President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio in this file photo taken during the oath-taking ceremony in Cebu. (Image from BBM / Facebook)
MANILA, Philippines — No “cracks” exist between the Marcos-Duterte tandem, otherwise known as the ‘UniTeam,’ Vice President Sara Duterte herself said on Tuesday.
Duterte made the pronouncement after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. recently revealed that the prospect of the Philippines reintegrating as a state party to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently being studied.
His statement fueled speculation that differences may have started to form within the political team-up.
The speculation is further fanned with alleged plans within the House of Representatives to impeach the Vice President.
“Wala naman. Wala namang [cracks]. (There’s none. There aren’t any cracks),” said Duterte at the sidelines of “Bata, Bida Ka!” program for the 31st National Children’s Month.
According to Duterte, her partnership with Marcos continues even after the campaign period for the 2022 elections is over.
“Ang UniTeam kasi, it was a tandem during the elections. Ngayon naman, ang trabaho namin is hindi na pangangampanya. Ang trabaho namin is President and Vice President,” said Duterte.
(UniTeam was a tandem during the elections. This time, our job is not to campaign anymore. Our job is President and Vice President.)
“With regard to our working relationship, wala akong narinig kay Pangulong Marcos na reklamo niya with regard sa trabaho namin sa DepEd (Department of Education). Tuloy tuloy lang iyong trabaho,” she added.
(About our working relationship, I haven’t heard any complaints from President Marcos about our work in the DepEd. The work continues.)
Asked if she had already met with Marcos after he made his statements that he is considering a return to ICC, Duterte said they had not yet seen one another.
On Monday, Duterte said she “respects” Marcos’ decision to review the country’s membership in ICC.
However, she said she would contact the Department of Justice to present her position against the possibility of the government working with the ICC.
ICC is investigating her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and his bloody war against illegal drugs.