Acosta’s testimony thus left the court with two competing questions: Duterte’s alleged authority to order the release of the money, and whether the person who received and supposedly implemented the confidential activities had the authority to handle the funds.

Despite the persistent defeatist propaganda being regurgitated by the treacherous talking heads and influencers of the Duterte camp, the Philippines is slowly emerging as a significant Southeast Asian military power. The only thing for the Philippines to do is for Filipinos to realize that we are not anymore the weak man of Asia.

The other day, there was one positive development in efforts to rationalize anti-scam efforts: Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda said in a DZMM talk show that his department is adopting the Scam Watch Pilipinas Anti-Scam Quad Model as the national anti-scam education and awareness strategy.