your weakness, your inability to address the simplest of problems of every Filipino, and of course, your being the one and only bangag president.” The last part was a reference to the long held suspicion that Marcos used drugs.

A fractured alliance

With that the 2022 election juggernaut that saw Marcos and Duterte’s sister, Vice President Sara Duterte, run roughshod over the opposition now lies in irredeemable ruin. In 2024, their vaunted UniTeam broke up amid recriminations and accusations of corruption and incompetence.

Following his July 2025 State of the Nation Address — where Marcos admonished public works contractors and officials “Mahiya naman kayo” (Have some shame) — the large-scale corruption in flood control projects came to light.

Exposed were 9,855 contracts worth P545 billion involving 421 “ghost” and substandard flood control projects. Investigations uncovered the involvement of government officials, including allies and relatives of the President.

Then Finance Secretary Ralph Recto pegged the loss to kickbacks at P118.5 billion. Assets of those suspected of involvement worth P12 billion were frozen, while seven contractors were jailed.

Earlier, in March 2025, tensions between Marcos and the Dutertes simmered when their father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, was turned over by the government to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, the Netherlands, to answer charges stemming from the latter’s war on drugs during his term from 2016 to 2022.

Vice President Sara Duterte, meanwhile, is facing impeachment in the House for the second time.

Against this backdrop, Pulong Duterte’s latest remarks appeared to seal the coffin on the Marcos-Duterte relationship.

Fuel crisis adds pressure

The timing is hard to ignore.

Fuel prices have surged to between P115 and P124 per liter this week; the peso to the dollar rate is at 60:1; oil supplies are dwindling — all this a result of the war in the Middle East that shows no sign of cooling.

The government has rolled out energy-saving measures, cutting back on air-conditioning in public offices, limiting the use of government vehicles, and scaling down some official events as it moves to manage the situation.

Lawmakers have also floated proposals, including fuel price caps and suspending VAT on petroleum products, though economic managers warn these could come at a steep cost to government revenues.

Palace defends Marcos

In response, Malacañang defended Marcos Jr. from allegations linking him to past corruption, pointing instead to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s admitted wrongdoings.

Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro highlighted Duterte’s repeated confessions of corruption, saying he openly admitted to “stealing from the country’s coffers” in speeches before large audiences. Castro also cited Duterte’s public boasting about betraying Filipinos through corruption, marijuana use, and abuse of fentanyl.

Castro further criticized the lack of sufficient action to hold accountable those involved in “ghost projects” that Duterte admitted to back in 2020. These projects, she said, continued until President Marcos Jr. launched investigations to stop them.

The spokesperson also reminded the public of corruption issues tied to Pharmally and businessman Michael Yang during the pandemic, emphasizing that these scandals occurred under Duterte’s administration.

“So let us not attribute to President Marcos Jr. the corruption that FPRRD himself committed,” Castro said, using Duterte’s initials.

Filipinos feel the pinch

On the ground, many Filipinos are feeling the squeeze.

At transport hubs, commuters pointed out that while infrastructure projects have improved travel times, rising fuel costs are quickly offsetting those gains. Others echoed Duterte’s point: that for most people, daily expenses matter more than political narratives.

With fuel prices climbing and alliances shifting, the clash between the Palace and the Duterte camp shows no signs of cooling — and could shape the political battle ahead.