Marcos says relationship with VP Duterte ‘exactly the same’

Vice President Sara Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

HANOI—President Marcos on Tuesday maintained that the Uniteam coalition remains intact, vibrant and working despite seeming cracks forming in his alliance with the Dutertes.

In an interview with the Malacañang Press Corps at the Melia Hanoi Hotel, Mr. Marcos insisted that his relationship with Vice President Sara Duterte was still “exactly the same.”

“If you remember, Uniteam is not just one party or two parties or three parties, it’s a unification of … all political forces in the Philippines to come together for the good of the country,” he said. Mr. Marcos and Duterte ran under the political coalition in the May 2022 national elections.

“That is still there. It’s still vibrant. It’s still working. And we will continue on that basis,” he added.

He pointed out that his relationship with the Vice President remains the same “because she hasn’t said anything of that nature (vitriol) and she has not said anything of the kind, so it hasn’t changed.”

Asked if Duterte would be kept on as Department of Education (DepEd) secretary, Mr. Marcos replied, “Yes, yes, yes, yes.”Duterte has remained quiet over the accusations of drug use her father and President Marcos hurled against each other, as well as calls for her to quit the Cabinet.

On Sunday night, former President Rodrigo Duterte accused Mr. Marcos of being a “drug addict president,” as his successor responded the following day by saying the effects of fentanyl were taking a toll on his predecessor’s mind.

Speaking at a rally in Davao City against Charter change, the older Duterte said the President may suffer the same fate as his father and namesake, who was ousted from power through the first People’s Power Revolution in 1986.

He also called on state forces to “protect” the 1987 Constitution. His youngest child, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, called on President Marcos to resign over his supposed lack of love for the country.

Sara mum

In a statement on Monday, Sara said her youngest brother’s call was driven by “brotherly love” toward her, as she brought up the “despicable treatment” she was receiving within the President’s circle.

She also vowed to “stay true” to her work as the concurrent education secretary “unless the President says otherwise.”

One of those calling for her resignation as DepEd secretary was former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who took to X (formerly Twitter).

“After the turmoil last Sunday, your father and brother insulted and cursed at [the President], and yet you are still holding on as DepEd Secretary?” said Trillanes, a staunch critic of her father.

“A little decency. Resign as DepEd secretary, please,” he added.

However, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said it would not make a similar call, at least for now, amid the word war between the two families.

Speaking to the Inquirer by phone, ACT chair Vladimer Quetua pointed out that even before all this, Sara already “lacked focus” in her job as education chief.

“Even before this rift between the two families, there had already been a problem in the DepEd leadership. There were DepEd orders that we never got consulted about,” Quetua said.

“If you compile all these problems together … we believe that it is high time that we need a real teacher as DepEd secretary,” he stressed. INQ