MANILA ¨C The alliance between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte disintegrated this week when they accused each other of using drugs ¡ª a rift that could threaten Marcos¡¯s reform agenda and risk fueling instability.
The alliance between two of the Philippines¡¯ most influential families that swept Marcos and Duterte¡¯s daughter, Sara, into power in 2022, was always expected to collapse, but analysts are surprised by how soon the gloves have come off.
¡°This is a point of no return,¡± said Jean Encinas-Franco, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines, pointing to the ferocity of the exchanges between the two families.
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