Go’s transfer to Lupon, Davao Oriental is seen as his break from the Duterte children and their heirs, now numbering five in political power. With Go’s higher ambitions, his chances of having the city as his baluarte are dim. It will always be in the hands of the Duterte children, who see him as belonging to the opposing Honeylet Avanceña side of the broken family.

The president needs to take more drastic action against erring or non-performing officials, not only those in the Cabinet but even in lower-level agencies and regulatory entities, particularly those involved in frontline government services.

The results of the May 12 polls gave the vice president's camp more ammunition for the almost simultaneous battle in Congress — the speakership in the House of Representatives and impeachment in the Senate — to discredit the Marcos administration and eventually wrest power by 2028.