REELECTIONIST Sen. Imee Marcos yesterday said her black-themed new campaign advertisement, titled ITIM for “Inday Trusts Imee Marcos,” supposedly reflects the country’s “mourning” state due to the numerous problems besetting the Philippines.
Marcos said she and Vice President Sara Duterte came up with the black concept after the latter endorsed her reelection bid.
In a virtual press conference, Marcos said she initially thought that using black as a theme to her new ad campaign would connote negativity, but realized it was apt for the country’s present situation.
“Siya (VP Sara) ang nagsasabi na wala siya sa mood, na talagang itim at luksa ang pakiramdam ng nakararami katulad niya. Ako naman, sabi ko, paano nating gawing political ad yan, makakabenta ba yan? Eh nakakalungkot. Eh tignan natin at parang totoo naman at hindi angkop ang magsayaw-sayaw. Hindi naman tama… wala na lugar sa panahong ito na napakahirap nang dinadanas ng ating mga mamamayan (It was VP Sara who said that she is not in the mood [at present] as she is mourning like many Filipinos. For my part I asked why will we make this as a political ad? Will the people patronize it? It is sad. But come to think of it, it is not to proper to be lively and go dancing at this time because of the hardships being experienced by the Filipinos),” she said.
She said she agreed to the new ad campaign since it had her name on it: Inday Trusts Imee Marcos, or ITIM.
“At yun ang aming paninindigan ay sasakupin ang itim na ipaglaban ang tama, itama ang mali (And we will stand by it: We will overcome darkness by fighting for what is right, and by righting what is wrong),” she added.
When asked if the vice president’s endorsement of her reelection bid is a reward for investigating the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte last March 11 and his turnover to the International Criminal Court, Marcos said: “Hindi ko naisip yun, hindi rin naisip yun (ni Vice President Sara) (That did not cross my mind. It also did not cross (Vice President Sara’s) mind).”
“We have always been friends, but admittedly, there was time that I put her in a bad situation since I did not know that this will happen,” she added in Filipino, referring to the 2022 elections when she convinced the younger Duterte to run as the vice presidential tandem of her brother under the UniTeam. The two have since parted ways.
Marcos also said she has no regrets about highlighting the country’s problems in her new ad campaign, saying she is only telling the truth.
“I have been highlighting all these problems the past years. These are not new… My brother (President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) was not yet inaugurated [as president] and I was already preoccupied in the fight against smuggling, busy with looking at the plight of farmers, and concerned with the prices of commodities,” she said.
Marcos also lamented her brother has the chance to redeem their family’s name but wasted three years of it for political vendetta.
“Hindi ko talaga maintindihan kung ano ang nangyayari at sino ang namamahala sa Palasyo na imbes na tutukan ang sadyang problema ng bansa, kung anu-anong pinapasukan na paghihiganti at pang-aapi. Hindi kami nakipag-tunggali sa napakahabang panahon, halos apat na dekada, para lang mag api ng iba (I do not understand what’s happening now and who is running [the affairs] of the Palace. That instead of focusing on the country’s problems, they are busy with other things like getting back [at their opponents] and oppress them. We did not fight for almost four decades just to oppress non-allies),” she also said.
Marcos said she would have wanted to talk to her brother either through the phone or in person to make him realize what’s going on, but the people surrounding him are blocking her efforts.
“Kaya sana, pinagdadasal ko lang ang aking kapatid na mabalik sa tamang landas dahil hindi na tama itong mga pangyayari, itong politika na mapang-api, mapaghigante, hindi na siya ayos. Tutukan natin ang problema ng mamamayan. Balikan natin ang ating tunkulin… Malungkot ako dito talaga, hindi ko pinagmamalaki itong mga pangyayari at sana mabigyan ng solusyon (I am praying for my brother that he will return to the right path because what’s happening right now is not right – the oppressive politics, vendetta, they are not right anymore. Let us focus on the country’s problems. We must stick to our duty… I am really sad. I do not take pride with what’s happening. I hope that these will be solved),” she added.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, in a briefing, dismissed the senator’s ITIM campaign ad, saying that the president is against negative campaigning and the use of fake news.
Castro said the country, under the Marcos administration, is “not perfectly white but getting there.”
“Hindi po nais ng ating Pangulo ang mga ganitong klaseng mga negatibo na pangangampaniya, lalung-lalo na po kung ito ay fake news. So, noon pa naman po ay sinabi na ng ating Pangulo na labanan natin ang mga fake news (The president does not like this kind of negative campaigning especially if it contains fake news. Even before, the president already said that he would fight fake news),” she said.
“Mas hindi maganda kung ito ay gagawing naratibo sa isang pangangampaniya (It is not good if this kind of narrative is used for one’s campaign),” she added.
Castro said the ITIM ad more aptly describes the country under the Duterte administration than the Marcos presidency.
She said she initially thought the campaign ad was from 2022.
“Kapag sinabi ba natin na itim ngayon ang kulay, mas madi-describe siguro natin noong nakaraang administrasyon na sobrang itim at ngayon ay papaliwanag sa panahon ng kasalukuyang administrasyon. Hindi man ganoon pa kaputi pero patungo na doon (If we are saying that it is black, it best describes the previous administration which is darker. The times now are brighter under the preset administration. It is not very white, but it is getting there),” she said.
“Papunta na po sa paputi. Kaunting kula na lang, medyo maputi na. Hindi pa lang po, hindi perfectly white katulad ng aking sinabi pero doon po patungo ang kasalukuyang administrasyon (We are heading towards white. Just a little more sun bleach, and we’d become white. It’s not perfectly white but the present administration is getting there),” she added.
Castro also denied the narratives in the ad that the country is full of crimes and hungry people.
She said the National Economic and Development Authority has reported that the hunger rate in the country has gone down to 15.5 percent in 20223 from 18.1 percent in 2021.
She also said that Senate President Francis Escudero himself has acknowledged that the crime rate in the country has dropped contrary to what the ad released.
PNP Director for Police Community Relations Major General Roderick Augustus Alba said “our streets are safe,” as he asserted that crimes in the first quarter of 2025 have declined.
Alba said the PNP’s data is based on reality and verified crime statistics, and not on public perception or political messaging.
He said that from January to April 2025, crime incidents dropped by 26 percent compared to the same period last year.
“Definitely. Of course, from time to time, mayroon tayong mga crimes na naging highly sensationalized na hindi kaagad ma-solve. But these are acted upon immediately and for us (they do) not represent the entire situation of our country [Definitely. Of course, from time to time, there are crimes that are highly sensationalized and not immediately solved. But these are acted upon immediately and for us (they do) not represent the entire situation of our country],” he said when asked if the streets are still safe for Filipinos.
Alba also said the police campaign against all forms of lawlessness will continue and the police force should not be affected by the negative campaigns. – With Jocelyn Montemayor
