Neither presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. nor his son Sandro on Friday responded to an allegation of President Rodrigo Duterte that a presidential candidate was a cocaine user.
A fabricated quotation attributed to Marcos in which he reportedly admitted having been an addict in his younger years and accused Duterte’s three children from his first wife Elizabeth Zimmerman of also having used illegal drugs circulated on social media and messaging apps on Friday, a day after the president made the charge in Calapan City.
The spurious quote reads:
Well, we all go through an adventorous (sic) stage in our lives. During my younger years, I was an addict but I have reformed. It took me 3 years to rehabilitate in London. But then, the President may have forgotten that his own 3 children from his first wife, have gone through the same stage. They were also addicted to shabu at one point of their lives.
There are no news accounts of such a statement from Marcos. Marcos, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and a former senator, also made no reference to Duterte’s accusation in his social media accounts.
Instead, he posted Friday in his Facebook and Twitter accounts several photos of a pro-Marcos caravan in Cebu and extended his thanks to Cebuanos.
Meanwhile, his eldest son, Ferdinand Alexander or Sandro, was shown in a quote card as blasting Duterte for having gone too far, asking why his father wasn’t put on the drug list if he were a cocaine addict, and calling the president’s war on drugs “a failure like your face.”
The fake quote reads:
You are too much Mr. President! Kung talagang cocaine addict si dad [ Bongbong Marcos), bakit di mo sya naisama sa drug matrix mo (If my dad were really a cocaine addict, why did you include him in your drug matrix)? All I can say your war on drugs was a failure like your face.
The younger Marcos, 27, who is running for congressman of the first district of Ilocos Norte, said in a Facebook post that the statement was fake and it was not the first time he or his family had been a victim of fake news. He said:
There seems to be a fake statement circulating on social media regarding a response I had made. I would like to emphasize that this is fake news.
False flag operations are a fixture in Philippine Politics. This is not the first time that me or my family have fallen victim to such operations.
Let us ignore all these attempts at derailing our focus on what's important, which is the unity of the Filipino people and ensuring our country prospers in the coming post pandemic world.
On Friday, Marcos’ spokesperson, lawyer Victor Rodriguez told DZRH News that Marcos didn’t feel alluded to by the president’s statement. He said:
We don’t feel alluded to. We’re just concentrating on (the elections). We only have the highest respect, paggalang at…kay Duterte (respect and…for Duterte).
Marcos, 64, standard bearer of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, is running in tandem with Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, in next year’s elections. Duterte-Carpio is running as vice presidential candidate of the Lakas-CMD, which she now chairs.
Addressing the Joint National Task Force-Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Conflict in Calapan City on Thursday, the president described one presidential candidate as a cocaine user (“nag-cocaine”) and a “weak leader” who was banking only on his name and his father’s accomplishments. He did not name the candidate.
But in a speech before local leaders also in Calapan on Friday, Duterte identified Marcos as the “weak leader” as he ruled out a coalition between Marcos’ party and his own, Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan. He also called Marcos “a spoiled child,” but did not explicitly say the latter was a cocaine user.
Hindi ako bilib sa kanya. He’s really a weak leader…totoo ‘yan, hindi ako naninira ng tao, talagang weak ‘yan kasi spoiled child, only son…He is a weak leader at saka may bagahe siya. Iyan ‘yang sinasabi ko sa inyo, totoo ‘yan…I do not foist lies (I don’t regard him highly. He’s really a weak leader. It’s true. I don’t badmouth people, but he’s weak because he’s a spoiled child, only son. He is a weak leader and he has baggage. What I’m telling you is true. I don’t foist lies).
Duterte is running for senator under PDDS. The International Criminal Court is investigating him for alleged crimes against humanity because of his war on drugs, one of the centerpiece programs of his presidency, and extrajudicial killings in Davao City when he was its mayor.
The president’s older son Paolo resigned as Davao City vice mayor in late 2017 after he was linked to a $125 million drug smuggling case. His youngest child, Sebastian, is vice mayor of Davao and will run for mayor next year after his sister withdrew from the local race to run for the vice presidency with Marcos.
References
Bongbong Marcos (2021, November 19). Daghang salamat, Cebu sa inyong suporta! Ipagpatuloy lang natin ang nasimulan at palawakin pa ang pagpapakalat ng ating mensahe [Images attached]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/BongbongMarcos/posts/436850641142855
DZRH News. (2021, November 19). 'Patama' ni Pangulong Duterte tungkol sa presidentiable na gumagamit ng cocaine, ipinagkibit-balikat lang ng kampo ni BBM [Video attached]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/dzrhnews/videos/1951036288403684
Sandro Marcos. (2021, November 19). There seems to be a fake statement circulating on social media regarding a response I had made. I would like [Status Update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/FerdinandAlexanderMarcos/posts/429787201852613
Speech of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during his meeting with local leaders of Oriental Mindoro. (2021, November 19). https://mirror.pcoo.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20211119-Speech-of-President-Rodrigo-Roa-Duterte-during-his-meeting-with-local-leaders-of-Oriental-Mindoro.docx.pdf
Speech of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during the Joint National Task Force-Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Conflict Mimaropa Meeting in Oriental Mindoro. (2021, November 18). https://mirror.pcoo.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20211118-Speech-of-PRRD-during-the-Joint-National-Task-Force-Regional-Task-force-to-End-Local-Communist-Conflict-MIMAROPA-Meeting-in-Oriental-Mindoro.pdf