Imee Marcos to back Rodrigo Duterte ‘…even if I’m the only one left’

Photo from Malacanang and Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee Marcos said she would continue to support former President Rodrigo Duterte “…even if I am the only one left.”

The senator said she is like her father – the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. –who would always stand up for “true friends” through thick and thin.

“Ako, gaya ng aking ama ay matapat at naninindigan para sa mga tunay na kaibigan, sa hirap at sa mas mahirap, sa mabibilang na ligaya at sangkatutak na dusa,” she said in a statement Wednesday.

(I, like my father, am loyal and stand up for true friends in hardships and more severe hardships, in countless joys and a tremendous amount of suffering.)

READ: Duterte: Don’t know how I was dragged into alleged plot vs Marcos admin

“Iyan ang iniwang legasiya sa akin, sa atin, ng aking ama. Ang makatotohanang pagkakaisa, pagkakaisang hindi bula lamang ng bibig, pagkakaisang nangangahulugan ng pagiging isa,” she added.

(That is the legacy left to me, to us, by my father. Real unity, a unity that is not just lip service, a unity that means being one.)

In 2015, she was the first and only governor to support Duterte, who was then gunning for the presidency in the 2016 election.

Marcos said she will never be silent about “treasons and blasphemies” aimed at Duterte, who, she said, honored her father when the former president allowed the late dictator to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

READ: Duterte stands firm on Marcos burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani

“Doon, ay tinanong siya na kaya ba niya pinahintulutan ang paglilibing ay dahil kaibigan niya lang ako? Ang sagot niya noon ay sagot ko ngayon,” said Marcos.

(There, he was asked if he allowed the burial because he was just my friend. His answer then is my answer now.)

“Hindi lang dahil kaibigan ko si [dating] Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, kaibigan ko talaga siya, higit lalo si Inday Sara. Mga kaibigan ko sa pagpapaunlad ng bayan, pagpapanatili ng kapayapaan at pakikipaglaban kontra sa pwersa ng kasamaang nagpapalaganap ng katiwalian, gutom at katrayduran,” she added.

(Not just because [former] President Rodrigo Duterte is my friend, he really is my friend, even more so Inday Sara. My friends, in developing the country, maintaining peace, and fighting against the forces of evil that spread corruption, hunger, and betrayal.)

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