Whatever doesn’t kill you … nearly does

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” The American stand-up comic Conan O’Brien offered a witty comeback: “What Nietzsche failed to tell us was that it almost killed you.” This best describes the precarious situation of President Bongbong Marcos Jr.

Although Marcos Jr. survived the latest test of his presidency, a 600,000-strong rally of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), he did so in a politically diminished state. The protest had originally been planned for three days and was widely expected to be a massive rallying point for all the president’s opponents, even calling for his resignation and withdrawal of military support.

If reports are to be believed, the INC concluded its protest early after the administration yielded to many of its demands, concessions that were likely the product of negotiations conducted before and/or during the rally itself. This may explain why the INC dialed down its rhetoric, focusing its message on “transparency” and repeatedly emphasizing that its mobilization was not an endorsement of calls for Marcos Jr.’s resignation, removal from office or any extraconstitutional initiative.

INC organizers went as far as barring Duterte groups from the Luneta grounds, citing incompatible messages. We can only imagine the heartache of the DDS, who had spent months fantasizing about a coup that never materialized. And while Senator Imee Marcos was allowed to rant and air her family’s dirty laundry in public, the outburst marred the rally’s final moments. Her message seemed less an INC political endorsement and more a concession granted to an “outside the kulambo” sister desperately seeking relevance.

While the politics of concession may have granted the president some breathing room after a very turbulent week, it came with a high political cost. Many now see him beholden to the INC, a weakness that other forces within his circle will surely exploit. This is a signal that the president can be easily pressured, that loyalty can be negotiated or renegotiated, and that a well-timed shakedown can extract dividends from an administration on the defensive.

Luckily for Marcos Jr., his dynastic rival, the Dutertes, was also weakened by this week’s events. Denied of the INC’s support, the camp of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte has been stripped of a solid mass base, proving, yet again, of its lack of mobilizing power in Metro Manila, the country’s seat of power. Barred from joining the INC rally, they went to EDSA, where their numbers never exceeded 3,000. Many described it as “isang platitong mani.”

It was a pitiful sight, especially when measured against the massive student walkouts across campuses and the Trillion Peso March of Sept. 21. It exposed the contradictions of those whispering to the military to mount a pro-Sara coup, never mind that they themselves favor China, the immediate adversary the military is sworn to guard against. The result? An epic embarrassment. It was a textbook lesson on how not to plot a coup, an idiot’s guide on how not to become an even bigger idiot of a putschist.

But Marcos Jr. is far from safe. The crisis persists. His governance will only grow more difficult. Just look at the past week: he was accused by former ally Zaldy Co of pocketing billions in budget insertions, a massive rally was mounted by a religious bloc long aligned with the Dutertes, coup rumors circulated, and his two top Cabinet officials – former Executive secretary Lucas Bersamin and Budget secretary Amenah Pangandaman – were abruptly shown the door. Then another grenade landed, linking Bersamin and others to an alleged misrepresentation of the president involving P100 billion in 2025 budget insertions. The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) also recommended plunder charges against former speaker Martin Romualdez. And on top of this, arrest warrants were issued against Co and 17 others. If this is what one week looks like, one shudders to imagine what the coming weeks and months have in store for the president.

But the crisis also presents a strategic opening for progressive and democratic forces. The conditions are ripe for expanding their base, advancing radical reforms, and elevating leaders like Senator Risa Hontiveros, Akbayan Representatives Chel Diokno, Perci Cendaña, and Dadah Kiram Ismulah, ML Representative Leila de Lima, Heidi Mendoza, Cielo Magno, Kiko Aquino Dee, and Atin Ito Convenor Rafaela “Paeng” David, among others, into the public eye as faces of a credible political alternative. Whether immediately or in 2028, depending on what the balance of forces and objective conditions allows, they must be at the front and center of the people’s struggle.

Meanwhile, the administration desperately flirts with radical policies like an anti-political dynasty law to reshape the narrative and placate an increasingly angry public. Even as we doubt the sincerity of a dynasty-entrenched legislature legislating its own abolition, it can be seized to present an alternative leadership and cultivate a broad, anti-dynasty constituency both in parliament and across the nation.

For Marcos Jr., the message could not be clearer: to survive until 2028, he must act in ways that are truly disruptive, compelling, and out of the script. Promises to charge, arrest, and jail those implicated in the flood control corruption scandal, even high-profile officials, whether allies of the administration or the Dutertes, now constitute little more than the public’s bare minimum. Should the president fail to deliver even this, his fate may well be sealed.

The president is caught in a conundrum. He cannot merely satisfy public anticipation, nor can he afford to stumble. To endure, the president must not only meet the people’s expectations, he must exceed them. Either Marcos Jr. goes big, or, as his estranged sister tells him, “go home.”