Marcos not part of deal between ‘a user and a person willing to be used’

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has no involvement in the supposed “deal” between Vice President Sara Duterte and Sen. Imee Marcos to bring former President Rodrigo Duterte back to the Philippines. FILE PHOTO from Senate PRIB and the official Facebook page of Inday Sara Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has no involvement in the supposed “deal” between Vice President Sara Duterte and Sen. Imee Marcos to bring former President Rodrigo Duterte back to the Philippines.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro made the statement on Friday in response to Duterte’s remarks during an Independence Day celebration in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she said Sen. Marcos would remain a “hostage” until she brings her arrested father back to the country.

READ: Sara Duterte: I won’t bring dad home, Imee Marcos will

“Because your brother was the one to take him to the Hague, you will be the one to bring him home to the Philippines,” Duterte told the lady senator.

The vice president was referring to the senator’s brother, President Marcos, whose administration handed her father over to the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands for alleged crimes against humanity.

At Friday’s briefing, Castro clarified that the President was not involved in any such agreement between his sister and the vice president.

“Ang Pangulo ay walang partisipasyon sa kanilang naging kasunduan (The President had no involvement in their agreement). The President is not privy to the contract or agreement between a user and a person willing to be used,” she said.

“Walang kinalaman ang Pangulo sa kontratang kanilang pinasukan, iyong isang tao na manggagamit at isang taong willing magpagamit,” Castro also said.

(The President has nothing to do with the contract entered into by a user and a person who willingly agreed to be used.)

She emphasized that Marcos remains focused on his duties, particularly in resolving the power outage in Siquijor.

READ: Marcos: Arrest of Duterte not ‘political persecution’

“Aksiyon, aksiyon at aksiyon ang utos ng Pangulo. Pagtugon sa pangangailangan ng mga Pilipino at hindi pagbabakasyon ang pinagtutuunan ng Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.,” Castro said.

(Action, action, and more action — that is the President’s directive. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is focused on addressing the needs of the Filipino people, not on taking vacations.)

When asked who she was referring to as being “on vacation,” Castro declined to name names.

Marcos had previously said that the arrest of the elder Duterte was nothing personal and not a political persecution, stressing that the government only complied with the International Criminal Police Organization.

He pointed out that the case against the former president was initiated in 2017, the year when the Philippines was still a member of the ICC and the elder Duterte was still in power./coa