Vice President Sara Duterte’s and President Marcos’ relationship is at the “point of no return,” she said in a press conference in Zamboanga City on Wednesday, Nov. 27.
(From left) President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte during the Brigada Eskwela in Manila last Aug. 14, 2023. (Ali Vicoy/MANILA BULLETIN)
The official, who’s under fire for saying she hired someone to kill the First Couple and House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself is killed, thumbed down any thought of patching up with the President.
“Well, I believe that we reached the point of no return. I really believe that we have reached the point of no return. It is clear parang (like) they are really going after me. At gusto nila akong tanggalin sa posisyon (And they want to remove me from my position),” she stressed.
Seemingly hinting at the “capacity” of the Marcoses to oppress political enemies, Duterte lamented how a possible impeachment case against her will be used to cover up the administration’s shortcomings.
“They can always try na mag-impeachment. They can always—gumastos at magwaldas ng pera ng gobyerno para i-impeach ang vice president (to have an impeachment. They can always spend and waste the government’s money to impeach the vice president),” she told reporters.
“Kung ‘yan ba naman ang gusto nila . . . at pagtakpan nang pagtakpan ang kakulangan at pagsisinungaling ng administrasyon para lang hindi mapansin ng mga tao na maraming mga pangako ang napako (If that’s what they want . . . and they want to cover up the shortcomings and the lies of the administration so people won’t notice the unfulfilled promises),” Duterte said.
"They can try then we will see, di ba (right)? If I get impeached then that's my end. Tapos (The end)," the official added.
The Marcos-Duterte tandem swept through the 2022 elections, attracting some 32 million voters who believed in their message of unity.
But the falling out between the two families happened in less than a year since they started holding office, starting with an alleged coup attempt against Romualdez and the subsequent questions raised on the Vice President’s confidential funds.
At present, Duterte is currently in hot water over remarks she made over the weekend about contracting an assassin to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Romualdez, the latter her campaign manager in 2022.