Sara Duterte on her relationship with Marcos: 'Hindi kami magkaibigan'
Vice President Sara Duterte shed some light on her relationship with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and said that she is "not friends" with her 2022 elections running-mate.
In an interview with reporters, Duterte was asked 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.
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.
She declined to disclose the reason for stepping down from the posts, but assured the public that she will continue serving as the country's vice president.
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 stressed, referring to her father Rodrigo Duterte. "Hindi ako humihingi ng tulong talaga."
The VP attended the House good government committee hearing to serve as a witness while lawmakers discussed the privilege speech of Manila 2nd District Representative Rolando Valeriano on Sept. 3. Duterte was criticized for refusing to disclose how she spent public funds.
The issue on her office's proposed P2.037-billion budget for 2025 began in late August when Sara refused to give details as to why she needed P10 million for the distribution of the children's book she had authored.
The topic has since moved to how she used the confidential funds worth P775 million for her office and DepEd from 2022 to 2023.