It wasn’t too long ago when Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte — then aspirants for the two highest posts in the land — waxed on about their apparent mutual respect for each other, the former Davao mayor’s sense of humor, and a campaign that was turning into the “most intense” campaign the Ilokano politician had ever experienced.
But two-and-a-half years since Marcos and Duterte won a landslide election on vague promises of continuity and “unity,” the two are apparently no longer on speaking terms.
“No, not at all. Not at all. The last time I spoke to her was when she handed me her resignation. Then, we haven’t spoken since,” Marcos said in a chance interview on Wednesday, September 4, as he flew over cities worst hit by Tropical Storm Enteng. Marcos was asked if he has spoken to Duterte, who stepped down as his education secretary more than two months ago in late June 2024.
Contrast that with Marcos’ and Duterte’s friendly exchange during the now-President’s April 30 vlog, which featured a Q&A with the two.
“Totoo ang sinasabi ni Andrew E eh, isang salita….Si Inday Sara, may isang salita. Kapag napag-usapan na namin at nakapag-decide na siya, ay talagang ‘yan ang gagawin,” said then-candidate Marcos, when asked why he trusted Duterte.
(What Andrew E said is true. Inday Sara keeps her word, when we talk about something and she makes a decision, she will follow through.)
Duterte, in response, said theirs was a relationship based on “mutual trust.” “Dahil iilan ang naniwala nung sinabi ko na hindi ako tatakbong pangulo, at isa si Apo BBM sa mga naniwala sa akin,” she explained.
(Only a few believed me when I said I would not run for president. Apo BBM was among them.)
Did Sara Duterte keep her word? It depends on what words she’s said in private.
Is mutual trust still there? Unlikely.
But if we’re going to be real about it, confirmation that the two are not talking shouldn’t be so surprising at all.
Even when she was still part of the Marcos Cabinet, Duterte was not subtle in seemingly taking a swipe at presidential cousin House Speaker Martin Romualdez. The Leyte legislator also happened to be a co-campaign manager of Duterte’s vice presidential run.
Then in April 2024, the President’s wife, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, openly admitted being peeved by the country’s second-highest official — to include openly snubbing her at an event that was streamed live on government channels.
The First Lady, in an interview, said Duterte had “crossed the line” in attending a purported anti-charter change protest in Davao City. It also featured the Vice President’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who accused Marcos of drug use.
In late August 2024, amid a tense standoff at the compound of doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy, Duterte apologized to Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) members for asking them to support Marcos in 2022.
Quiboloy, founder and leader of KOJC, is wanted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for sexual abuse of a minor, child abuse, and human trafficking. The preacher was a “spiritual adviser” to Rodrigo Duterte and he supported the Marcos-Duterte 2022 tandem.
“That’s her prerogative. I still don’t understand why. That is her wish, wala tayong magagawa (there is nothing I can do),” said Marcos, when asked about Duterte’s “apology” to KOJC members.
And then, of course, there’s the matter of the post Sara Duterte wanted but which she didn’t get. The former Davao mayor aspired to be defense chief, according to Marcos himself. In the end, she wasn’t given admin supervision over the country’s military and civil defense establishment.
Breakups and schisms in Philippine politics are certainly nothing new.
In the Philippines, it’s clans and personalities that hold power instead of political parties.
But the current Marcos-Duterte split stands out, if only for how its current state seemed painfully obvious, even as the two poured platitudes on each other.
Remember: the elder Duterte was never really a fan of Marcos Jr., and called him a “weak leader.” In contrast, the iron-fisted Davaoeño politician seemingly revered the dictator-father and namesake of the younger Marcos and even gave him a hero’s burial.
And then the senior Duterte, clearly frustrated by his daughter’s decision to run for vice president even if she topped presidential surveys, accused Marcos of making the “decision” for Sara.
Former president Duterte never endorsed Marcos, although his own party and allies, one by one, endorsed Marcos when it was clear he’d win the presidential race by a landslide.
The so-called Uniteam coalition brought together practically all of the country’s political powerhouses — including and especially the controversial ones. It meant that when Marcos and Duterte began their terms, they were backed by a supermajority in both chambers of Congress, with generally wide support from the public and local government officials.
Sara Duterte no longer enjoys the same support — as evidenced by the intense grilling she’s gotten during congressional budget hearings for her office.
Marcos, in the Wednesday interview, defended allies in Congress over allegations that they were using budget hearings to play politics against the younger Duterte.
“It has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with the budget. So, I don’t know how she can characterize these things, which is essentially an information gathering exercise for the House and for the Senate so that they know what the budget will look like,” he said.
Once upon a time, Marcos concluded explaining why he trusted Sara Duterte by saying: “Kaya malaki ang tiwala ko sa kanya, hindi lang dito sa kampanya pero sa mga darating na trabaho.”
(That’s why I have so much trust in her, not just in the campaign but in all the work that’s coming our way.)
Now that she’s out of his Cabinet and seemingly positioning herself as an opposition figure to his administration, the work that’s coming their way is more likely to be increasingly divergent than collaborative.
He may not like it but for better or worse, whatever trust that’s left seems to matter no more. – Rappler.com
