Palace: Sara Duterte鈥檚 latest attack vs Marcos applies to her, family
Claire Castro. Screengrab from RTVM/FACEBOOK
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Friday slammed Vice President Sara Duterte’s latest remarks attacking President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., noting that all her tirades could instead be applied to her and the political clan she belongs to.
Duterte, during the miting de avance of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino’s senatorial slate Thursday, remarked that the country “installed a leader with no capability to understand the true condition of Filipinos.”
“We are paying the price of choosing the wrong leader,” Duterte said in Filipino.
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In direct response to this, Palace communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a regular briefing: “We have watched her utterances, and her negative remarks, it appears, describes herself and the Duterte family.”
DepEd ‘neglected’ under Duterte
Castro backed this statement up, citing “neglect” of the education sector during Duterte’s term as the Department of Education (DepEd) secretary.
Castro noted that during Duterte’s term, 1.5 million DepEd laptops had been stuck in warehouses since 2020, while P5.7 million worth of milk went spoiled and “nutribun” bread went moldy and stale. She also cited cases of “ghost students” cases when P65 million were recovered.
“So, at that time, we see how the education sector got neglected,” Castro said in a regular briefing in Filipino.
Duterte ‘one of the country’s problems’
“That’s why we agree with her saying that we are paying the price for choosing a wrong leader,” she added. “So, isn’t she the problem or one of the problems of our country?”
Marcos and Duterte, who were running mates in the 2022 elections, have been embroiled in a bitter clash marked by the latter’s resignation to her post in the Cabinet as DepEd secretary in June last year.
The feud has since then escalated, with Duterte admitting that she allegedly instructed someone to kill Marcos, his wife Liza, and cousin Romualdez if she would be killed.
The vice president also pinned the blame on Marcos regarding the arrest of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, over a crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court. Marcos, however, said his administration is just complying with the country’s obligations under international law.
Duterte is also facing an impeachment trial before the Senate, after being impeached by the House of Representatives lawmakers, most of whom are allied with Marcos. /jpv
