President Marcos doesn’t know how to be president — VP Sara

VP threatens to dig up FM’s remains, toss them into West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines — In her most scathing verbal attack to date, Vice President Sara Duterte said President Marcos “does not know how to be president,” called him “Mr. Deception” and gave him a performance score of one, on a scale with 10 as the best.

Duterte also recalled once telling Marcos’ sister Sen. Imee Marcos that if they continued their “attacks” on her family, she would dig up their late father – former president Ferdinand Marcos – from the Libingan ng mga Bayani and hurl his remains into the West Philippine Sea.

During a press conference that lasted over two hours and was streamed on the Office of the Vice President (OVP)’s official Facebook page yesterday, Duterte described Marcos as a “defeatist” president who “refuses to do anything” to improve upon his shortcomings as the country’s leader.

“If you know you are lacking in some areas, you should be pacing yourself to catch up, and won’t just sit down and admit to these shortcomings and just say, ‘I am lacking,’ ” she told reporters.

“The President does not know how to be president. Is that my fault?” Duterte added.

The Vice President’s press conference was held amid escalating calls for Marcos to support the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s investigation into Sara’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and his so-called drug war in which thousands of drug suspects were killed by police.

Marcos has said there is no need for ICC intervention and continues to rule out the Philippines’ rejoining the ICC.

Former president Duterte had brushed aside opposition from human rights groups and allowed the elder Ferdinand Marcos’ interment at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in 2016, explaining that it was a privilege accorded to all Philippine presidents.

The Vice President revealed that she threatened Sen. Imee Marcos “in a group chat,” telling her multiple times that if they did not stop with their attacks “I will personally exhume your father and hurl him to the West Philippine Sea.”

Duterte did not disclose the nature of the group chat and who its members were, but she said she received no response from the senator when she posted the remark.

The two families are now on opposing sides, with the Dutertes characterizing the ICC investigation as a threat to national sovereignty.

Marcos – who has been actively engaging the international community through partnerships and investments – still has to openly declare cooperation with ICC prosecutors.

Drag me to hell press con

Sniffling at the start of the press conference, she said she was not crying or sniffing cocaine – a swipe at Marcos, who has been accused by the Dutertes of being a cocaine user.

She described the briefing as a “drag me to hell” press conference.

At the start of the press conference, she said many had told her that “our country is on the road to perdition” because she had refused to run for president in 2022.

Imee made her run for VP

For two hours, Duterte detailed where her relationship with the Marcos family soured in a span of two years. She denied being coaxed by her father to run for the presidency.

Duterte said she had her eyes set on the mayoralty of Davao, but was approached in 2021 by Sen. Marcos – the remaining member of the Marcos family still in the good graces of the Dutertes – to run as her brother’s vice-presidential running mate.

“Because Leni (Robredo) will defeat us if you don’t bring the Visayan vote,” Duterte said, quoting Imee.

While Duterte offered up potential candidates who could rally the Visayas region such as former senator Manny Pacquiao, Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Bong Go, the Vice President said the Marcos camp did not find the latter two politically formidable enough to prop up Marcos.

Pacquiao, whom the Marcoses reportedly approached, declined, as he was bent on becoming president, Duterte added.

“I said it’s never been talked about (me running for VP). I need to talk to my family and see whether I could win. It’s not true that I defied my father’s wishes for me to run for president because he never asked me to,” she said.

From DND to DepEd

When she decided to accede to the Marcoses’ request, Duterte had two things she wanted in exchange: be appointed defense secretary and have regular flights home to Davao City to see her children.

Duterte said while Marcos agreed to her demands, the agreement ultimately “broke down.”

“When I saw how the Filipinos voted (in May 2022), I realized that people will do anything to create a rift between us,” she said, referring to the fact that she got half a million votes more than Marcos.

“Since I’ll be at the (Department of National Defense) every day, people might say I’m planning a coup or planning to overthrow the government because I handle the military. So, I told him that I don’t want to work that way every day,” Duterte added, explaining this was how she decided to ask for the education secretary post.

On how Marcos disappointed her on her request for frequent flights to her children in Davao, Duterte said the President instead prioritized flights for his family, which she took as a “form of insincerity.”

The Vice President also scored Marcos for his continued comments about their relationship, saying that what he feels should no longer matter due to the more pressing matters he needs to address.

“For the love of God… you’re the President. Are your feelings still that important? Isn’t it that when you are president, your fatigue, tears and stress no longer matter…? Shouldn’t you be dealing with the hungry Filipinos, the price of gasoline and whether or not families would enjoy Christmas this year?” she added.

Duterte was referring to Marcos’ statement last week that he may have been deceived by Duterte, whom he thought was his friend.

