Palace: Senate impasse stems from abuse of power, not Marcos’ weakness

MANILA, Philippines — Palace press officer Claire Castro on Thursday said the ongoing impasse in the Senate is not the fault of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. but rather a result of the alleged abuse of power aimed at protecting Vice President Sara Duterte and her allies.

Her remarks came after Duterte blamed Marcos for the turmoil and division in the legislative body, claiming that the dispute reflects weaknesses in his leadership.

Castro dismissed Duterte’s statements as “repeated lies” that only mislead the public.

READ: Duterte: Senate chaos reflects Marcos’ leadership

“The effort to have Senator Bato dela Rosa released or helped to escape, with the assistance of Senator Robin Padilla, is not coming from the president; the two senators we mentioned are allies of the vice president,” the Palace official said.

“So, it is not true that this is about weakness in the administration’s leadership; rather, it is about the continued abuse of power for the benefit of their allies. Therefore, they should not get accustomed to smearing others just to make themselves appear as victims in our eyes,” she added.

Castro also maintained that Marcos had nothing to do with the gridlock in the Senate. She added that Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s reappearance was intended to protect Duterte.

“Senator Bato dela Rosa himself admitted why he was urged to attend and vote — first, to change the leadership; second, because of the impeachment. So, the people behind all of this, all of them, are the same people saying that the impeachment should be dismissed; all of this is for the protection of the vice president,” she said.

When asked whether Marcos was concerned that Duterte’s impeachment trial could be affected by the Senate deadlock, Castro said the president simply wants due process to be observed.

Duterte made the fresh remarks during a media interview on Wednesday, where she also claimed that Marcos’ leadership lacks direction.

“The chaos in the Senate reflects the leadership of the administration. The chaos and lack of direction in our country reflect the kind of leadership we have in the Palace and in our administration,” Duterte said.

She said when a leader has no direction or vision, then people really end up going their separate ways.

“That is what we are seeing, not just in the Senate, but across the entire country,” she added. /das