Vice President Sara thanks Imee for supporting Dutertes

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte on Sunday thanked Sen. Imee Marcos for her “unwavering support” for the Dutertes, following the senator’s admission of strained relations with her cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez.

“Principles are all we have, nothing else. We are true to our word for the nation’s welfare – this is all we can be proud of,” the Vice President said in a statement laid alongside Imee’s statements about her support for the Duterte family.

The Vice President and education secretary was referring to Marcos’ statement last week admitting that her ties with Romualdez had soured, following her declaration that she was “pro-Duterte” in the hope of salvaging the already strained UniTeam coalition – the political ticket that launched Duterte and President Marcos to a landslide victory in the 2022 elections.

In her statement, the senator said there was no point in quarrels between Romualdez and the Dutertes, saying the family has been nothing but “good people” to the Marcoses.

“Thank you very much, Sen. Imee Marcos for your support to me, our family, the Dabawenyos and the entire City of Davao,” Duterte said.

Politicians and experts have pinpointed cracks in the Marcos-Duterte alliance since last year, including the public trading of barbs between former president Rodrigo Duterte and the House of Representatives, led by Romualdez.

This was after the chamber, whose mandate includes the power of the purse, realigned the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education.

The P650-million combined confidential and intelligence funds of the two offices that the younger Duterte heads have been transferred to agencies handling national security concerns, primarily regarding the West Philippine Sea.