WE REMEMBER President Marcos pushes the wheelchair of his mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos, at the tomb of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday refused to butt heads with his erstwhile ally, Vice President Sara Duterte, even after her disrespectful threat to exhume the remains of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and dump them in the sea.
“I’d rather not, thank you,” the President replied when asked about Duterte’s threat.
Like most Filipinos, Marcos and his mother, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, paid respects to the deceased former president at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City.
Pressed by Malacañang reporters if he thought Duterte’s remark against his deceased father was uncalled for, the President ignored the question and went straight to the van where his mother was seated.
Asked one last time if he thought his relationship with the Vice President had reached the point of no return with everything that Duterte said against him, Marcos said: “Let’s talk about it some other time.”
He then buzzed his mother on the cheek to see her off, before walking toward his sedan.
It was the first time he spoke about Duterte’s controversial remarks on Oct. 18, although his eldest son, House Senior Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos called her out for the “abhorrent” comments.
Two weeks ago, Duterte recalled warning the President’s older sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, that she would exhume the former president’s remains and imagined herself beheading Mr. Marcos.
READ: Duterte: I’ll throw Marcos Sr.’s body into West PH Sea if attacks continue
Her diatribe was provoked by President Marcos’ admission in Laos that he felt dismayed and “deceived” by Duterte, with whom he ran in the 2022 elections.
READ: VP Sara’s dangerous rhetoric
The President, meanwhile, urged Filipinos to continue the good work that his father began so that he can truly “rest in peace” as he thanked his father’s supporters for paying their respects.
He added that the “Prayer for the Nation” — in which Marcos Sr. prayed for Filipinos to have the strength to rebuild their lives and leave their “selfish, corrupt and derelict ways” — came from his father’s heart. INQ