Ex-president Duterte says he never called Marcos a drug addict

Former President Rodrigo Duterte (left) and President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS)

MANILA, Philippines — Former president Rodrigo Duterte denied calling his successor, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. a drug addict.

“Wala akong sinabi na ganoon, even if you kill me a thousand times, wala akong sinabing ganoon,” said Duterte in a press conference late Tuesday night.

(I did not say that; even if you kill me a thousand times, I did not say such a thing.)

“Make it ‘taking a drug,’ pero kung sabihin mong ‘addict,’ wala akong sinabing ganiyan. Patayin ako ni Marcos niyan. Maawa ka naman sa’kin, matanda na ko,” he added.

(Make it ‘taking a drug,’ but if you say ‘addict,’ I did not say that. Marcos might kill me for that. Have mercy on me; I’m already old.) 

The former president even claimed that Marcos was on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA) drug watch list.

The PDEA denied that Marcos was included in its watchlist, as well as Duterte’s own narco-list during his administration.

Meanwhile, Marcos previously brushed off Duterte’s allegations, attributing it to his predecessor’s alleged fentanyl-use.