MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang slammed Vice President Sara Duterte over accusations that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is a drug addict.
Earlier in the day, Duterte arrived at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court for her arraignment, where she accused the president of being a “drug addict, a shameless person, and ungrateful to those who went to the precinct to vote for him.”
In a press briefing in India for Marcos’ attendance at the BRICS Summit on Friday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro questioned if Duterte was “in the right mind” when she uttered those accusations.
“Was she in a lucid interval at that time? Was she in his right mind? Was she thinking clearly?” said Castro in both Filipino and English.
Responding to Duterte’s remarks against the president, Castro accused Duterte of being surrounded by people who use illegal drugs—most notably, her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Former President Duterte himself admitted—while he was president—that he used marijuana. He also admitted to abusing fentanyl because he enjoyed the sensation; he described it as feeling like being on ‘cloud nine,’” Castro lamented.
“When her father admitted to using illegal drugs, did she call him an addict or high? So, do not project your family's own actions onto President Marcos Jr., who is actually working and taking action—unlike the president who does not spend his time merely going on vacations,” she added.
