President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. brushed off the recent series of verbal attacks leveled against him by Vice President Sara Duterte, framing her hostiles remarks as a reaction to her ongoing legal entanglements.
The Vice President, currently embroiled in an impeachment proceeding in the Senate alongside a criminal trial for grave threats at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, delivered a scathing address to supporters following her court arraignment.
During the rally, Duterte hurled severe accusations, labeling Marcos a “drug addict,” criticizing him as ungrateful to his political backers, and demanding his immediate resignation.
Addressing journalists in India, Marcos acknowledged the escalating rhetoric but maintained an indifferent stance toward engaging with the accusations.
“I hear about them, but I don’t really have a response. She’s very angry. I suppose with what’s happening to her. And I am the target of that anger or the main target for that anger,” Marcos said.
“What can I do? You cannot force anyone to love you,” he added.
Marcos and Duterte previously joined forces under the UniTeam ticket for the 2022 elections, capturing the country’s top executive posts by a wide margin over former Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.