SDML Sandro Marcos says VP has crossed the line, hopes she is okay

HOUSE Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos on Tuesday said Vice President Sara Duterte has “crossed the line” in her recent “carelessly uttered” statements about his father and his late grandfather.

“Going ballistic was perhaps the self therapy she prescribed for herself. But she crossed the line, leaving the civic and civil space in which disagreements can be rationally argued,” the young Marcos said in a statement.

“Let this be an opportune time to remind ourselves that we mustn’t take our mental health for granted and that above all else I sincerely hope she is okay,” he said.

He said he still wishes the Vice President success despite the harsh words she had for his father, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., and his grandfather, the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

“As such, I still wish the Vice President well. Ultimately, her success, like the President’s, will be the success of our nation as a whole. May she find the peace of mind and mental clarity that seems to be eluding her,” Rep. Marcos said.

Rep. Marcos said he has kept quiet about the Vice President’s statements “out of respect for the Vice President given the mandate she was given and the responsibility which her office holds.”

“However, as a son, I cannot stay silent while she threatens to exhume a former president and behead an incumbent one. Besides, her bizarre temper tantrum has been condemned by a nation horrified from such displays of insensitivity towards the dead and cruelty to the living,” he said.

“Forget that the objects of her derisions are dear to me, but I would also be remiss in my responsibility as an llocano representative if I didn’t voice out my disdain at the abhorrent comments she so carelessly uttered. I can ascertain that my emotions are shared not only by my kakailian in the north but across the country,” he said.

He added that his father has dissuaded him from making any comment.

“For his part, the President had not said anything against her that can be remotely construed even as a mild rebuke against her tirades. He even advised me to withhold my disappointment and refrain from making a statement. However, one must draw the line at some point and it’s frankly long overdue,” he stressed.

Vice President Duterte is facing allegations of mismanaging hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) allocated to both the OVP and the DepEd, where she served as Secretary for two years until her resignation in July this year.

Lawmakers are demanding answers, citing a troubling lack of transparency and accountability in how these significant resources were allocated and spent.

Despite the serious nature of the allegations, Duterte has repeatedly refused to attend congressional hearings to clear her name and address the accusations of fund mismanagement.

Rather than confronting the issues surrounding the CIFs, Duterte diverted attention by launching personal attacks against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., even revisiting grievances from the 2022 elections.

During a controversial press conference, Duterte made shocking statements, admitting to imagining cutting off the President’s head and threatening to exhume the remains of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. and throw them into the West Philippine Sea.

These remarks ignited widespread outrage from both the public and lawmakers, who condemned her comments as diversionary tactics aimed at deflecting attention from the serious allegations regarding the misuse of public funds.