Lucas Bersamin’s appointment as the 40th executive secretary of the Philippines in Sept. 2022 was rather met with raised eyebrows. That was because it was common perception that his record as associate justice, later as chief justice, of the Supreme Court was not only lackluster. It was rather associated with cases of partisan political origins.

Despite a Duterte destab strategy that is now clearly built to oust Marcos and install Duterte, the reality was that the INC was not going to have any of it. And so there they were, the Duterte loyalists, standing in the midst of the crowd in Luneta, silenced by the INC leadership. It was a sight to behold.

While Marcos appears sincere in getting to the bottom of the trillion-peso flood control scandal, his part in approving the questionable insertions in the budget and the release of funds for projects that turned out to be inexistent cannot be ignored. Perhaps the time is ripe for the president to acknowledge negligence and be forthright in admitting his faults.