In Vientiane, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. expressed disappointment after hearing Vice President Sara Duterte say they were never friends. Marcos admitted he was surprised and a bit hurt by her statement.
In an interview with Philippine reporters, the President shared, “I always thought we were friends, but now I think I’ve been deceived.”
This comment comes after Duterte, who was Marcos’ running mate in the 2022 election, said that while she was close to Marcos’ sister, Senator Imee Marcos, she was never personally close to the President himself.
The situation between the two has been tense for a while. Earlier this year, First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos also revealed that she held some resentment towards Duterte after the Vice President’s family made drug accusations against her husband during the campaign.
Duterte had been appointed as the Secretary of Education in June 2022 but stepped down in June 2023. She mentioned that she and Marcos remained “friendly on a personal level” despite her resignation.
However, it was later revealed that her resignation was linked to concerns about Speaker Martin Romualdez and Rep. Elizaldy Co having too much control over the national budget, rather than issues within the Department of Education itself.
