The President has reached the point every leader dreads and every democracy eventually confronts. The crises he faces are no longer political storms that can be waited out. They have merged into a single, suffocating weather system that threatens not only the administration but the very capacity of the state to govern.
Corruption allegations at the highest levels. Resignations that look less like integrity and more like collapse. A brother publicly accused by his own sister. A Vice President sharpening her knives. A Congress drowning in its own scandals. A public losing patience. And a business community quietly asking whether anyone is still in charge.
This is no longer an issue of politics. This is a question of survival, not just for the President, but for the Republic.
The President can keep pretending this is noise, or he can finally act like the nation’s leader. At this point, denial is not a strategy. Silence is not prudence. Delay is not stability. A President who refuses to lead will eventually be replaced by those who will, whether they deserve power or not.
So what must the President do? He must act, and he must act decisively, visibly, and independently.
1. Create an Independent Anti-Corruption Commission With Teeth
Not another task force. Not another Palace committee. Not another photo-op announcement.
A real, independent Anti-Corruption Commission, modeled after the US Special Counsel, with full prosecutorial authority, subpoena power, protection for witnesses, and jurisdiction over all corruption, not just infrastructure.
Membership must exclude all politicians, Cabinet members, and Palace allies. Its mandate must be public. Its reports must be published. And its budget must be insulated from political revenge.
If the President is innocent, this is his shield. If he is compromised, this is the country’s only hope.
2. Invite Outside Observers for Transparency
The Philippines is fast losing its credibility. The only way to restore trust is to let outsiders verify the process from COA audits to procurement tracing to infrastructure inspections.
Business confidence will not return through speeches. It will return through verifiable action.
3. Accept That His Denials No Longer Work
When the President says he will not dignify accusations but simultaneously accepts the “resignations” or forced exits of Bersamin and Pangandaman, he dignifies them himself.
His words collapse under the weight of his actions. The public now assumes the worst because the Palace gives them nothing to hold on to. The only antidote to suspicion is transparency. Full, brutal, unspun transparency.
4. Address the Nation Like a President, Not a Survivor
He must speak directly to Filipinos of all political colors: Marcos loyalists, Duterte loyalists, independents, apolitical workers, business leaders, the disillusioned youth, the exhausted middle class, and even those who hate him. He must acknowledge the crisis, not evade it. He must name the allegations he faces, not skirt them. He must explain his role in the budget insertions and commit to an independent probe on his own office. He must confront the drug accusations with transparency and medical verification of his choice, not weaponized tests, but credible, verifiable results.
A silent President creates a leaderless nation.
5. Rebuild Business Confidence Immediately
Right now, the administration is radioactive. The business sector fears instability and fears the alternative even more. To restore confidence, he must assure them of political continuity, institutional safeguards, and economic predictability. Corruption cannot be cured overnight, but uncertainty must be addressed immediately. The markets are not demanding miracles. They are demanding a functioning state.
6. Stabilize the Government Before the Military or Political Opportunists Do It for Him
If he does not regain authority, someone else will seize it. That is how political vacuums work.
The country is staring at three futures:
- a Sara Duterte presidency steeped in vengeance
- a civil-military intervention masquerading as “stability”
- or a President who finally decides to lead
Only one of these prevents collapse.
The President can no longer govern through inaction. He can no longer hide behind press secretaries. He can no longer dismiss accusations while quietly removing the accused. He can no longer pretend the Republic is fine when every institution is fraying at the edges.
He must lead, and lead now, or he will lose the Republic. And history has never been kind to leaders who waited too long to save their own countries.