'Maybe I was deceived': Bongbong Marcos 'dismayed' after Sara Duterte said they're not friends
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. feels "dismayed" after Vice President Sara Duterte said that the two of them are "not friends."
In an interview with reporters during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, Marcos was asked for his reaction after his second-in-command shared that she doesn't consider their relationship as being friends despite being running mates during the 2022 elections.
"I don't know anymore. I’m not quite sure I understand," Marcos said.
"I’m a little dismayed to hear that she does not think we are friends," he continued. "I always thought that we were but maybe I was deceived."
Duterte made the comment last month after reporters asked her if she has been communicating with Marcos amid the ongoing issue regarding her office's budget utilization, which is being scrutinized by lawmakers.
"Hindi naman kasi kami talaga nagkausap niyan. Hindi kami magkaibigan," she said.
"Nagkakilala lang kami dahil naging running-mate kami, so bago pa man kami naging running-mate, hindi na kami nag-uusap. Nag-uusap lang kami during campaign at dahil sa trabaho noon," she continued.
Duterte then shared that the one she has fostered a friendship with from the Marcoses is the President's older sister Imee, who has been a senator since 2019.
"Kilala niya ako since 2012," Sara said.
When asked if her issues with Congress could be solved if Marcos would speak up on her behalf, Duterte said that she isn't the type of person to ask for help from others.
"Hindi ako humihingi ng tulong. Alam 'yan ng tatay ko, naging mayor siya, naging president siya," she said, referring to her father Rodrigo Duterte. "Hindi ako humihingi ng tulong talaga."
Marcos is in Laos for the ASEAN until Oct. 11. He revealed, however, that he did not list Vice President Sara Duterte as the Philippines’ caretaker while he was away since she is no longer part of the administration.
"She left the administration, so she is not part of the administration anymore. She's not part of the day-to-day running of what we're doing, so it would be unfair to ask her, to impose that duty on her since that's not part of her work now," Marcos explained.
When asked if his decision was a result of a falling out or distrust towards Duterte on his part, the chief executive denied this.
"It was a very practical reason, that's how I came to that conclusion. If you notice, the membership of the executive committee are all members of the cabinet," he said.
According to Duterte, the last time that she and Marcos spoke was when she tendered her resignation as Secretary of the Department of Education and vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in June earlier this year.