VP Sara thanks Imee Marcos for supporting Dutertes amid rift with Romualdez

Vice President Sara Duterte on Sunday thanked Senator Imee Marcos for supporting her family, despite it costing the latter to have strained relations with her cousin, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. 

In a message, Duterte stressed that her family is proud of their principles for the sake of the Filipino people. 

“Daghang salamat Sen. Imee Marcos sa imong suporta kanako, among pamilya, sa mga Dabawenyo ug katibuk-ang Siyudad sa Dabaw,” Duterte said. 

(Thank you, Sen. Imee Marcos for your support to me, our family, the Dabawenyos, and Davao City.) 

“Prinsipyo lang ang meron kami, wala ng iba. May isang salita para sa kapakanan ng bayan - ito lang ang ipinagmamalaki namin. Pagpalain ka nawa ng Señor Sto. Niño.”

(We only have our principles and nothing else. We have one word for the sake of the nation, and we are proud of this. May the Señor Sto. Niño bless you.) 

Duterte was reacting to Marcos' statement on Tuesday, implying that she is not on good terms with Romualdez because she sided with the Dutertes.

 “Alam ko may tampo ‘yun sakin eh mula nung October dahil nga sinabi ko na pro-Duterte ako. Kasi gusto ko ngang masalba at huwag masira ang UniTeam,” the elder sister of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. said. 

(I know that he has been upset with me since October because I said that I was pro-Duterte. I just wanted to save the UniTeam and not see it destroyed.)

Marcos said she advised Romualdez not to fight with the Dutertes because they have been good to them. 

“Bakit tayo nakikipag-away? Hindi naman [sila] nakikipag-away. Ang tapang tapang nga ng mga Duterte, pero hindi naman tayo tinatapangan. Talagang mababait satin. Ano bang problema?” she asked her cousin.

(Why are we fighting them? They are not fighting with us. The Dutertes are brave but they have been good with us. What’s the problem?)

Sara’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte and Romualdez previously had a run-in over  the issue of confidential funds, which saw the ex-chief executive alleging that the Lower House was the “most rotten institution” in the government.

Romualdez earlier said he expects the relationship between the House of Representatives and Sara Duterte to improve following the latter's decision to let go of her confidential fund under the proposed 2024 national budget.

Romualdez was also earlier involved in speculations that the House was prioritizing the resolution urging the Marcos administration to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation on drug war deaths during the stint of ex-President Duterte. 

The House top leader explained that whatever the chamber’s decision on the resolution would be, it would reflect of the sentiments of its members.—RF, GMA Integrated News