“Strange and unusual.”
This was Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III’s reaction to the recent press conference of Vice President Sara Duterte, where she attacked President Marcos and even made personal threats.
“Actually, I was worried about her (Duterte), and I think she needs to talk to some professionals and maybe friends and family so that she can express or share her thoughts and feelings. I hope she has close friends and family listening to give her some advice,” said Pimentel at the Senate on Monday.
Pimentel found the statements made by the vice president rather “unusual” but welcomed the idea of her openly criticizing the Marcos administration in the spirit of observing checks and balances.
“She verbalized what she thought but her mind was not usual. Maybe she needs to talk to someone smarter than us. It’s not usual and I might say strange,” he told reporters.
“I’m not sure, maybe she needs to talk to someone who knows more than me, I’m a lawyer but maybe (a professional) coming from another field (of expertise). But of course, the family can also help. Family, friends and relatives.”
When asked about the ongoing rift between the vice president and President Marcos, Pimentel said it is a good thing.
“I’m looking at it in a positive way. It’s good that our vice president is so attentive to detail and willing to criticize the administration, so that we have a check and balance. There is a person announcing that she is there to check the administration,” he said.
“That’s a welcome development in a democracy that there is someone, somebody checking the administration,” he added.
In a two-hour press conference last week, Duterte criticized the leadership of President Marcos, accusing him of incompetence.
Duterte also stated she warned Senator Imee Marcos that she would dig up and toss the remains of their father the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. into the West Philippine Sea if they continued attacking her.
The remains of the elder Marcos were laid to rest at the “Libingan ng mga Bayani” in 2016 during the term of then-president Rodrigo Duterte, Sara’s father.
The vice president also revealed that she once daydreamed of decapitating President Marcos Jr. after he declined to give his watch to a cadet who asked for it as graduation gift.
Presidential spokesman Cesar Chavez stated that Malacañang will not dignify Duterte’s statements with a comment.
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