PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday dismissed with a “smile” recent comments of Vice President Sara Duterte against him, particularly her claim that he does not know how to be a president.
Marcos just smiled and walked away when asked by the media for his comment on Duterte’s statement. This was during an ambush interview on the sidelines of the 123rd anniversary of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) held at the Port Area in Manila.
First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos, a member of the PCG Auxiliary Group, also did not comment and ran away to join the President and other officials. She was smiling and granting selfie requests when she was asked by the media if she had any words for the Vice President.
Presidential son Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos, in a statement, lambasted Duterte, saying she has crossed the line with her outrageous statements against his father and late grandfather, former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
“Going ballistic was perhaps the self-therapy she prescribed for herself. But she crossed the line, leaving the civic and civil space in which disagreements can be rationally argued,” he said.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla did not mince words as he accused Duterte of having a “seemingly unstable mind” as their word war over the latter’s remark threatening to exhume and dump the remains of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in the West Philippine Sea heated up.
Remulla earlier said the justice department is studying the possibility of filing cases based on criminal acts after Duterte’s threats against the remains of the late dictator.
This prompted Duterte to take a shot at the DOJ chief, claiming he does not know the law.
Duterte, aside from attacking the President, also said in a press conference last Friday that said she would exhume the remains of Marcos Sr and dump these into the sea. She also said she has daydreamed about cutting off Marcos Jr.’s head, during a graduation ceremony they both attended.
The Philippine Army said only family members of those buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio can exhume the remains of their loved ones.
“If you are not a relative, you are not a member of the family, you are not allowed to exhume (the remains of the deceased),” said Army spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala.
“Anyone can exhume (the remains) as long as you are a family member and you have an approved request from the Libingan ng mga Bayani,” he added.
MENTAL HEALTH
Rep Marcos, speaking for the first time to criticize Duterte, said, “Let this be an opportune time to remind ourselves that we mustn’t take our mental health for granted and that above all else I sincerely hope she is okay.”
Rep. Marcos said the President has tried to dissuade him from reacting to the Vice President’s statements. “For his part, the President had not said anything against her that can be remotely construed even as a mild rebuke against her tirades,” he said.
“He even advised me to withhold my disappointment and refrain from making a statement. However, one must draw the line at some point and it’s frankly long overdue,” he added.
The President’s son said he has kept quiet and “have held my tongue out of respect for the Vice President, given the mandate she was given and the responsibility which her office holds.”
“However, as a son, I cannot stay silent while she threatens to exhume a former president and behead an incumbent one. Besides, her bizarre temper tantrum has been condemned by a nation horrified from such displays of insensitivity towards the dead and cruelty to the living,” he said.
“Forget that the objects of her derisions are dear to me, but I would also be remiss in my responsibility as an llocano representative if I didn’t voice out my disdain at the abhorrent comments she so carelessly uttered. I can ascertain that my emotions are shared not only by my ‘kakailian’ in the north but across the country,” he added.
Despite her harsh words, Rep Marcos said he wishes Duterte well. “Ultimately, her success, like the President’s, will be the success of our nation as a whole. May she find the peace of mind and mental clarity that seems to be eluding her,” he said.
NO COMMENT
Duterte, in a chance interview in Pasay City, refused to comment on Rep. Marcos’ statements, saying it is natural for any son or daughter to defend his or her family.
Asked if she considers the attacks against her as personal, she told reporters at the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s 50th Philippine Business Conference and Expo, “Sila ang nauna, kayo ang nauna. Bakit (They did it first, you were first. Why)? Because of envy and jealousy. ‘Yan lang sisira sa bansa natin (That will destroy our country).”
She also assailed Remulla for saying the Department of Justice (DOJ) is studying the legal implications of her statements which he found “very disturbing and inappropriate” for the second highest official of the land.
“First of all, let’s pray for the Philippines because we have a justice secretary who does not know the law,” she said in Filipino.
She said Remulla should know there is a “big difference” between talking about desecrating a body and actually doing it.”
“Talking about desecrating a body is not desecrating the dead,” she said.
