Once a united force that swept the 2022 elections, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Vice President Sara Duterte are now at war. He is the son of the late dictator Marcos Sr; she is the daughter of Rodrigo Duterte. Now, as Rodrigo Duterte prepares to face the Hague, the bitter split has gripped the country. “This country is going to hell because we are led by a person who doesn’t know how to be a president,” Sara Duterte declared. The feud has spiralled into a political thriller, with allegations of corruption, drug addiction, and even assassination plots. Sara Duterte’s impeachment in February marked a historic first. “They might have realised that if the Dutertes survive the midterms, they will have momentum going into 2028,” says political analyst Ronald Yamas. Meanwhile, victims of both dynasties continue to suffer. Chrisanto Palabay, a former student activist, recalls his four-year-long kidnapping and torture under martial law: “This is not an isolated case. This happens all over the Philippines.”