The Rodrigo Duterte tree, once verdant and imposing, now resembles a skeletal relic shedding leaves and branches in rapid succession.

The mass exodus from PDP-Laban is a spectacular black eye for the former president’s political bank, revealing the fragility of his once-mighty fortress. It’s hardly shocking, though, given that even his daughter Sara had long fled the sinking ship, leaving daddy dearest in the lurch.

Now, Duterte’s loyal “generals” are abandoning him like rats from a sinking vessel, with the pièce de résistance being his Health Secretary Francisco Duque pointing the finger at Duterte himself for the infamous Covid-19 funds transfer scandal.

One wonders if the DDS vloggers will soon cross the aisle, seeking refuge with the Marcos camp out of sheer embarrassment for their misguided loyalty to their erstwhile “tatay.”

The once-formidable Duterte tree is rapidly becoming little more than a cautionary tale in the annals of political history.