The political drama surrounding the Duterte faction has taken a devastating turn, moving from high-stakes international legal battles to an ugly, localized scandal involving outright exploitation. The latest seismic shock reveals a heartbreaking irony: the very base that provided the unwavering, furious support for the Duterte brand—the Diehard Duterte Supporters (DDS)—has allegedly been “scammed” and “duped” (nabudol) by their own event organizers. This is not just a story of administrative failure; it is the ultimate political betrayal, a public humiliation that exposes the deep, festering corruption within the political machine itself.

Adding fuel to this fire of shame is the volcanic reaction of former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno (Yorme), who is reportedly furious (G4L!T) at the organizers of the rally that led to the reported fraud. Moreno’s rage places him at the center of the political shaming, reinforcing the national narrative that the DDS movement has devolved from a formidable political force into a vehicle for avarice and exploitation. As the DDS machine scrambles to label its critics with new, derogatory terms, the reality remains: the political exploitation of their most loyal members is the clearest sign yet that the entire empire is collapsing under the weight of its own cynicism. This report goes deep into the humiliation, the financial treachery, and the political cost of exploiting fierce loyalty for profit.

Part I: The Ultimate Betrayal—Loyalists Duped by Their Own

The core of this scandal lies in the reported exploitation of the DDS supporters who were mobilized to attend a recent political gathering, possibly aimed at demonstrating continued support for the embattled Duterte faction amidst legal and political crises. For the DDS, these rallies are sacred grounds—opportunities to express their loyalty, reinforce their identity, and stand shoulder-to-shoulder against perceived enemies. They are driven by an emotional fervor that often outweighs financial or logistical concerns. It is this emotional vulnerability that unscrupulous political operators allegedly preyed upon.

The term “nabudol” (duped or scammed) is highly charged in the Filipino context, referring to a calculated act of fraud that capitalizes on a victim’s trust or vulnerability. The specific mechanisms of the alleged scam vary in the reports circulating on social media, but they generally follow a pattern common in Philippine mobilization politics:

The Broken Promises: Loyal DDS members, often coming from low-income brackets and traveling from far-flung provinces, were reportedly promised compensation for their time, travel expenses, or “allowances.” For many, the meager amount promised—sometimes just a few hundred pesos—is a necessary incentive to cover the cost of a day lost from work. Organizers allegedly collected identification or attendance data, promised immediate payout, and then vanished, leaving the supporters stranded, unpaid, and humiliated.

The Financial Vulnerability: The emotional pain of this scam is immense because it targets the most loyal and often the least economically secure segment of the political base. These supporters are not mercenaries; they are deeply committed individuals whose loyalty is easily exploited by the layer of profiteering organizers situated between the political leadership and the street-level supporters. The act of collecting personal identification and then abandoning them is a profound act of disrespect, treating them not as political partners but as easily disposable props. This exploitation reveals a dark truth: the leadership that the DDS fights for may be disconnected from the organizers who view the passionate base as merely a resource to be monetized.

The Political Damage: The exposure of this alleged scam is catastrophic for the DDS movement’s narrative. For years, they have maintained the moral high ground, claiming their support is organic, principled, and driven by love for their leader. The “nabudol” scandal rips this narrative apart, proving that the foundation of their mobilization is laced with financial opportunism and manipulation. It legitimizes the long-standing accusations by critics that these massive rallies are often “hakot” (paid-for crowds), damaging the political authenticity of the entire movement. The shame of being scammed by one’s own political family is a powerful catalyst for disillusionment, potentially eroding the fierce loyalty that the DDS faction desperately needs to survive its current legal challenges.

The incident underscores a crucial point about the DDS’s political structure: it is brittle. Built on personality rather than strong, transparent institutions, it is vulnerable to internal rot. When the central figure is detained and the top allies are scattered or silenced, the low-level organizers feel empowered to engage in self-serving profit, knowing there is little oversight or accountability from a collapsing command structure. This is the tragic cost of blind loyalty—the loyalists are the first to be sacrificed for the greed of those closer to the purse strings.

