Marcos and Duterte clan alliance ruptures

MANILA, Philippines — Less than two years after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos was swept to power, his family's alliance with his firebrand predecessor Rodrigo Duterte has been shattered.

Accusations of drug abuse, threats to split the country and rumours of a coup plot have destroyed the public facade of unity between the Marcos and Duterte families, which joined forces for the 2022 elections.

Philippine politics has long been a family business with elite clans ruling the country, holding onto positions for generations by dishing out favours, buying votes or resorting to violence.

Families often form alliances of convenience with others to win and maintain power -- but those relationships can sour when political ambitions collide or promises are not kept.

Marcos, the son and namesake of the country's former dictator, won the presidency by a landslide following a massive social media misinformation campaign whitewashing his family's history.

His vice presidential running mate Sara Duterte, the daughter of the former president, helped him win vital support from her family's home island of Mindanao.

The Marcos and Duterte clans were widely expected to fall out eventually as they began to shore up their rival support bases and secure key positions ahead of the mid-term elections in 2025 and presidential elections in 2028.

But few observers predicted that it would happen so soon or so spectacularly.

Fronting a rally of supporters in his home city Davao on January 28, Duterte accused Marcos of being a "drug addict", while his youngest son Sebastian Duterte said Marcos should resign.

Marcos hit back the next day, claiming that his predecessor's long-term use of the powerful opioid fentanyl had taken a toll on his health.

Neither man provided evidence of the other's alleged drug use.

The mudslinging appeared to be triggered by Marcos's support for a campaign to change the country's constitution -- introduced after his father was ousted from power in 1986 by a military-backed revolt -- which the Dutertes oppose.

Marcos has said he is open to adjusting economic provisions of the constitution to allow in more foreign investment, but critics have warned the move