President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. on Monday, Nov. 20, shrugged off the reported move to impeach his ally, Vice Present Sara Duterte, saying that the latter "does not deserve to be impeached."
In a press conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, Marcos said impeachment talks are "not particularly unusual" and "not worrisome" as every top government official receives this.
"You know, there will always be an element that will want to change the results of an election. So of course, binabantayan namin nang mabuti because we don't want her impeached. She does not deserve to be impeached," he said.
"We will make sure that this is something that we will pay very close attention to," Marcos added.
When asked about her current relationship with the Vice President, the Chief Executive answered that it is "excellent".
Marcos said on the professional level, he has "nothing but good things to say" in the work of Duterte as the Education Secretary.
"On a personal level, we get along very well. You cannot campaign for how many months, we campaigned together, without getting to know each other very well. It turns out, we are very different in many ways and we are very similar in many ways. That makes a good friendship," he continued.
'No UniTeam crackdown'
The Chief Executive debunked the saying that there is a crackdown in the UniTeam, the alliance between Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD).
"I don't think so. Mas tumibay nga eh. Dumadami yung pumupunta sa Lakas, dumadami yung pumupunta sa PFP. We are consolidating the UniTeam. It has actually become bigger and stronger than it was before. This are the same people that talk about impeachment, they are the same people na 'Ah wala na, nagbaklas-baklas na yung UniTeam'. Hindi totoo iyon," he said.
Meanwhile, in a press briefing at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority's command office, Duterte claimed that she believes that Marcos still trust her.
"I believe I still have the trust of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Why? Because before he left, I asked him about the impeachment. He told me about the truth that he knows about the impeachment," she said.
Impeachment complaint loomed following the Office of the Vice President's controversial P125 million confidential and intelligence funds in 2022.
Last Nov. 16, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro said that the "Makabayan bloc think that impeachment talks now are still premature but it it highlights the growing rift in the supposed UniTeam."
"What we need now from VP Duterte is to explain how she spent her illegal P125 million confidential funds in 2022," she added.
Basahin> pahayag ni Cong. @FranceCastroACT on impeachment talks vs VP Sara-> @dzrhnews pic.twitter.com/Y8QT3RX6TR
— milky rigonan 💋 (@milkyrigonan) November 16, 2023
