PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, that he sees no compelling reason to replace Education Secretary Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio amid the tension between her and his wife, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.
In an interview with reporters, Marcos said he will only order the removal of his Cabinet appointees if they are no longer performing their functions.
“Why? I don't see the reason behind that (to remove Duterte in my Cabinet),” Marcos said in an ambush interview in Occidental Mindoro.
“Any of the Cabinet secretaries will be replaced kapag hindi nila ginagawa 'yung trabaho nila. All the other things are not part of the discussion… Kapag hindi talaga marunong o corrupt, tatanggalin ka talaga namin. Hindi naman ganoon si Inday," he added.
(Any of the Cabinet secretaries will be replaced if they are not doing their job. All the other things are not part of the discussion... If you are not really knowledgeable or corrupt, we will definitely fire you. Inday is not like that.)
Earlier, the first lady admitted having an ill feeling against Duterte after the Vice President was seen laughing after her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, called President Marcos a drug addict.
Araneta-Marcos admitted she was hurt and has since started snubbing the Vice President.
In response, Vice President Duterte acknowledged Araneta-Marcos’ resentment, but she noted that personal feelings have nothing to do with her mandate as a government official.
President Marcos expressed belief that the Vice President understands where his wife is coming from.
"I think that she also understands how the First Lady feels, when you have to sit there and listen to these attacks that are being made against your husband," he said.
"But mag-uusap kami ni VP Sara tungkol diyan. Huwag niyang masyadong dibdibin, hindi naman siya 'yung mga nagsabi ng kung anu-ano. Madali naman sigurong plantsahin 'yung isyu," he added.
(But VP Sara and I will talk about that. She should not take it too hard; she’s not the one who said something. It's probably easy to iron out the issue.)
Marcos added that personally, he felt lucky upon hearing his “protective” wife’s statement.
"First of all, my first reaction is what a lucky husband I am that I have a wife na (who is) very protective sa akin (of me)," he said. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)