Number one fan.
This was how President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. described his relationship with Vice President Sara Duterte, his running mate during the 2022 national elections, amid the recent shake-ups in the House of Representatives that pitted House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former president and now Pampanga Second District Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
(From left) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte at the launch of Pier 88 in Liloan, Cebu. (Yummie Dingding/PPA pool)
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The President expressed his admiration for Duterte before delivering the keynote speech for the grand launching of Pier 88, Cebu’s first smart port, in Liloan, Cebu province, on Saturday, May 27.
Marcos looked back at the 2022 campaign and shared how he and Duterte usually laughed together.
“And the reason I made her laugh [is] because I told her dito sa mga gulong nangyayari (in the chaos that’s happening), I’ve just officially designated myself as your self-appointed official BFF (best friend forever),” he said.
“Sorry na lang, sa ayaw at gusto mo (I’m sorry, whether you like it or not), I’m still your number one fan,” he added.
Last week, reports of a coup in the lower house against Romualdez, the President’s cousin, perpetrated by Arroyo, Duterte’s mentor, put doubts in the UniTeam tandem of the country’s top two officials.
Marcos’ reassurance today seemed to calm the confusion about where his and the Vice President’s relationship stood after the drama that ensued in the past week.
The Chief Executive said this while Romualdez, also the president of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), was in attendance, along with former Liloan mayor and now Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco and husband Cebu 5th District Rep. Duke Frasco.
The Frascos are known to be close to the Vice President, with the tourism chief serving as Duterte’s spokesperson during the campaign.
Duterte resigned as chairperson of Lakas-CMD, the dominant political party in the country, after the lower chamber demoted Arroyo, its chairman emeritus, to deputy speaker.