President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Vice President Sara Duterte’s recent allegation that his administration has intensified efforts to oust her was baseless and mere ‘buwaon,’ the Waray term for falsehood or lies.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro disclosed the chief executive did not mince words when he called her to give his reaction on Duterte’s claims.
‘That is nonsense, fake news; they (Duterte’s camp) is fond of lying-they are ‘buwaon.’ Let’s repeat that-buwaon,’ she said.
Duterte said the claim made by Rodolfo Gracioso, Jr., the former security aide of former House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, that he made more than P2 billion in cash deliveries to her was orchestrated by the administration to bring her down due to a ‘faltering impeachment case.’
The Senate is currently conducting the impeachment trial of Duterte for her alleged unexplained wealth, and having Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) discrepancies as well as threatening the lives of Marcos and his family.
Castro said Marcos decided to comment on the matter since he was already fed up with the constant false claims made by the camp of Duterte.
‘It keeps happening over and over again. They persist in maligning the President and this administration-an administration whose sole focus is working for the Philippines and for our fellow citizens. We simply cannot ignore all these lies coming from an obstructionist, from a destabilizer,’ she said.
The Presidential Communications Office undersecretary also denied Duterte’s claim that impeachment hearings were already faltering.
She said it is only natural for Duterte and other accused to continue refusing to admit any wrongdoing.
‘There are indeed times when, even those who are about to be executed, they still insist they are innocent; that is normal in such situations,’ Castro said.
Aside from claims of Gracioso, Duterte also claimed that Marcos is pushing to stop the conduct of the 2028 polls.
The President, however, merely laughed off the matter when he was asked for a comment about it after the recognition ceremony of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) participating schools and education partners at the President Corazon ‘Cory’ C. Aquino National High School in Pasay City last Monday.
During the said event, Marcos highlighted the improvements in the country’s performance in the PISA, which he attributed to the government’s education reforms.
He said his administration will continue to improve the country’s ranking in terms of the quality of its basic education.