TWO WOMEN'S MAD AGAINST THE MARCOS JR ADMINISTRATION

In 2024, two Filipino women threatened the Marcos Jr Administration mutually assured destruction: Cathy Binag and Vice President Sara Duterte

On your left is Ms Cathy Binag. She was the former partner of former Congressman Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr, one of the closest friends of the Philippine president Bongbong Marcos Jr. On your right is Vice President Sara Duterte. The woman making headlines all over the world for supposedly threatening the assassination of the Marcos Jr, his wife, and his cousin, the House Speaker of the Philippines. What do Cathy and Sara have in common? It is the MAD they unleashed this year against the Marcos Jr Administration.

M.A.D. or “mutually assured destruction” is a security strategy that became prominent during the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union. Based on the principle of rational deterrence, following MAD ensures that if X tries to annihilate Y, Y assures that the actor would suffer the same fate through retaliatory action. MAD is all about developing second-strike capabilities that match the enemy. Post-WWII, possessing nuclear weapons became the capability States sought after. The nuclear arms race is the operationalisation of the MAD principle.

This is the same principle that Cathy and Sara were following: if they get killed by the Marcos Jr administration, retaliatory plans are already in place to avenge their deaths. On 3 August 2024, Cathy came out in the open, detailing her eyewitness accounts of cocaine parties of Marcos Jr, his wife, and their friends, which includes Cathy’s partner Tonyboy. Being the partner of Tonyboy made Cathy part of the circle of Marcos Jr and his wife. She narrated that during the first time she met the first couple in their house in Forbes Park about 10 years ago, the now First Lady Liza Marcos allegedly offered her a white powdery substance. Thereafter, Liza, Marcos Jr, and Tonyboy allegedly snorted cocaine in front of her, she said. It was not the first time she allegedly witnessed these cocaine parties, which included now-Special Assistant to the President Anton Lagdameo, one of the best friends of Marcos Jr and nephew of Cathy’s partner.

Cathy’s revelation came after an alleged video of Marcos Jr sniffing what appears to be white powdery substance was released in the United States during a gathering of Filipino immigrants, and after former PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) agent Jonathan Morales revealed that in 2012, he prepared a pre-operation report and authority to launch an operation in the condominium of actress Maricel Soriano, where Senator Bongbong Marcos Jr and others were allegedly doing cocaine sessions. Morales revealed the he prepared those reports after an eyewitness approached PDEA. The operations were thumbed down by higher authorities. The Marcos Jr administration vehemently denied Morales’ claims. But the Marcos Jr administration did not respond, let alone deny, Cathy’s revelations, which implicated members of Philippine high society.

During her revelations, Cathy unleashed the MAD doctrine, addressing the Marcos Jr administration and their circle of friends: "Kapag may nangyari sa akin, lahat kayo babagsak. (If you do something to me, all of you will be destroyed).” Part of Cathy’s retaliatory plan is a USB containing implicating pictures and videos, which she collated during her 10-year relationship with Tonyboy. The contents of that USB must have threatened the Marcos Jr Administration that they didn’t bother to address Cathy’s story at all.

Cathy knew Marcos Jr’s circle very intimately. She knew what these people are capable of because, as she said, they destroy people they could no longer control. This is analogous to the situation of Vice President Sara Duterte, who revealed her retaliatory plans against the Marcos Jr administration: “Kung namatay ako, I already asked a person to take revenge against Marcos Jr, his wife, and his cousin. (If I die, I already asked a person to take revenge against Marcos Jr, his wife, and his cousin).” The original statement was graver in tone for she said that the person she asked to avenge her life should not stop until these three are also dead. Sara’s statement came as a response to someone asking her about her security and whether Sara was aware of the so-called “Operation Romanov,” during a Zoom meeting. “Operation Romanov” is allegedly a plot to decimate her family.

The Marcos Jr Administration panicked after learning Sara’s retaliatory plans. They considered as an “active threat” again the life of the President, his wife, and his cousin. Sara responded to this characterisation of what she said: “They have to kill me first. Now they can’t kill me anymore, unless they want to die.”

Like Cathy, Sara knew what these people are capable of doing against those they could no longer put on a leash. Cathy was with them for 10 years! These two women are wise enough to deter their enormous capabilities to kill by ensuring that these people would also suffer the same fate. Cathy and Sara refuse to be like other people who would just let themselves be helpless in the face of being destroyed or killed. They took it upon themselves to ensure that if they get destroyed, the other parties would be met with equal forceful destruction. Remember the infamous Lorena Bobbitt, who chopped off her husband’s penis with a kitchen knife as retaliatory act after years of enduring abuse? Lorena’s actions scared men worldwide to death because she showed women everywhere what must and can be done in the face of relentless abuse. Cathy and Sara are the Lorena Bobbitt of the Marcos Jr Administration. That’s MAD.

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