“Bitter!”
This was what Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon called those behind the viral video footage allegedly showing President Marcos sniffing a powdery substance that his detractors said was cocaine.
Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon (File Photo/MANILA BULLETIN)
The official, a long-time Marcos loyalist, accused that those behind the proliferation of the video are people who were booted out of their positions by the President.
“Ang mga taong naglabas niyan ay mga natanggal sa pwesto or mga hindi maappoint na akala nila na sila'y can be trusted kaya dapat kailangan maappoint sila (Those that released that video were fired from their positions or those who were not appointed who thought they can be trusted and they should be appointed),” he said in a July 23 statement.
“Mga bitter! Kaya hanggang ganyan na lang sila (They’re bitter! That’s all they can do),” the secretary added.
Gadon lambasted that even first-time viewers can recognize that the man in the video wasn’t the President.
"They don't even bother to use a deepfake AI (Artificial Intelligence). Mga amateur ang gumawa niyan sapagkat wala man lang (Those who did that were amateurs because there was no) semblance of reality," he claimed.
The video purportedly emerged from a Maisug assembly organized by a Filipino association in Los Angeles, California.
This prompted Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos to order Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Rommel Marbil to form a task force to trace the origin of the video.
Gadon, however, remained optimistic that the video won’t affect the reputation of the Marcos family, who he said had received all kinds of name-calling “for more than 36 years.”
"And yet, hindi ‘yan tumalab. Ano nangyari? Nagkaroon tayo ng (that has no effect. What happened? We now have a) first majority elected president. And the only president who received more than 30 million votes. First time in the history of Philippine elections," he said.
The official believes that those behind the video are only after money.
"Kaya yun mga pulvoron-voron na yan, bale wala yan. Kung ako sa mga gumagawa niyan, eh sige, ipagpatuloy niyo. Dahil yan lang ang paraan niyo para kumain. Dahil diyan lang kayo kumikita (That polvoron-voron is nothing. To those who did it, just go ahead. That’s the only way you can feed yourself. That’s the only way you earn money)," he added.