Part II: Yorme’s Fury—Isko Moreno Blasts the Exploiters

The political storm surrounding the scammed rally found its loudest voice in former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno. His reported “fury” (G4L!T) is not just righteous indignation; it is a calculated, politically potent condemnation that leverages the disgrace of the DDS faction for his own positioning and the integrity of the capital.

Moreno’s reaction must be understood in the context of his ongoing political battle for the soul of Manila. As demonstrated by the recent public embrace from President Marcos, Moreno is positioning himself as the pragmatic, compassionate alternative to the Duterte brand of politics. When a rally descends into chaos and alleged fraud within his city—a city he has fought fiercely to lead and protect—Moreno’s condemnation serves multiple purposes:

Protecting Manila’s Integrity: By blasting the organizers, Moreno frames himself as the guardian of the city, defending its residents (even those who might be DDS members) from outside exploitation. He is essentially saying: “You can hold your political rallies here, but you will not use Manila’s streets or its people for your fraudulent schemes.” This stance immediately earns him public goodwill from those disgusted by political opportunism and reinforces his image as a leader focused on governance and order, contrasting sharply with the chaos and alleged corruption of the DDS organizers.

Political Distancing and Moral Superiority: Moreno’s vocal anger serves to solidify the distance between his political brand and the toxic DDS image. His condemnation is a public affirmation that the DDS movement has become morally bankrupt. While the Marcos administration subtly distanced itself from the Dutertes through calculated absence, Moreno is using outright moral outrage to shame the faction. This is a powerful play, appealing directly to the electorate who are tired of the old, dirty political games. He positions himself as a clean alternative, not just to the Dutertes, but to the entire manipulative political establishment they represent.

The New Political Slang: The shift in political language noted in the source—“Iba na ang tawag sa banateros!” (The term for trash-talkers/attackers has changed!)—is inextricably linked to this shame. The DDS faction was notorious for employing aggressive online trolls and “banateros” (a Filipino term loosely referring to skilled, aggressive trash-talkers or propagandists) to attack critics. Now, the public outrage over the scam may be leading to a new, more damning label for these individuals: exploiters, fraudsters, and mercenaries. The DDS’s once-feared propaganda arm is now seen as being run by the same unscrupulous individuals who allegedly scammed their own loyal base. Moreno’s fury helps to institutionalize this new, derogatory label, further delegitimizing their online and offline political attacks.

Isko Moreno’s action turns the alleged scam into a national political commentary. His rage is a political tool that converts an internal DDS crisis into a full-blown public relations disaster for the entire faction. It confirms that the political ground has fundamentally shifted in the capital, making any public display of DDS loyalty susceptible to ridicule and condemnation.

Part III: The Disgrace of Disarray—The Final Collapse of Loyalty

The tragedy of the scammed DDS loyalists serves as the grim epilogue to the Duterte political era. The movement, which once commanded fierce, almost religious loyalty, has become a symbol of disarray, greed, and ultimately, disgrace. The political machine, once praised for its efficiency and discipline, is now revealed to be a loose collection of opportunistic organizers ready to commit fraud against its own members.

The fallout from the alleged scam is twofold:

Erosion of the Base: The shame of being duped will inevitably lead to a fracturing of the DDS base. Loyalty thrives on mutual respect and reward, even if that reward is purely emotional. When loyalty is met with exploitation and abandonment, the foundational trust is broken. Future attempts to mobilize the DDS will be met with skepticism and financial demands, rather than the automatic, passionate response the movement once commanded. This is the irreversible breakdown of a political force.

End of Impunity: The public shaming, led by figures like Isko Moreno, reinforces the narrative that the DDS era of impunity is over. In the past, internal misconduct might have been swept under the rug. Now, amid the legal and political siege, every failure, every scam, and every act of betrayal is amplified, becoming another piece of evidence that the faction is no longer fit to govern or even to organize itself responsibly.

The ultimate tragedy is that the thousands of loyal DDS members who genuinely believed in the cause are the ones paying the heaviest price—not just financially, but emotionally, having their sincere commitment exploited for pocket change. The political machine they dedicated their allegiance to has eaten its own, leaving them stranded and ashamed. The fury of Isko Moreno and the scorn of the public mark the final stage of political humiliation for the DDS empire, signaling an irreversible decline into irrelevance and ignominy.