“Bencic ends Eala’s run.”
A headline from Philippine Star stings like a sudden downpour on a hopeful morning. And yet, it strangely harmonizes with today’s other grim refrains:
• “Monsoon rains wreak havoc across country” — Inquirer
• “Deadly Habagat exposes Marcos’ Floodgate mess” — Daily Tribune
• “Habagat kills 10; affects over 380,000” — Manila Standard
It feels as though Mother Nature herself is weeping for the Filipino people—on the world stage through Alex Eala’s fall, and on the home front through floods that drown both lives and trust.
The Qualm That Lingered
In my previous ATABAY piece, I wrestled with unease as I wrote about Eala’s ankle injury against McNally. Wrapped in suffocating tape, she tore it off in defiance, choosing pain over shackled movement. That raw puso carried her through.
I did not mean to diminish Bencic’s dominance in today’s decisive win. Rather, I confess: I had qualms. A foreboding sense that somewhere down the road, a crushing defeat lurked, waiting. And now, out of the blue, it arrived.
Juxtaposition as Mirror
Reader Candy once praised my weaving of Eala’s grit with Ombudsman Crispin Remulla’s anti-corruption crusade:
“I love the juxtaposing of the two situations! You are a very good & analytical writer.”
That admiration now compels me to ask: Quo vadis? Where are you going? Not to Eala—her youth still promises a luminous future—but to Remulla, standing in the nation’s political court.
Will Eala’s fall foreshadow Remulla’s retreat? Or will he, too, rip away the tape and press on?
The Political Undercurrent
Ana Marie Pamintuan of Philippine Star in her column framed the tension.
“We’re waiting for Remulla’s next step in going after Romualdez, and fulfilling BBM’s SONA promise.
“It must be stressed though that BBM did not explicitly promise to put his cousin behind bars or even secure conviction. All he said was that the Ombudsman was set to file piles of cases against 'the former speaker' whose name he could not even mention.
“BBM also admitted that it pained him, although ‘kailangan nating gawin ang tama’ – we have to do what’s right.
“At this point, doing what’s right is starting to sound like the fairy tale about the big fish not having a merry Christmas 2025. Or the original OPM, oh promise me: rice (not subsidized) at P20 a kilo.”
And then came Sandro Marcos’ candid confession.
The Uniteam collapsed not by accident, but by the weight of factions.
Truth be told, I saw it too—long before the 2022 elections. In my ATABAY “Letter To Inday Sara Duterte Supporter Who Is Also My Friend”, I warned of dynastic ambitions already sharpening for 2028.
“Bongbong is running under the umbrella of multiple parties with a throng of vested interests.
"Aiming now for the 2028 presidency is a horde of younger and ambitious breed of second-generation leaders emerging from a band of dynastic political clans embedded in Bongbong’s camp.”
That prognosis now echoes like graffiti on the wall: I told you so.
The Digital Battlefield Ahead
In my ATABAY “Philippines 2028: The Digital Battlefield Ahead,” I sketched three scenarios:
The Good. You adopt active defense—open-source transparency, civil society watchdogs, and airtight transmission logs. Digital tallies match paper trails, democracy stands resilient.
The Bad. Servers stay secure, but minds are hacked. AI deepfakes poison perception, and a foreign-favored candidate wins legally but illegitimately. Democracy keeps its machinery but loses its soul.
I closed with a warning:
“2022 left a scar: silence dressed as justice. Legal closure isn’t technical closure—it’s anesthesia.”
That explains why the best won't run.
"Ngayon pa lang sinasabi ko na sa inyo: 2028, hindi ako tatakbo," declared Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto during his inauguration.
Former Vice President Leni Robredo confirmed the same: no plans for 2028.
The Qualm That Persists
From Eala’s ankle to Remulla’s crusade, from Uniteam’s implosion to the 2028 digital battlefield, my qualms persist. They whisper unease, poke at conscience, and remind me that forebodings are not mere shadows—they are signals.
And so I end with this: whether on the baseline or in the halls of power, whether in the floodwaters or in the servers of democracy, the Filipino spirit must refuse anesthesia.
We must stay awake, vigilant, and unyielding.
The handwriting on the wall is clear. And it reads:
“I told you so.”
Content & editing put together in collaboration with Microsoft Co-pilot
Head image created by Microsoft Co-pilot
Photo/Image art app by Canva
Still photos courtesy of Philippine Star, Instagram, The Manila Times, Manila Bulletin, Facebook, Philippine News Agency, ATABAY stock photos
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