21/09/2026
𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘴, 𝘋𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘦, 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘨-𝘪𝘣𝘢. 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘬𝘰𝘵, 𝘱𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘱 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘢.
The current controversies surrounding the Duterte family have understandably and deservingly drawn public attention, from the 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗗𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗥𝗼𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗼 𝗗𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗲’𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲, 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗖𝗖. We hope that both cases continue through due process and ultimately hold them accountable, so that the Filipino people are finally given the justice they deserve.
However, as these developments take public attention, we must 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗼𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻.
Just this year, the Sandiganbayan dismissed the remaining government claims seeking to recover alleged ill-gotten wealth from the Marcos family after the PCGG said it had no further evidence to present, noting that most of the properties involved had already been recovered through separate cases [1]. The Supreme Court also acquitted Imelda Marcos of her criminal graft charges after finding that the prosecution failed to establish her guilt beyond reasonable doubt. This ruling, however, is separate from the civil proceedings concerning ill-gotten wealth and does not resolve those cases [2].
More recently, the case of Martin Romualdez, cousin of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has brought another issue into focus: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲. After his arrest over a plunder case, Romualdez was initially confined in a hospital, 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁. The Sandiganbayan later ordered an independent medical assessment at PGH, whose director reported that Romualdez was clinically stable and no longer needed hospital confinement. He was subsequently transferred to the Quezon City Jail [3].
So why is it that when ordinary Filipinos need healthcare, they 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗶𝘁, 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘁, 𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘁, and yet when 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗷𝗮𝗶𝗹?
𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮.
We recognize that healthcare must never be denied to anyone. But at the same time, 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝘀. This is especially important in a country where access to healthcare remains a struggle for many Filipinos. Families continue to face the costs of hospitalization, medicines, and other medical needs, while our public hospitals and healthcare workers continue to carry heavy workload and demands without proper support and compensation.
This is why, as we commemorate Martial Law, we cannot treat its history as something confined to the past. The declaration of Martial Law in 1972 marked the beginning of a period in which political power became increasingly unchecked, and calls for accountability were suppressed. We remember 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱.
With all the controversies surrounding both the Duterte and Marcos families, 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻. One political dynasty’s actions cannot excuse another’s, and accountability should never depend on which family currently holds our attention.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚.
𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱. 𝘒𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘢-𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘯. It will never change the fact that grave abuses were committed during the Marcos dictatorship.
𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘵. 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘢.
𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.
𝙃𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝘸𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯.
𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺.
𝙒𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮.
𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵.
𝗠𝗚𝗔 𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗚𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗔𝗡:
[1] Salonga K. Sandiganbayan Dismisses Remaining Asset Claims in Marcoses’ Ill-gotten Wealth Case | ABS-CBN News. ABS-CBN. https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/6/sandiganbayan-dismisses-remaining-asset-claims-in-marcoses-ill-gotten-wealth-case-0015. Published June 5, 2026.
[2] Bolledo J. Supreme Court acquits Imelda Marcos in 7 counts of graft. Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/supreme-court-acquittal-imelda-marcos-graft-september-2026/. Published September 9, 2026.
[3] Bolledo J. Martin Romualdez ordered transferred from PGH to Payatas jail. Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/martin-romualdez-transfer-pgh-new-quezon-city-jail-payatas/. Published September 14, 2026.
