Public services at risk of being weaponized in Marcos-Duterte feud, analyst says

MANILA, Philippines — Public services meant for marginalized Filipinos may be exploited to capture supporters amid the spat between the Marcoses and the Dutertes, a political science professor said on Monday, underscoring how the public ultimately shoulders the cost of warring political parties.

Ahead of the 2025 midterm elections, social protection programs and government assistance projects funded by taxpayer money are at risk of being misused to sway voters, which was done in recent government events, political science professor Cleve Arguelles told Philstar.com.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former President Rodrigo Duterte have openly traded barbs and accused each other of taking drugs while their allies, including Duterte’s eldest son, have jumped to their defense — the most obvious political showdown to date of families that were former UniTeam allies.

The Duterte patriarch, in particular, repeatedly called Marcos a “drug addict” during a Davao City event over the weekend and accused the president of taking illegal substances without evidence.

Arguelles said that the government’s “limited” social protection programs, such as its cash aid and 4Ps programs, as well as its public service projects, could be “hijacked” by either political faction for “more patronage spending.”

“It's standard practice … (but) in a scenario like this, I can imagine that the distribution of government programs will likely be targeted towards mobilization of supporters/voters,” Arguelles said. 

“Political showdowns are definitely expensive including mobilizing paid crowds and money has to come from somewhere,” he added, citing the recent Bagong Pilipinas rally and the ongoing People’s Initiative (PI) campaign as examples. 

The Marcos administration held a rally at Quirino Grandstand on Sunday to launch the "Bagong Pilipinas" movement, saying in a press release that the activity would "ignite hope and inspire participation" among Filipinos. 

The Presidential Communications Office has yet to disclose to reporters how much public funds were spent on the activity.

Meanwhile, several lawmakers and government officials, including Vice President Sara Duterte, have raised concerns