Details about the scandal that could bring down President Ferdinand Marcos Jr are slowly emerging.

When Cong. Isidro Ungab first exposed the blanks in the Bicameral Report in a podcast with former President Rodrigo Duterte, attended by Atty. Vic Rodriguez, PBBM categorically declared that fPRRD was “lying.”

This morning (January 30), he remained defiant when he told a gathering of lawmakers that he “cannot find those d*mned blank items.” It’s still the same narrative, but it’s easy to see the subtle retreat.

Just three days earlier, Rodriguez and Ungab raised the issue to the Supreme Court along with questions on the constitutionality of Philhealth's zero budget and the Department of Education's slashing of the budget. The seriousness of the legal issues involved was not lost on the legal minds in his audience. This could explain why only a semblance of laughter could be heard in what PBBM intended to be a joke.

If indeed he meant it to be one, it was done in bad taste. It’s not so much because he sneaked in the “d” word although that should be a cause for concern to people who value form over substance. What makes it inappropriate is the fact that this involves a scandalous act - leaving blank spaces for allocations - that opens the door to abuse and opportunism.

In a country where nearly half of the population consider themselves poor, tinkering with the budget involving possibly billions of pesos is a horrible crime. For PBBM to treat it as a laughing matter is poor taste.

Perhaps emboldened by the inability of his critics to force him to take the hair follicle drug test a year after fPRRD exposed his drug problem, PBBM tries to deliver the message that he is immune to prosecution and therefore will serve out his term. For him to stay afloat in what is turning out to be his worst crisis, however, PBBM has to throw overboard excess cargo and deadweights.

The first hint of that was the ouster of Cong. Zaldy Co as appropriations committee chair. It did not create as much as a ripple. In fact, there was more chatter over the announcement of Rep. Stella Quimbo as his replacement than the ouster executed by no less than presidential son and Ilocos Norte Cong. Zandro Marcos.

The subdued laughter during Thursday morning’s IBP event should be a cause for concern at the very least. It delivered the message that patience is starting to wear thin even among lawyers who belong to the higher echelon of Philippine society. Imagine how it is outside where tempers are flaring over rising costs of fuel and basic commodities. They who were taken for a ride with the promise of P20 per kilo of rice and continuity of life programs and peace and order under the Duterte administration have had enough.

In the coming days, expect Ungab, Rodriguez and fPRRD, the sentimental leader of the opposition,  to go all out for the jugular. They have crossed the Rubicon along with a growing number of people scandalized and agitated over what could be the grandmother of all scams.

There is no turning back. To fPRRD, Ungab, Rodriguez and those who have declared their support, the mission is clear: fill up not only the 28 blanks in the Bicameral Report but more so the people responsible for them.

Undoubtedly, the question on many people’s minds is one blank space that will be filled up soon: who will be thrown overboard to still the ship? Your guess is as good as mine.