Vice President Sara Duterte told President Marcos to stop gaslighting his sister, Senator Imee Marcos, after the former claimed that it was unlike his sibling to alleged that he was a drug addict.

In a media interview in Davao City on Tuesday, Nov. 25, the official said she was aware that the President—a former ally—said that it was uncharacteristic of the senator to spew lies against him and his family.

“Nakita ko na sinabi niya na hindi siya yan. And sa tingin ko ha (I heard him saying that. And I think), it fits the profile of a drug addict, na gina-gaslight yung mga mahal nila sa buhay (they are gaslighting their loved ones),” she alleged.

“Na kapag sinasabi nung mahal nila sa buhay, may problema ka. Sasabihin nila na wala akong problema, ikaw iyong problema (That when your loved ones tell you that you have a problem. You are going to say I don’t have a problem and that you are the problem). It's a very characteristic response of a drug addict. Ginagaslight nila iyong mga nagmamalasakit sa kanila (They are gaslighting those who care for them),” she added.

Despite working and running in tandem with him in the 2022 elections, Duterte said it was malicious for Marcos to pretend that he was not a drug addict back then to convince her to run as his running-mate.

During the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) rally last week, the elder Marcos claimed that the President was a drug addict as she urged him to get better. She also said that First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos are also drug users.

To this, the President replied that it felt like his sister wasn’t the one talking on the podium, hinting that it was uncharacteristic of her and saying that the family is worried about her.

Meanwhile, Duterte once more challenged the Chief Executive to do a drug test, stating that she will even accompany him to do so.

“And huwag siya mag alala, huwag siyang matakot, sasamahan ko siya. Sasamahan ko siya, I’m sure sasamahan siya ni Senator Imee, magpapa-drug test din iyon (And he shouldn’t worry, he shouldn’t be afraid, I will come with him. I will come with him, I’m sure Senator Imee will also undergo a drug test),” she said.

“Ako kahit na kaunti nalang iyong naiwan sa buhok ko, sige magpapa-drug test din ako. Huwag siya matakot kasi para sa bayan naman iyon eh hindi naman iyon para sa sarili niya (Even if I only have a few hairs, I will also do the drug test. He shouldn’t be afraid because it’s for the country and not for himself),” she added.

The Vice President explained that public officials must heed the public’s call because when they took their oaths, they also offered their lives to the nation.

“As President, as Vice President, hindi ka puwedeng… (you cannot) kasi that is a question on your competency and erase all doubts on your competency and your decision-making,” she stressed.

She shared that when the House of Representatives challenged her to undergo a psychiatric test because of an apparent mental breakdown, she took them up to it but was left hanging since the lower house did not set up the said assessment.

In the three years since the Marcos-Duterte alliance won in 2022, not only did the President and Vice President had a very public falling out, but also the Marcos siblings.

The senator took the Dutertes’ side when former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested and sent to The Hague, Netherlands in March, which the President insisted that his administration was simply following the country’s obligations under various international agreements.