Imee's remark vs Marcos admin meant to save VP Sara from trial - Palace

MANILA, Philippines — The scathing remarks anew by Sen. Imee Marcos against the Marcos administration are obviously politically motivated, aimed at saving Vice President Sara Duterte from a looming impeachment trial, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said on Wednesday.

Sen. Marcos, in her speech at an Iglesia ni Cristo rally on Tuesday evening, described the government as “high on drugs” and “drunk on power.”

“Obviously, it’s very clear. We already know who she is defending and who she probably does not want to be brought to trial,” Castro said in Filipino in a briefing when asked whether the senator’s statements are smeared with politics.

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READ: Sara Duterte: I won’t bring dad home, Imee Marcos will

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Castro then cited that Sen. Marcos, who was already a senator in 2019 and served as governor of Ilocos Norte in 2016, purportedly remained silent on the country’s issues.

“In 2020, then – President Duterte admitted that there were many ghost projects. In 2018, Congressman Andaya said that many flood control projects were not properly implemented. Where was she? Did she call for an investigation?,” said Castro.

“Despite these admissions by former President Duterte, she remained silent and offered no criticism at all,” added Castro.

The President and Sen. Marcos have not been on speaking terms for almost three years, and the latter is also no longer attending family gatherings and events, Castro said at a briefing in May.

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READ: Marcos has not been talking with sister Imee for nearly 3 years – Palace

Castro said the information came from the President himself after he was asked to react to Sen. Marcos’ statement that their relationship is “non-existent.”

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The bond between the two began to crack as the UniTeam alliance between Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte started to splinter.

Marcos also skipped mentioning his sister when introducing candidates at a campaign sortie in Cavite in March 2025.

Last April, the senator posted a video message on social media claiming that President Marcos had been sick since November, which Malacañang denied.

A close Duterte ally

Sen. Marcos maintains a close alliance with the Duterte family, frequently aligning with former President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Sara Duterte.

At a speech on June 12, Vice President Duterte said that it was not she but her ally, Sen. Marcos, who would bring home her father from the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands.

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“Wherever I go, I bring her along because I tell her, ‘I’m not the one to bring home former President Duterte to the Philippines. Because your brother was the one to take him to the Hague, you will be the one to bring him home to the Philippines,’” she said in Filipino. /gsg