Rep. Marcos okay to talk with Baste Duterte if the mayor wants to call up

Ilocos Norte First District Rep. Sandro Marcos. (File photo from INQUIRER.net / NOY MORCOSO)

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential son and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos will keep an open line for Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte if the latter wants to discuss anything amid the growing rift between their families.

Marcos, in an ambush interview on Wednesday, said that he still has high regard for Mayor Duterte.

The lawmaker believes Duterte still has his phone number if he wants to reach out.

“I didn’t hear anything,”  Marcos told reporters after the formal launch of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Lakas-CMD coalition when asked about Duterte’s alleged statements about his mother, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.

“Regardless of what Mayor Baste says, I still have the utmost respect for him. I still consider him a friend,” said the lawmaker.

“If he wants to talk to me about it, he’s more than welcome to any time. He has my number. So, that’s all I will say about that,” he added.

The questions were raised after Mayor Duterte, in a Maisug rally at Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, made several comments about the charter change moves supposedly being used to extend the term of President Ferdinand Marcos.

READ: Liza Marcos admits snubbing Sara Duterte: ‘Bad shot na ’yan sa akin’

Duterte’s comments were part of a video uploaded on YouTube by DZAR 1026, the radio station of Sonshine Media Network International.

Speaking in Cebuano, translated into Filipino by DZAR, Duterte said the state of the government can be seen in Araneta-Marcos’ interview.

“Kung gusto ninyong makita kung anong anyo ng ating gobyerno ngayon, tingnan nyo ang interview ni Liza Marcos. Tingnan nyo. May interview. ‘Yan siya. Tingnan nyo lang ‘yan. ‘Yan ang itsura ng ating bansa ngayon,” Duterte said.

(If you want to see the state of our government today, look at Liza Marcos’ interview. Look. She has an interview. Look it up. That’s her. Just look at that. That’s how our country looks now.)

READ: Marcos’ son on mom snubbing VP: She’s ‘being protective of her husband’ 

“Tingnan lang ninyo. Kayo na bahalang mag-isip. Ayaw naman nating manira ng tao. Sabihin nating mali o tama ang sinabi. Tingnan lang ninyo. Baka ‘di pa ninyo nakita. Para makita ninyo ang anyo ng bansa natin ngayon,” he added.

(Just look at it. It’s up to you what you want to think. I do not want to malign others. Regardless of whether what she said was right or wrong. Just look at it. You may not have seen it. So you can see the state of the country today.)

READ: Former president Duterte attends Dumaguete prayer, peace rally 

On the tirades of Duterte’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, Rep. Marcos does not want to comment on such issues because he believes past and present presidents should be revered.

“I’m not gonna comment on any statements of any former presidents because I don’t think it would be appropriate,” he said.

“I still think, given that they are former heads of state, that they should be afforded the same respect that the current head of state should be afforded as well,” he explained.

Last April, Araneta-Marcos admitted in an exclusive interview with Tune-in Kay Tunying that she has been snubbing Mayor Duterte’s sister, Vice President Sara Duterte, following the latter’s attendance at a prayer rally in Davao in January 2024.

During that rally, which was also attended by Mayor Duterte, former President Duterte called President Marcos a ‘drug addict.’

Similarly, Mayor Duterte urged the Chief Executive to resign if he has no aspirations for the country.

READ: VP Duterte attends Davao prayer rally after Bagong Pilipinas rally in Manila 

A day after, the Chief Executive shot back by saying that it might be the fentanyl that is making the older Duterte make such statements.