The Marcos administration is hanging by a thread, and it has no one else to blame but itself.

Lured into a virtual trap by Vice-President Sara Duterte who looked like she had become vulnerable after Gen. Rommel Marbil recalled her security detail, it was not prepared for what came next.

Her scathing four-page open letter literally tore Marbil to pieces, defenseless and lost, prompting his masters to rescue him with the usual dose of diversion, threats, and black propaganda. By then, Marbil was a spent force, literally beating a hasty retreat after the Vice-President was through with him.

“Injuring all of a man’s ten fingers is not as effective as chopping off one,” Mao Tse-tung once postulated with a hint of the brutality that he was capable of. Perhaps the Palace can take the cue from this to deal with a PNP chief whose credibility has taken a severe beating.

Correctly reading the collective anger over the treatment Vice-President Duterte had been getting, Sen. Bato de la Rosa sounded the call for volunteers to secure her. The response has been overwhelming, giving Bato a potent force on which to build his reelection bid. Many reservists and retirees have been looking for an issue not only to express their support for the most popular incumbent official but also to find their place in the growing resistance to the abuses in high places.

The clock is ticking against the Marcos administration. Just as its bright boys stepped up their propaganda offensive against the intriguing Hakbang ng Maisug personalities led by former President Rodrigo Duterte, another bombshell stops them in their tracks.

Cathy Binag, the former girlfriend of ex-Cong. Tony Boy Floirendo, agreed to be interviewed online by Claire Contreras, the same Maharlika who torments Malacañang on a daily basis. Binag did not disappoint, giving an inside look into the lives of no less than the First Couple, Special Assistant to the President Anton Lagdameo, and the collective referred to as Voltes V.

While the massive PR machinery is again expected to give it the usual silent treatment on her revelations, there is no denying the damage it is doing not only to BBM and the First Lady, but to the administration itself. The filing of defamation and invasion of privacy cases against Maharlika by PCSO general manager Mel Robles is obviously in retaliation.

Cathy came ready, warning of more explosive revelations of very confidential files and photos in 150 USBs she gave to people she trusts in case something happens to her. To say many people will be developing insomnia would be to stress the obvious. 
And yet more sleepless nights are expected as more and more people are coming out.

The list of those who continue to remain silent and stay “neutral” in the face of the worsening economy, deteriorating peace and order, massive corruption, and the danger of war is getting shorter. In addition, the restiveness within the ranks of both the military and police is widening, and it is easy to see that the polarization between those who prop up this administration and those who want to end it is widening.

The diversionary and reactionary issues against Maisug’s personalities and the Dutertes are falling on deaf ears. Instead, the growing disenchantment over Pres. Marcos's continuing refusal to face the music has reached new levels. Cathy’s disclosure opens new dimensions about the people who walk the corridors of power amid growing fears that the country has become a virtual narco-state.

“To remain disciplined and calm while waiting for disorder to appear among the enemy is the art of self-possession,” goes a relevant Sun-Tzu quote. This is the discipline and calm that explains Maisog’s mindset, fixed on a protracted struggle that seems to be ripening ahead of its time.

Cathy won’t be the last. The country has no shortage of brave men and women willing to leave the comfort of their homes to stand up and be counted now that it matters most. There are other stories waiting to be told by people who understand what is at stake and how their stories can impact the nation at this time.

The “Hakbang ng Maisug” is off the wall – unconventional, unusual, impromptu. It has taken the movement to a level where people have decided they have had enough of the Marcos administration’s zarzuelas. In due time, the steps of the brave will snap the thread on which the now-discredited Marcos administration continues to hang.

“Maisug” is on course with destiny.