Friendship over? Marcos dismayed by Duterte's remarks

Metro Manila, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed disappointment over Vice President Sara Duterte’s recent statement that they were never friends.

“I’m a little dismayed to hear that she doesn’t think that we are friends,” Marcos said.

The president explained that his decision not to appoint Duterte as the government's caretaker during his trip to Laos was due to her no longer being part of his Cabinet. Duterte resigned as Education Secretary in June.

"She's not part of the administration anymore. She's still in government, but she left the administration. So, she's not part of the administration anymore," Marcos said..

"So, she's not part of the day-to-day running of what we are doing. So, it would be unfair to ask her," he added.

Last month, Duterte distanced herself from any alliance with the Marcos family.

“Never again,” she said on Sept. 18 when asked by media, declining to elaborate further.

Duterte and Marcos ran and won under the "UniTeam" banner in the 2022 elections.

“Wala, hindi naman talaga kami nagkausap niyan. Hindi kami magkaibigan, unang-una nagkakilala lang kami dahil naging magka-running mate kami,” Duterte told reporters in an ambush interview after attending a House Committee hearing.

[Translation: "We were never really close, and we’re not friends. We only met because we became running mates. Before that, we didn’t speak, and even during the campaign, our communication was limited to work."]

In a separate interview, Marcos revealed that there has been no communication between them since she resigned.

“The last time I spoke to her was when she handed me her resignation, and we haven’t spoken since,” the president said.