House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos disclosed that an incumbent government official aligned with former President Rodrigo Duterte’s camp demanded control over key state positions in exchange for endorsing Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 2022 presidential candidacy.
During a radio interview on DZMM, Representative Marcos recounted accompanying his father to the presidential guest house in Malacañang during the 2022 campaign.
Expecting a direct meeting with then-President Duterte to secure an official endorsement, they were instead received by three individuals.
“Nandoon kami sa presidential guest house ipinasok and at the time, there was still no official endorsement from Malacañang. We were supposed to meet the president at the time but instead hinarap kami sa tatlong tao,” Marcos stated.
Without explicitly naming the three figures, the lawmaker provided a clue that one currently holds an active government post.
“We were put in front of three people and they essentially asked, ‘Anong plano mo?’ ‘Anong magagawa mo para sa amin?’” he recalled.
According to Marcos, the incumbent official presented an extensive list of conditions, demanding power to select candidates for three of the highest offices in government in return for their political endorsement.
“And then there was one person who’s a sitting official now—hindi ko na lang sasabihin—but that’s a clue. Sinabi niya kay Pangulo na, ‘Sige suportahan ka namin on the condition that kami yung mamimili ng ES. Kami yung mamimili ng Speaker. Kami mamimili ng Senate President.’ Basta marami silang hiningi,” Marcos added.
The extensive conditions prompted a lighthearted yet telling remark from Marcos Jr. as they departed the venue.
“When we left the Palace, tumingin tatay ko sa akin. ‘Alam mo kulang na lang papatayin na nila ako,’” Marcos recalled.
Although Marcos Jr. eventually won the presidency alongside Sara Duterte under the UniTeam ticket, Representative Marcos noted that internal friction and an eventual split were predictable from the beginning due to competing political interests.
“Part of me kind of saw it coming hindi dahil sa isang tao kundi dahil sa iba’t ibang partido sa paligid. It was a power struggle,” Marcos observed.
The Duterte camp has not yet issued an official response to the lawmaker’s statements.