The positioning and contest for the 2028 presidential elections have begun even before the 2025 mid-term elections.

The stripping of Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of her Senior Deputy Speaker position and the subsequent resignation of Vice President Sara Duterte from the ruling Lakas-CMD party are obviously related. 

It would be recalled that Arroyo and Duterte were the principal conspirators in the ouster of then Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and the ascendancy of the Arroyo as Speaker in  2018. 

The power play and intramurals in Lakas may result to further resignations by Arroyo and Duterte loyalists. 

These political developments will have repercussions in the revamp of the Marcos cabinet. 

The Liberal Party, as the principal opposition party, will be keenly watchful of further developments as they unfold. 

EDCEL C. LAGMAN