MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte refused to take it sitting down. She took aim at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, October 18, after he said he felt “deceived” by her supposed friendship.
“Noong narinig ko iyang ‘deception’, naisip ko pa, hindi ko na siya sasagutin. For the love of God, presidente ka na. Importante pa ba ‘yung nararamdaman mo? Talagang may panahon kang mag-isip sa deception ng isang babae d’yan? Ang dami mong oras,” Duterte said.
(When I heard the word “deception,” I thought to myself, I’m not going to respond to that. For the love of God, you’re the president. Is what you feel still important? Do you really have time to think about one woman’s “deception”? You have so much time.)
At the beginning of her two-hour press briefing, Duterte said that she initially didn’t want to address the remarks Marcos made on October 11. He said then that he was “dismayed to hear that she doesn’t think we are friends. I always thought we were. But maybe I was deceived.”
Duterte suggested during her briefing that Marcos refrain from mentioning her name in the future, so she wouldn’t have to hold a press briefing to address personal issues with him. She jokingly added that the tagline for the Office of the Vice President is now “drag me to hell.”
“He could have just kept quiet,” Duterte said. “Hindi ako takot. That’s why I said, you can drag me to hell all you want. Walang problema sa akin ‘yan,” she added. (I’m not afraid. That’s why I said, you can drag me to hell all you want. That’s not a problem for me.)
The Vice President didn’t mince words against Marcos, saying he doesn’t even know his job. “Hindi marunong maging presidente ang nakaupo. Kasalanan ko ba ‘yon,” Duterte rhetorically asked, as she lamented the rising prices of commodities and hunger. (The sitting president doesn’t know his job. Is that my fault?)
Poor performance
When asked to rate the President’s performance, with 10 being the highest, Duterte gave Marcos a score of one. She also said that Marcos didn’t even have a platform when they ran in 2022.
But as her running mate, did she ask him to craft a platform of governance? Duterte said she assumed he would have one since he was running for the highest office in the land. “That’s my biggest mistake, to assume,” she said.
Duterte admitted that she would not listen to Marcos’ speeches during their campaign because he was saying the same things all over again.
“Hindi ako nakinig sa kanya. Ang naririnig ko lang, ‘Sama-sama tayong babangon muli. And when you say, ‘Sama-sama tayong babangon muli,’ you want to know how the Philippines can be the best it can be…so ibig sabihin walang maiiwan. Pero apparently, maraming naiiwan ngayon,” she said.
(I didn’t listen to him. All I heard was, “Together we will rise.'” And when you say, “Together we will rise,” you want to know how the Philippines can be the best it can be…so that means no one gets left behind. But apparently, many are being left behind now.)
The Vice President also refuted claims that she should have heeded her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who reportedly intimated she would be president now if she hadn’t agreed to be Marcos’ VP. Her father, according to her, never asked her to run for president, even if before the 2022 polls, she had been leading pre-election surveys.
“Seven times ‘nya ako pinuntahan. Hindi siya talaga nagsabi sa akin for president. In fact, sinabi niya sa akin, ‘Huwag ka tumakbo as president, nanggaling ako d’yan. Mahirap ‘yan na trabaho,” Sara said, recalling her conversation with her father.
(He came to me seven times. He never really told me to run for president. In fact, he said to me, “Don’t run for president; I’ve been there. That job is tough.”)
‘Marcos used me’
What changed? A phone call from Senator Imee Marcos in October 2021. Duterte recalled that Imee called her to ask if she would be willing to her brother’s running mate. At that time, she had already decided to seek reelection as mayor of Davao City.
“Sabi ko, ‘Bakit mo ako ni-re-request ngayon na tumakbong vice president?’ And I’m happy that she was honest enough to say, ‘Kasi matatalo kami ni Leni kung hindi mo dalhin ang Bisaya,’” Sara said, recounting her supposed conversation with the President’s sister.
(I said, ‘Why are you asking me to run for vice president now?’ And I’m glad she was honest enough to say, ‘Because we would lose to Leni if you don’t carry the Visayas.)
After discussions with her family members, Duterte withdrew her Davao mayoral bid in November 2021, and agreed to be Marcos’ running mate.
Asked if she feels that the Marcos camp just used her to win the presidency, Duterte said, “Of course, ginamit nila ako para manalo sila. Obvious naman ‘yon.” (Of course, they used me to win. That’s pretty obvious.)
Since leaving the Marcos Cabinet in June, the Vice President has been the focus of a congressional probe into her alleged misuse of funds. Her resignation as education secretary marked the collapse of the formidable “Uniteam” alliance that propelled the Marcos-Duterte tandem to victory in the 2022 elections.
Amid all the controversies, Duterte said that she has no regrets about teaming up with Marcos or running for the second highest office in the country. She believes that even if she had run for mayor of Davao, the Marcoses would still go after her because they see her as a contender in the 2028 presidential elections.
“I don’t regret running for vice president kasi imagine ’nyo kung [Davao City] mayor ako at hinabol nila ako ngayon. Napakadali nila ako i-suspend. Napakadali nila akong kasuhan. Napakadali akong tanggalin sa puwesto as mayor. Ngayon ’di nila ako matanggal,” she said.
(I don’t regret running for vice president because just imagine if I were the mayor of Davao City and they were going after me now. It would be so easy for them to suspend me, to file charges against me, to remove me from my position as mayor. But now they can’t remove me.)
Sara didn’t address corruption allegations
While the press briefing focused on her relationship with Marcos and her 2022 bid, it did not directly address new revelations in the House probe on Thursday, October 18. She was mum about the new bribery allegation involving an education official who admitted to receiving cash envelopes from the Vice President’s assistant secretary during her time as education secretary.
On the issue of confidential funds, she only said that it was “normal” for a government agency to release millions, or even billions, of pesos per day. (READ: House probe: Sara Duterte-led OVP’s expensive rental of safe houses flagged)
“Hindi nakakapagtaka sa gobyerno na gumastos ng millions araw-araw. Kami doon sa DepEd noon, pumipirma kami ng billions in one day para maglabas ng pera. Hindi nakakapagtaka ang five million 10 million a day, pirma lang ‘yan. Ibabayad na ‘yan kung saan ‘yan ibabayad. Then babalik na ang documents. Ganun talaga sa gobyerno, gumagastos siya every day para sa projects niya. Sometimes it’s not million, even billions,” Duterte said.
(It’s not surprising for the government to spend millions every day. When we were at the DepEd, we would sign off on billions in one day to release funds. Spending five million or 10 million a day is nothing; it’s just a signature. Payments are made as needed, and then the documents come back. That’s just how it is in government; spending happens every day for projects. Sometimes it’s not just millions, but even billions.)
The Vice President said she would address questions about the alleged misuse of funds once more information emerges during the next House probe. – Rappler.com