Palace on Sen. Marcos saying gov't high on drugs: Meant to save Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — The new scathing remarks 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 made these statements on Wednesday.

The statement came in response to Sen. Marcos’ speech at an Iglesia ni Cristo rally on Tuesday evening, where she described the government as “high on drugs” and “drunk on power.”

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

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

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

She referred to stories such as the alleged illegal drug use by former President Rodrigo Duterte during that time.

The Palace official said: “Let’s repeat it in 2020: Former President Duterte admitted that there were many ghost projects. In 2018, Congressman Andaya said that many flood control projects were not properly implemented.

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“Where was she? Did she call for an investigation?” she asked.

“Despite these admissions by former President Duterte, she remained silent and offered no criticism at all,” the Palace official recalled.

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The president and Sen. Marcos have not spoken in almost three years, and the latter is also no longer attending family gatherings and events, Castro said at a briefing in May.

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

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

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

The president also skipped mentioning her 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 the vice president.

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

“Wherever I go, I bring her (Sen. Marcos) along because I tell her, ‘I’m not the one to bring home former President Duterte to the Philippines,” the vice president had said in Filipino.

“Because your brother was the one who took him to The Hague, you will be the one to bring him home to the Philippines,’” the vice president had told Sen. Marcos. /apl

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