‘Marcos spokesman?’ Duterte just being transparent, says Palace

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella FILE PHOTO / MALACANANG

Malacañang on Wednesday said President Rodrigo Duterte only wanted transparency and not acting as a spokesman of the Marcos family after his announcement that the political clan was willing to return their alleged ill-gotten wealth.

The Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacañang (CARMMA) on Tuesday hit Duterte for negotiating with the Marcoses.

“Not only has Duterte sponsored the official rehabilitation of the dictator, he now also facilitates the exemption of the Marcos heirs from accountability and punishment,” CARMMA said.

“Now it can be told: President Duterte has become the spokesman and the negotiator for the Marcoses,” the group added.

In a speech in Malacañang on Tuesday, Duterte said Marcoses were willing to return to the country part of that wealth.

READ: Duterte: Marcos family willing to open, return ‘wealth in question’

“They said they’ll open everything and probably return whatever has been discovered,” Mr. Duterte said.

He said the Marcos family was willing to return their alleged ill-gotten wealth to help the country with the large budget deficit projected for this year.

“The remarks of the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacañang that President Duterte has become the spokesman and negotiator for the Marcoses entirely miss the point,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

“PRRD disclosed about the issue of the Marcos wealth in his speech in the spirit of transparency,” Abella added.

The President, he said, “has the best interests of the Filipinos in mind, which is, how our people would benefit from the recovery of the Marcos wealth.” IDL