And that's a wrap, 2024

EYES WIDE OPEN

- IRIS GONZALES

It was a year of plot twists and lots of drama, no doubt a classic zarzuela, Philippine politics edition. The whole year felt like we were watching an edge-of-your-seat Netflix series as the famed UniTeam, the once seemingly formidable alliance between the Marcoses and the Dutertes, broke up before they could even achieve anything significant together for this country.

And what an ugly divorce it was, with both camps washing each other's dirty linen in public. All of us, whether we liked it or not, found ourselves spectators in this chaotic political feud. Each camp tried to destroy the other, resulting in a jaw-dropping and sickening political crisis. The best political thrillers on TV paled in comparison. The Philippines' real life drama, after all, has all the elements of a blockbuster - dark comedy, horror, love, action, violence and what-have-you.

The unraveling But thanks to the collapse of the UniTeam, we saw how the Duterte family unraveled - every layer of their darker side was strewn grotesquely all over our timelines. We saw how the patriarch Rody Duterte remains proud and unapologetic about the killings that marred his administration - as president and as mayor of Davao. We also saw the Vice President's sense of entitlement and outbursts.