October 11, 2024 | 6:00pm
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. thought he was friends with Vice President Sara Duterte, leaving him all the more confused when she publicly distanced herself from him.
In a media interview between meetings at the ASEAN Summit in Laos, Marcos was asked how his relationship with the vice president was. Duterte has admitted that she was not friends with Marcos, and their relationship was mainly based on them being runningmates in the 2022 elections.
Marcos, giving a small laugh, said he did not know what his relationship was with Duterte anymore.
“That’s a good question. I don’t know anymore. I’m not quite sure I understand. I’m a little dismayed that she doesn’t think we are friends, I always thought we were, but maybe I was deceived,” Marcos said.
Marcos was also asked why he did not appoint Duterte as the caretaker of the Philippines while he is out of the country. Before his trip to Laos, Duterte was typically Marcos’ go-to caretaker during his foreign travels.
“She left the administration, so she is not part of the administration anymore. She’s not part of the, really the day-to-day helming of what we’re doing so it will be unfair to ask her all of the sudden to impose that duty on her since that is not part of her work now,” Marcos replied.
In June, Duterte suddenly quit Marcos’ cabinet, resigning from her posts as the secretary of Education and vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
Prior to this, the vice president’s family has grown increasingly bold in their criticisms of Marcos. Her brother, Davao Mayor Sebastian Duterte, told Marcos to resign.
Marcos and Sara’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, even accused each other of drug use.
However, Marcos said that his non-appointment of Sara as caretaker did not mean he does not trust her anymore, calling it a practical decision.
“It’s a very practical reason, actually that’s how I came to that conclusion. If you notice, the membership of the Executive Committee… they are all members of the cabinet now. That seems to be the obvious way to handle it,” Marcos said.
Under the UniTeam banner, Marcos and Sara Duterte’s alliance during the 2022 national elections was a strategic move that secured each other votes from their respective bailiwicks.
Not more than half a term later, the Uniteam appears to have broken apart with the rift between the president and vice president becoming more and more apparent.
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