A desperate move.

This was how Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro described Senator Imee Marcos' drug allegations against her brother, President Marcos.

In her vlog, Castro questioned the senator's intention in claiming that her brother is using illegal drugs, which, according to Castro, has been resolved through negative drug test results in the past.

"Ano ang dahilan ng desperadong galawan ni Senator Imee Marcos laban sa sarili niyang kapatid at pati kay First Lady kundi makapanira lamang (What is the reason behind Senator Imee Marcos’ desperate moves against her own brother and even against the First Lady, just to smear them)?" Castro said on Monday night, Nov. 17.

During the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) rally, Imee accused her brother and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos of using illegal drugs.

The senator's claims were baseless, Castro said as she questioned the timing of her statement and her motive behind it.

Castro said it was a desperate move to divert attention from the investigations into massive corruption, which, she noted, "are now moving forward and could implicate her allies in the Senate."

"Hindi ba siya natutuwa na yung kapatid niya mismo, ang Pangulong Marcos Jr., ang nag-umpisa para imbestigahan ang mga maaanomalyang flood control projects na 'to (Is she not pleased that her own brother, President Marcos Jr., is the one who initiated the investigation into these anomalous flood control projects)?" Castro asked.

The Palace official alleged the presidential sister for having a hand on the AI-generated video of the President using drugs, which was later proven fake.

"Ngayon ang Pangulo mismo, gustong luminis ang bansang ito, bakit nagiging hadlang si Senator Imee Marcos. Anong gusto mong patunayan sa mga sinabi mong ganyan? Matagal nang issue ito at napatunayang hindi totoo ang bintang na 'yan (Now that the President himself wants to clean up this country, why is Senator Imee Marcos becoming a hindrance? What is she trying to prove with such statements? This issue has long been resolved and the accusation has been proven untrue)," Castro said.

"Ginawa n'yo 'yan para siraan lamang ang Pangulong Marcos Jr. Nagpagawa pa kayo ng AI generated na video pero noong hindi umubra at napatunayang peke, lahat na lang ng pagbibintang para masira ang Pangulo, ginawa n'yo. Pero lahat 'yan peke. Lahat 'yan fake news (You did that just to destroy President Marcos Jr. You even produced an AI-generated video, but when it didn’t work and was proven fake, you threw every possible accusation just to damage the President. But all of it is fake. All of it is fake news)," Castro stressed.

Castro also urged the senator to help the President in his anti-corruption agenda if she was truly loyal to the nation and to the Filipino people.

"So, Senator Imee, sana naman maging makabayan ka. Tumulong ka po sa pag-iimbestigang ginagawa ng sarili n'yong kapatid. Tuligsain na lahat ang mga korap (So, Senator Imee, I hope you can be patriotic. Help with the investigation being carried out by your own brother. Expose all those who are corrupt)," she said.

"Huwag n'yo pong kampihan, huwag n'yong itago. Hayaan natin magtrabaho ang Pangulong Marcos Jr. para masawata lahat itong korapsyon na 'to (Do not side with them, do not cover for them. Let President Marcos Jr. do his job so all this corruption can be stopped)," she added.

The Palace official also called on the senator to stop mudslinging the President, stressing that the real issue now is corruption and the need to make them accountable.

She even called the move of the senator as "shameful."

"Kung totoong maka-Pilipino ka at totoong makabayan ka, Senator Imee, tumulong ka sa pag-iimbestiga. Dapat na ma-pinpoint, dapat maituro kung sino talaga ang sangkot sa korapsyon (If you are truly pro-Filipino and truly patriotic, Senator Imee, help with the investigation. Those involved in corruption must be identified and held accountable)," Castro said.

"Huwag mong sirain ang kapatid mo. Hindi ito ang issue ngayon. Matagal nang issue 'to pero since wala kayong makita sa Pangulo na anumang issue ng korapsyon, kung saan saan n'yo dinadala ang issue (Do not destroy your brother. This is not the issue right now. This issue has long been settled, but since you cannot find any corruption issue against the President, you are trying to drag the conversation somewhere else)," Castro added.

"Nakakahiya, Senator Imee. Nakakahiya (It’s shameful, Senator Imee. Shameful),” she further said before concluding her livestream.

Senator Imee's allegation against her own brother, according to Alyansa ng Bantay sa Kapayapaan at Demokrasya (ABKD) chairman emeritus Jose Antonio Goitia, may have stirred the crowd, but offered zero evidence. 

What the senator delivered was spectacle, not substance, he added. 

“When someone makes accusations this serious without a shred of proof, it is not bravery. It is recklessness,” he said. “The Filipino people deserve truth, not emotional outbursts pretending to be national warnings.”

The civic leader stressed that accusing a sitting President of drug use is one of the gravest allegations a public official can make, which demands ironclad evidence. 

Goitia challenged the presidential sister to show evidence if it exists, and called on her to stop dragging the entire nation into her personal outbursts.

“If evidence exists, show it. If none exists, stop dragging the entire nation into a personal meltdown. We cannot allow unverified claims to destabilize the republic," he said.

He further said that dragging the First Lady into the drug allegations "is a cheap shot" and a "gossip dressed up as concern."

 "It insults the intelligence of the Filipino people,” Giotia added.

He also emphasized that the country has real battles to fight—economic recovery, security, and national stability. He stressed that amid these national concerns, the nation should not be governed by noise.

Presidential Adviser for Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon said what the senator did during the INC rally was disappointing, adding that it was not aimed at tarnishing the President's name but the entire Marcos clan. 

"Nakakadismaya itong ginagawa ni Senator Imee Marcos na ito na sinisira niya, hindi si BBM kundi sinisira niya yung buong pangalan ng mga Marcoses (What Senator Imee Marcos did was very disappointing because she is not destroying BBM, she is destroying the Marcoses)," Gadon said in a video message.

He further said that no one believes the drug allegation against Marcos anymore.

"'Yang mga alegasyon n'yong adik adik na 'yan, lumang tugtugin na 'yan, wala nang bumibili diyan (Those allegations of drug addiction, that’s an old tune. No one believes that anymore," Gadon said.