VP ‘agrees with assumption’ that Marcos is a drug addict

Metro Manila, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte takes another swing against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday, Nov. 26, saying she “agrees with the assumption” that he is a drug addict.

In a chance interview on Tuesday, Duterte was asked to respond to his father’s statement from an earlier media briefing, where he again called Marcos a drug addict. The former president first linked his successor to illegal drugs in January.

“He continuously refuses to do a drug test. Napakadali naman ‘di ba? Tulad ko…Kung ano pa man iyong test na gusto niyong i-take ko. Gusto niyo ulitin ko iyong bar exams? Lahat iyan gagawin ko. No questions asked,” she said.

[Translation: He continuously refuses to do a drug test. That is so easy. Just like me…I’ll do whatever test you want me to take. You want me to retake bar exams? I’ll do it all. No questions asked.]

In her Facebook live on Sunday, Nov. 24, Duterte challenged members of the Office of the President, the Senate, and the House of Representatives to take a drug test. She said her office is willing to do the same.

Meanwhile, the vice president also backed her father’s remarks of a “fractured governance.” The former president said the military should act to address what he described as such.

“I was a member of Cabinet. So I have personal knowledge. I agree with fractured governance,” she said.

Duterte resigned as Secretary of the Department of Education in July.

She won with Marcos by a landslide victory in the 2022 elections, but have severed ties less than halfway through their term.