Duterte also said her friend Sen. Imee Marcos, the President’s elder sister, has been cold to her after she threatened to exhume her father’s remains.
“After the presscon last Friday, I texted her. She was cold. She told a common friend of ours that she’s annoyed at me and BBM (Marcos),” she said.
She said she told their common friend that Imee “shouldn’t be annoyed at me, she should be annoyed at (First Lady) Liza (Araneta-Marcos) and (Speaker) Martin (Romualdez).”
She said she might consider a reconciliation with the President and his allies in Congress only if they will apologize to all the supporters of Kingdom of Jesus Christ Church founder pastor Apollo Quiboloy, who is detained over a non-bailable charge of human trafficking.
Quiboloy, a staunch ally of Duterte’s father, is also facing a child abuse case before the Quezon City trial court.
“Not just sorry for the sake of saying sorry, no. Name them all. Say sorry to them. Then, I’ll think about forgiving you,” she said.
TESTS
Duterte said she is willing to undergo a televised neuropsychiatric exam after administration lawmakers questioned her mental stability because of her recent statements.
But she dared administration congressmen to undergo drug tests before seeking re-election in the 2025 midterm elections, to be administered by the Philippine Medical Association.
She said the candidates for representatives of Davao City’s first district — her brother Paolo Duterte and Rep. Margarita Nograles — should take the test.
Nograles, a daughter of the late former speaker Prospero Nograles Jr., said, “Sure, no problem with me. I will schedule tests within the next few days.”
Zambales Rep. Jefferson Khonghun, one of the “Young Guns” bloc leaders, said their group will undergo drug tests if the Vice President will testify under oath before the House Committee on Good Government which is investigating her alleged fund misuse.
The Vice President is facing allegations of misusing hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) allocated to both the OVP and the DepEd, where she served as secretary for two years until her resignation in July this year.
Lawmakers said that instead of confronting the issues surrounding the CIFs, Duterte diverted attention by launching personal attacks against the President, including her grievances from the 2022 elections.
UNSTABLE MIND
Remulla questioned Duterte’s fitness to be a leader.
“How can we entrust our youth to such a person who can utter such words and reflect such thoughts that are against human decency and good behavior,” Remulla told reporters in an ambush interview.
“I think it’s just shocking, and we’ll just leave it at that and I think we all know the score, of what kind of vice president we have. How seemingly unstable her mind can be and this country does not deserve a future with the kind of person like this,” he added.
Remulla reiterated the DOJ is studying what cases can be filed against Duterte.
“The threat to commit a crime is not a crime itself. But sometimes it can be, like if the threat is murder, it’s grave threat, but in this case we have to study it properly,” he said.
“We have not finished everything but it seems impossible and reprehensible that we cannot point to a crime that is something shocking to human senses… that’s why we’re still studying it,” he added.
He also dismissed the statement of lawyer Salvador Panelo that Duterte’s statement should not be taken literally. Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the same thing following the backlash generated by Duterte’s rant.
“There’s no such thing as symbolism when the Filipino people listen to us to every word we say, especially occupying that position of second highest position in the land. The threat to take power itself is now very fearsome, it will create fear in our hearts if one with that kind of mindset want to lead us,” Remulla further said.
On Duterte’s attack that he does not know the law, Remulla said, “I’m used to that, ad hominem and other means to react to what we say is normal for the job that I am undertaking.” – With Ashel Hachero and Victor Reyes
PMA INCIDENT
The Armed Forces said the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadet who requested to have the watch of President Marcos during the PMA graduation in May has been reprimanded.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the punishment meted long before Duterte said in the press conference that she had imagined cutting Marcos’ head off for refusing to give his watch to the cadet, now a lieutenant at the Philippine Air Force.
Padilla said it is not a PMA tradition for a President to give his watch to cadets.
“This is an isolated incident… It was already dealt with according to regulations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Military Academy,” she said.
Padilla said the cadet was the first ever to request for the watch of the President.
On Duterte’s statement that her father gave his watch to a PMA cadet during his presidency, Padilla said, “We do not know the details of that, if cadets asked for it.”
Padilla urged the public not to drag the military into political issues.