“That’s a good question. I don’t know anymore. I’m not quite sure I understand. I’m a little dismayed to hear that she doesn’t think that we are friends. I always thought that we were. But maybe I was deceived,” the President said on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit.

The alliance between Marcos and Duterte won them the election in 2022.

Their partnership soured starting last year when the House of Representatives – led by Marcos’ cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez – stripped Duterte’s office of its confidential funds.

In the past few months, Duterte had been openly accusing members of the Marcos family of impropriety in governance. It further escalated with the Vice President’s feud with First Lady Liza Marcos, whose role in the Marcos administration she questioned, appearing to cast doubt on the First Lady’s relevance.

In June, Duterte had been speaking against the Marcos family after quitting as Department of Education (DepEd) secretary and vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

‘I wanted to cut off BBM’s head’

The Vice President further admitted to having started feeling like her relationship with Marcos had become “toxic” long before they severed ties in June.

Duterte said she started feeling this way when she felt the urge to “remove” Marcos’ head during a graduation rite the pair attended.

While she did not specify details of the public appearance, Duterte said one of the graduates who approached Marcos asked for his watch as a graduation gift.

When Marcos refused by saying “why would I give you my watch?” Duterte said she felt irate as she had been “unwell” at the time.

“At that point, I had been sick. I wasn’t feeling well. I wanted to cut off his head. That’s when I realized our relationship had already become toxic,” she told reporters.

‘Impeachable offenses’

Duterte claims that Marcos has committed more impeachable offenses than her, as she assailed the House of Representatives’ alleged push to remove her from office.

“Si BBM (President Marcos), I have a list of five impeachable offenses he has committed. But do you think it’s going to prosper in the House of Representatives? No, right?” Duterte told reporters.

While Duterte did not disclose the list, she made the statement as she questioned the continued hearings of the House committee on good government, which she branded as a vehicle to strengthen their bid to impeach her.

Misuse of funds

During yesterday’s live stream, Duterte brushed off revelations made in a House hearing on Thursday about the alleged misuse of funds of the OVP and DepEd when she was still its secretary.

She was asked why the rental of 34 safehouses of the OVP ranged from P25,000 to P1 million per night, reaching about P16 million total, including P91,000 daily for a month’s rent of a premium condominium unit in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig and P25,000 every night for safehouses rented in “luxury resorts.”

“It shouldn’t be surprising for people to know that the government spends millions every day. In DepEd, we sign for billions of pesos in one day for releasing, so the P5 -to-10 million per day shouldn’t be surprising,” Duterte told reporters.

“It takes signatures to release those funds and then they would be paid to whatever they were allocated for and would be documented. That’s how government works. It spends every day for its projects, sometimes millions, billions of pesos worth need signatures for government offices,” she added.

Duterte also pushed back against her alleged use of certifications as DepEd secretary from soldiers, without their knowledge, to justify the disbursement of P15 million of its confidential funds for payment of informants in 2023.

She said the confidential funds were never given to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) nor the Youth Leadership Summit (YLS) of DepEd.

“They were used for (gathering) information in areas where there are reports of at risk kids. We did not give confidential funds to the AFP or YLS. We only asked the YLS which areas have at-risk kids and then the AFP said they would be addressing it based on the information we gathered,” she said.

Duterte also refuted the statement given by another high-ranking DepEd official who admitted that he received envelopes containing P12,000 to P15,000 cash from Duterte during her time as secretary.

“What (the lawmakers) want to happen is to make it appear that the envelopes came from confidential funds. So that people would perceive that the funds were never really used for what they were intended for,” Duterte added, saying she would wait for the next hearing before commenting further.

She was referring to the allegations made by current DepEd director and former Bids and Awards Committee chairman Resty Osias, who said he received such envelopes four times.

At a previous hearing, former DepEd undersecretary Gloria Mercado accused Duterte of bribing her on numerous instances to allegedly skirt procurement guidelines.

Palace: No comment

Malacañang has declined to comment on Duterte’s latest tirades against Marcos.

“No statement from OP (Office of the President),” Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cesar Chavez told reporters in a text message.

At the House of Representatives, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, Ako Bicol partylist Rep. Jil Bongalon and 1-Rider Partylist Rep. Rodge Gutierrez called Duterte “bastos at desperada (disrespectful and desperate)” for threatening to desecrate a dead person’s remains.

Meanwhile, militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said yesterday that Duterte’s tirade should be a compelling reason to push for her impeachment.

Bayan secretary general Raymond Palatino said the Vice President should still explain the “anomalous” expenses she made as the country’s second highest elected official and as education secretary.

“She must be made aware of the serious charges leveled against her, and her antics further confirm our assertion that an impeachment trial is necessary to compel her to account for the misuse of public funds,” he said. — Helen Flores, Sheila Crisostomo, Emmanuel Tupas