Senator Imee Marcos and Davao Mayor Baste Duterte (Senate Prib/Contributed Photo)
MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte was not amused by Senator Imee Marcos’ account of how he supposedly apologized to her for his harsh remarks against the senator’s brother, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
In a post on Facebook, the mayor clarified that while he indeed said sorry to the senator, it was simply out of pity.
“Madame Imee, linawin ko lang kasi ginagamit mo na sa drama mo diyan sa media. Humingi ako ng tawad dahil naawa ako sayo, hindi dahil sa mga sinabi ko tungkol sa kapatid mo na presidente,” Duterte said in a post on February 3.
READ: Sen. Imee says Baste already issued apology for ‘Marcos resign’ statement
(Madame Imee, let me clarify because you’re already using it in your drama there in the media. I asked for forgiveness because I felt sorry for you, not because of what I said about your sibling, the president.)
Duterte was referring to the senator’s remarks during an ambush interview on January 30 when she said that he apologized to her for saying that the President was “lazy and [lacking in] compassion.”
“Mayor Baste Duterte approached me. He apologized over and over again,” Senator Marcos told reporters.
But the local leader challenged the senator’s account and told her to stop spinning the thread on what actually transpired.
“Stop it with your words. I let it pass the first time, but you still haven’t stopped,” the Davao mayor’s post said in Bisaya.
The Dutertes and the camp of President Marcos have been embroiled in a barrage of heated accusations since late January when the local chief asked the president to resign if he “does not have love and aspirations for the nation.”
READ: Marcos ‘resign’ – Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte
This was fueled by former president Rodrigo Duterte, father to Baste, who accused the chief executive of being on a narcotics list – a claim that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has denied.
President Marcos, on the other hand, alleged that the former president’s actions were due to the effects of the painkiller fentanyl, which, according to him, has adverse side effects.