MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continues to deflect questions about Vice President Sara Duterte's inflammatory remarks against him and his family, maintaining his silence for over two weeks now since his former running mate held her controversial press conference.
Marcos on Friday, November 1, visited the tomb of his father, ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City.
When asked by reporters about Duterte's remarks about exhuming his father's remains to toss into the West Philippine Sea, he said: "I'd rather not."
This marks another refusal from the president to respond to Duterte's latest confrontational statements during her press conference on October 18. During the free-wheeling press conference, Duterte spent around two hours airing grievances against the administration and Marcos' supposed incapacity to lead the country.
During that conference, Duterte recounted telling Sen. Imee Marcos she would "exhume" the late dictator's remains and throw them into the West Philippine Sea if political attacks against her continued.
Duterte also revealed she had once wanted to "cut off his head" after Marcos allegedly humiliated a student who asked for his watch as a graduation gift earlier this year. She went further by explicitly saying Marcos "doesn't know how to be a president."
When asked about these statements at the Philippine Coast Guard's anniversary event on October 22, Marcos only responded with a smile.
Duterte's unprecedented public attacks have drawn criticism from administration allies. Senate President Chiz Escudero called her statements "unbecoming," while Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel described them as "unusual" for the country's second-highest official.
Public bickering between the camps of the country's two highest officials — who ran under the wildly popular UniTeam coalition in the 2022 elections — escalated after Congress refused to grant Duterte's request for confidential funds in 2023.