November 2, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has again begged off from commenting on Vice President Sara Duterte’s remark that she would dig up and throw the remains of his late father and namesake in the West Philippine Sea if his supporters would not stop attacking her and her family.
Reporters tried to get Marcos’ comment on the Vice President’s statement after he visited the grave of his father at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City on All Saints’ Day yesterday.
“I’d rather not,” Marcos said.
Again he was asked if his relationship with Duterte – his running mate in the 2022 elections – had reached “a point of no return.”
Marcos responded: “Let’s talk about it some other time.”
At a press conference on Oct. 18, Duterte recalled warning Marcos’ sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, that she would dig up the elder Marcos’ remains and throw them into the sea if political attacks from the current administration continued.
Duterte’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, recently dismissed the Vice President’s declaration as “an extended hyperbole.”
At the same press conference, the Vice President also accused Marcos of incompetence and lacking in leadership.
Duterte’s tirade had deepened the rift between the two powerful families ahead of midterm elections. The President and Malacañang have not responded to Duterte’s diatribe.
The President, accompanied by his mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos, attended a mass before the tomb of the former leader yesterday morning. First Lady Liza Marcos and Sen. Imee Marcos were not seen at the event.
In his message, Marcos urged their supporters to remember his father’s legacy and to continue loving the Filipino people and the Philippines.
As a young child, the President said he witnessed his father’s good leadership qualities .
“Now that I am sitting as President, his words have become even more important,” Marcos said in Filipino.
“You know when we have a dead person we place there, RIP, rest in peace. Of course, that’s what we want for my father. But it’s not enough to just say rest in peace. For my father to rest in peace, we need to continue the work he started, let’s continue the transformation of the Philippines and the love for Filipinos,” he said.
The elder Duterte allowed the burial of the late dictator at the heroes’ cemetery in 2016 amid strong opposition from martial law victims and human rights defenders.
The elder Marcos died in exile in Hawaii in September 1989 at the age of 72.
In 1993, the government allowed his widow to bring his body back to the Philippines but refused her demand for a hero’s burial.
The late strongman’s body was interred in a glass crypt in the Marcos Museum and Mausoleum in Batac City for years.
Prayers for storm victims
In a vlog posted on YouTube, President Marcos offered prayers for victims of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.
“This Undas, apart from our deceased loved ones, let us also include in our prayers the victims of this disaster,” the President said.
In a nearly five-minute video, Marcos also answered questions relating to the government’s ongoing assistance to the victims of the storm, including those in Naga City, Camarines Sur, the bailiwick of his former rival in the 2022 presidential race, former vice president Leni Robredo.
“Some people were reacting because they say I visited even my opponent’s stronghold during the election,” the President said, apparently referring to Robredo.
“Because it (Naga City) was hit by the storm. The storm does not recognize elections. So, where there is a problem, where there is a need for help, we will go there,” Marcos said in Filipino.
On Oct. 26, Marcos personally checked on the condition of evacuees in Naga City and extended cash assistance to local government units in the Bicol region, one of the hardest hit by Kristine. Marcos and Robredo did not meet during Marcos’ visit to storm victims.
However, they met during the inauguration of the Sorsogon Sports Arena last month.
The President earlier thanked Senate President Francis Escudero for initiating their meeting, calling it a “step towards political reconciliation.”
Robredo, who defeated Marcos in the 2016 vice presidential race, filed her certificate of candidacy for mayor of Naga City in the May 2025 polls.
The President also vowed continued aid for the storm victims until their lives return to normal.
He assured the public that the government would strengthen measures to address climate change, which is blamed for the frequent occurrence of extreme weather events around the world.
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