Imee Marcos: Romualdez upset at me for being pro-Duterte

Senator Imee Marcos on Tuesday implied that she is not on good terms with her cousin, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, because she sided with the Dutertes.

Marcos admitted this when asked in an Unang Balita interview if she had already talked with Romualdez regarding his staff supposedly being involved in the signature campaign to push for Charter change. 

“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,” she 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.)

“Nung talagang binabakbakan ng todo si VP Sara at saka may threat of impeachment pa, sinabi kong hindi pwede ang ganyan ganyan pati ang mga ICC, kung ano anong inuungkat,” she added.

(I talked to him when VP Sara was being criticized and was facing threats of impeachment, and when the Dutertes were facing the issues regarding the International Criminal Court [ICC] probe.)

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

Romualdez also said he believes the Marcos-Duterte alliance  remains intact.

For her part, Duterte also said there are no cracks in the UniTeam coalition despite the issues surrounding the ICC investigation and the removal of the proposed P650 million confidential fund of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) in the 2024 national budget.

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

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?)

GMA News Online has sought Romualdez for comment and will update the story once he responds.

Imee over the weekend said it is no surprise that the ongoing people’s initiative on Charter change is being connected to Romualdez, claiming there is evidence the speaker’s staff has been involved in the signature campaign.

To recall, the House Speaker last year said 2024 is the right time to push for Charter change, and said he was keen on launching a people’s referendum to determine how Congress should vote on proposals amending the Constitution.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Monday that Marcos believes the proposed amendments in the people's initiative for Charter change was “too divisive."

Zubiri thus asked the Senate to instead take the lead in reviewing the economic provisions of the Constitution to also preserve the bicameral nature of legislation.—Giselle Ombay/RF, GMA Integrated News