First lady hits Sara: She has crossed the line ‘

Bad shot na yun sa akin’

MANILA, Philippines — As rumors swirl about the supposed falling out between the Marcoses and the Dutertes, First Lady Liza Marcos revealed that she now views Vice President Sara Duterte negatively.

The First Lady admitted being hurt when the Vice President, also the education secretary, supposedly laughed after President Marcos was accused of being “bangag” or high on drugs in a rally led by the Dutertes.

“I mean, for me, nasaktan ako (I was hurt) because my husband will do everything to protect you,” Liza said in a teaser for an interview with broadcaster Anthony Taberna, which was posted on Facebook.

“You ran together, di ba? Sama-sama tayo babangon muli. Pupunta ka sa rally, tatawagin yung presidente mong bangag, ‘di ba (We will rise together again. You will go to a rally, your president will be called a drug addict), you’re going to laugh. Tama ba yan (is that right)? Even (former vice president) Leni (Robredo) never did that,” the First Lady said.

Liza was apparently referring to a recent prayer rally in Davao City, where Sara’s
 father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, claimed that Marcos is a drug addict. The President just laughed off the allegation.

The First Lady said she was always kind to Sara, who ran for vice president under the Marcos-led UniTeam alliance in 2022.

Taberna then quoted the First Lady as saying that Sara has “crossed the line” and asked her if a reconciliation is still possible.

Liza was then shown saying, “Bad shot na yun sa akin” although it was not clear what was the question she was responding to, since the teaser consisted of spliced video clips.

In a Facebook post, Taberna published a graphic card quoting Liza as saying that she is onion-skinned when her sons are hurt.

“Ako, I don’t get pikon. I get pikon when they hurt my sons,” the First Lady was quoted as saying.

Months before Taberna’s interview, a video of Liza snubbing Sara circulated online, fueling rumors that they are not on good terms.

A video by Radio Television Malacañang showed Marcos shaking hands with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and the Vice President before entering the plane that carried him and his delegation to Vietnam.

Liza, who was beside Marcos, was about to board the plane but after seeing that her husband was still talking to Sara, she went back to greet Bersamin with a kiss on the cheek and then walked toward the ladder of the aircraft.

Speculations about the supposed infighting among the President’s allies surfaced after some administration lawmakers realigned the confidential funds of agencies led by the Vice President.

The elder Duterte then accused Marcos’ cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, of “swallowing” discretionary funds and described the House of Representatives as the “most rotten” institution. Last November, Marcos told reporters in Hawaii that the UniTeam alliance remains intact and is even becoming stronger.

In January, the former president claimed in a prayer rally that Marcos was a drug addict and that the fresh push for Charter change was meant to lift the term limits of officials. Marcos responded by saying that the use of Fentanyl may have taken a toll on his predecessor.

However, Duterte’s tirades against Marcos did not end there, as he called the President a “cry baby” and “pro-America” earlier this month. Marcos responded by saying that he has no time for personal attacks.

Marcos had been the subject of Duterte’s verbal attacks even before he became president in 2022.

Months before the elections, Duterte described Marcos as “spoiled” and a “weak leader” with baggage.