By Filane Mikee Cervantes | Philippine News Agency
Presidential son and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos on Tuesday said Vice President Sara Duterte “crossed the line” with her controversial remarks against his family.
In a statement, Marcos said he initially refrained from commenting out of respect for Duterte’s mandate as the Vice President and upon the advice of his father, President Ferdinand R. Marcos. Jr., but felt compelled to speak out after Duterte’s “abhorrent comments.”
Duterte, in a press conference last Friday, said she imagined cutting off the head of the current President and threatened to exhume the remains of President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. from the Libingan ng mga Bayani if criticisms against her continued.
“As a son, I cannot stay silent while she threatens to exhume a former president and behead an incumbent one,” Marcos said.
He described the Vice President’s outburst as a “bizarre temper tantrum” that has “horrified” the nation, lamenting the “cruelty” towards both the dead and the living.
Marcos revealed that his father advised him to remain silent despite his personal disappointment over the tirade.
“However, one must draw the line at some point, and it’s frankly long overdue,” he said. “Going ballistic was perhaps the self-therapy she prescribed for herself. But she crossed the line, leaving the civic and civil space where disagreements can be rationally argued.”
He still expressed hope that Duterte finds “peace of mind” and “mental clarity.”
“Let this be an opportune time to remind ourselves that we mustn’t take our mental health for granted and that above all else, I sincerely hope she is okay. As such, I still wish the Vice President well. Ultimately, her success, like the President’s, will be the success of our nation as a whole,” he said.
For his part, President Marcos on Tuesday kept mum on Duterte’s verbal tirade against him and his family.
On the sidelines of the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) event in Port Area, Manila, a reporter asked Marcos to respond to Duterte’s claim that he “does not know how to be president.”
Marcos faced the reporters after the 123rd anniversary celebration of the PCG and paid attention to a media query, particularly on Duterte’s scathing remarks against him.
He paused for a moment and just smiled when sought for reaction.
He then walked away and left the venue.
Marcos earlier said he felt deceived when Duterte said they were never friends.
Marcos and Duterte were running mates in the 2022 national elections. (with a report from Zaldy De Layola and Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos/PNA)
