FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night denied calling his successor, President Marcos Jr., an “addict.”
Duterte, who even challenged Marcos to take a drug test at the Luneta Park in Manila, said he may have said something like “taking drugs,” as taking antibiotics or aspirin is a form of taking drugs.
“Wala ako sinabi na ganon… Even if you kill me a thousand times, wala akong sinabi na ganon. Make it ‘taking a drug.’ Pero kung sabihin mong addict, wala akong sinabi na ganon.
Patayin ako ni Marcos niyan (I did not say that… Even if you kill me a thousand times, I did not say that he is a drug addict. Make it ‘taking a drug.’ Marcos will kill me for that),” he said.
“Maawa ka naman sa akin, matanda na ako (Have mercy on me, I am old),” he added during a press conference last Tuesday in Davao City.
Duterte, in a press conference in January, also claimed that the incumbent president was in the watchlist of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) — which was already denied by the agency
He added that even the members of the military were aware that the country has an alleged drug addict for a president.
Marcos had laughed off the statements of Duterte then, claiming it might be an effect of the painkiller fentanyl that his predecessor has long used.