PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said on Friday, October 11, 2024, that he felt “deceived” when he believed that he and Vice President Sara Duterte were friends.
“I always thought that we were (friends) but I think I have been deceived,” Marcos said.
Marcos was made to comment on the denial of Duterte that she is friends with Marcos, who was her running mate during the 2022 national and local elections.
Duterte said it is Senator Imee, Marcos' elder sister, with whom she has close ties, as she has known her since 2012.
In July, Duterte resigned as the secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), as well as the vice chairperson of the anti-insurgency task force.
She later cited the manipulation of the national budget by House Speaker Martin Romualdez, a cousin of the Marcoses and House Committee on Appropriations chairperson Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Zaldy Co, as one of the reasons for her resignation.
Marcos earlier said he has not spoken to Duterte since she handed him over her resignation in June.
Duterte also earlier expressed regret endorsing Marcos during the 2022 national elections.
She made the statement amid the ongoing search for KOJC leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy in the KOJC compound in Davao City, which her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, labeled as "political harassment, persecution, violence, and abuse of authority," putting the country in a 'tragic state.
First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos earlier expressed displeasure against Duterte over his father’s tirades against the chief executive.
The former President earlier tagged his successor as a drug addict. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)