Escudero: Sara’s threat to dig up Marcos Sr.’s body ‘unbecoming’

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero answers questions to media during the Kapihan sa Senado, Senate of the Philippines, Pasay City, October 10, 2024. —Inquirer photo/Niño Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines — Threatening to exhume the remains of President Marcos’ father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., and toss them into the sea was “unbecoming” of Vice President Sara Duterte, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said on Saturday, reminding her to be prudent when speaking in public.

According to Escudero, the words that Duterte used in attacking the President were against Filipino values and that they were not befitting of someone occupying the country’s second highest elective office.

But the Senate leader said he respected her right to express her disgust and voice her criticisms against the Marcos administration.

READ: Sara warned Imee: I’ll dig up Marcos Sr.’s body

“For me, those kinds of remarks are unbecoming, especially from the country’s second highest leader,” Escudero said in an interview with radio dwIZ.

“Many did not like it, including her use of words that are inappropriate when said on television or in front of children. I hope she will be more circumspect and more careful with the words she uses,” he said.

READ: Solons blast Sara for threat to throw Marcos Sr.’s remains in WPS

Escudero said while it was natural for anyone to express displeasure, it should not justify the use of foul language.

“These are not the words that government officials should use. And you should not make light of these things or just dismiss them as jokes,” he said. “For me, these are serious matters that affect people’s lives. You should not treat it as a joke, much less say it in public.”

‘Mysteries and miracles’

When asked if there was any possibility that the country’s two highest leaders would eventually reconcile their differences, Escudero said: “In my years of being in politics, I have seen and witnessed so many mysteries and miracles. That would be the least of it, if ever that would happen.”

“So there’s a possibility that it would happen and that would be better for the country,” he added.

Escudero said he did not agree with Duterte’s claim that Marcos did not know how to govern and that her statement was just “an offshoot of their rift.”

Mimicking her father’s usual expletive-laced rants, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte held a two-hour press briefing on Friday, a day after the House committee on good government questioned the use of the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).

Warning to Imee

The House panel discovered that the OVP had spent P16 million in taxpayer money as rent for 34 safe houses from Dec 21, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2022, or just 11 days. (See related story on Page A2)

Instead of squarely addressing the allegations of misuse of public funds, the Vice President spewed virulent remarks against  Marcos and his family.

Duterte said she had previously warned Sen. Imee Marcos, the President’s elder sister, that she would dig up the body of their patriarch and dump it into the West Philippine Sea if they did not stop attacking her.

“One of these days, I will really go there and get his body,” a visibly irate Duterte said.

‘1 out of 10’

The Vice President also said that she had wanted to chop off the President’s head when he supposedly humiliated a graduating student by turning down the student’s request to have Marcos’ wristwatch as a graduation gift.

Duterte accused the President of not knowing how to do his job as Chief Executive, rating his performance as “1 out of 10,” and that his family only used her to help him win votes from Visayas and Mindanao to defeat his closest rival, then Vice President Leni Robredo, in the 2022 presidential race.

Her tirades came four months after she stepped down as education secretary, which formally terminated the alliance between two of the country’s most influential political clans that catapulted the Marcos-Duterte tandem to victory in the 2022 elections.

That put an end to the once-formidable “Uniteam” ahead of the 2025 midterm elections.