"What a lucky husband I am that I have a wife who is very protective of me."
This was President Marcos' initial reaction to the sentiments made by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos over Vice President Sara Duterte, stressing that "we cannot blame" the first lady for what she stated.
"First of all, my first reaction is what a lucky husband I am that I have a wife na very protective sa akin na, kahit na, may nakitang hindi magandang sinabi tungkol sa akin (who is very protective of me, that when she hears unpleasant statements towards me), she gets very upset. I guess, we cannot blame her," Marcos said in an interview in Occidental Mindoro on Tuesday, April 23.
The President stressed that the First Lady is not from a political family, therefore she is not used to politics and has to learn to let some hurtful statements pass.
"Ang First Lady, hindi sanay sa pulitika ‘yan e. Kami, manhid na kami diyan, sa insulto. Siya, hindi siya galing sa political family, kaya siguro she still has to learn na magpalagpas nang kaunti ng ibang masasakit at maaanghang na salita (The First Lady is not used to politics. While we are already numb over insults. She is not from a political family so she still needs to learn to let hurtful words pass), Marcos said.
It can be recalled on April 19 that the First Lady hit the Vice President for "crossing the line" when the latter was supposed to be President Marcos' alter ego but laughed over her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, calling Marcos "bangag" (stoned) in a rally in Davao City in January.
In an interview, the First Lady said she was not a hypocrite and admitted she was ignoring the Vice President whenever they were in the same event because of the incident, something that people online have observed.
Meanwhile, the President assured he will not fire Duterte from her post as the Education Secretary, adding that their working relationship will not be affected amid the sentiments of his wife.
READ MORE: Marcos won't fire VP Sara Duterte as DepEd chief over First Lady's sentiments