FOLLOWING Senator Imee Marcos’s claim that her brother, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., is a drug user on November 17, 2025, Davao City First District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte called on every government official to undergo a drug test.
Duterte said that for several years he had been calling on all government officials to take a hair follicle test. He emphasized that this call is “not new and not personal,” but is meant to promote transparency and protect the integrity of the government.
He stressed that some officials still refuse to undergo drug testing, raising the question of whether they have something to hide or someone to protect. He also dared the President if has nothing to fear, then he should not refuse a drug test.
“Kaya sa harap ng mga pahayag ng mismond kapatid niya, lalo pang lumalakas ang aming panawagan: Magpa-drug test ang lagat ng opisyal ng gobyerno. Walang exempted. Walang special treatment (So in light of their own statements, our call becomes even stronger: All government officials should undergo drug testing. No exemptions. No special treatment),” he said in a statement on the same day.
He said that if Imee’s statement is true, then the president should clarify and not brush the issue aside with excuses. He added that the Filipino people deserve honesty, and if President Marcos is clean, then he should prove it and should stop making the nation look foolish.
Duterte said that the lives and future of children are at stake and that the people deserve to know that their leaders have the right capacity and are not drug users.
President Marcos using illegal drugs claim
Senator Imee Marcos made these allegations during her speech at Iglesia Ni Cristo’s “Rally for Transparency” at the Quirino Grandstand on November 17, saying she had long known that her brother, President Marcos, had allegedly been using drugs.
“Batid ko na nag-drugs siya, nalaman ko at ng pamilya, nalaman ng pamilya seryoso ito, minsan kami ng presidential guard at nang Metro Gold ang naglilinis tuwing nagpa-party po sila (I knew that he was doing drugs; I found out, and so did the family, and the family realized it was serious. Sometimes the Presidential Guard and I, along with metro gold, were the ones cleaning up whenever they held parties),” she said.
She added that she was among those who would “clean up” after him following his parties.
However, the senator’s claims were denied by Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro, who described the accusations against the President and First Lady Liza Marcos as a “desperate act.”
“This is definitely a desperate move ang pinag-uusapan sa peaceful rally ay patungkol sa diumano corruption and ang dahilan ni Senator Imee para ang sarili niyang kapatid ay sirain niya,” she said in her YouTube channel.
Castro added that before the presidential campaign, the President had already undergone a drug test.
To recall, President Marcos and Senator Panfilo Lacson took drug tests during the presidential campaign period after former President Rodrigo Duterte (FPRRD) disclosed that a presidential candidate was using cocaine. Marcos then submitted his drug test results to authorities and said he did not feel he was being singled out.
Duterte alleges Marcos is a drug user
On January 28, 2024, FPRRD accused President Marcos of being a “drug addict” and repeatedly called him “bangag” a colloquial Filipino term meaning someone who is high on drugs.
During his speech, he claims that during his time as mayor he received a list from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that allegedly included Marcos’s name. However, PDEA denied the allegation, clarifying that President Marcos has never been part of their National Drug Information System (NDIS), which is its database of “drug personalities.”
Following Marcos’s remarks that Duterte’s own allegations could stem from his prolonged use of fentanyl, Duterte held a press conference in Davao City on January 30, 2024, wherein he clarified that his fentanyl use was medically prescribed (after surgery) and not illicit. He then questioned Marcos directly whether cocaine requires a prescription.
By April 16, 2024, Former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez, who previously worked closely with President Marcos, publicly urged the president to submit to a “credible hair follicle drug test” to put an end to the rumors once and for all.
On July 22, 2024, a controversial video went viral during a rally of Duterte supporters in Los Angeles, U.S.A., wherein a video showed President Marcos sniffing a white powdery substance resembling cocaine.
FPRRD then renewed his call for Marcos to undergo drug tests, and that a negative result would erase doubts. Then Department of National Defense (DND) and Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos pushed back, calling the video “obviously fake” and ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to investigate the matter.
The issue of the President being a drug user died down for a while, but emerged on February 13, 2025, during the PDP-Laban senatorial proclamation rally held at Club Filipino in San Juan City, where FPRDD again accused President Marcos of being addicted to heroin. RGP