Liza Marcos on avoiding VP Sara: 'I'm not a hypocrite'

First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos said she had been avoiding Vice President Sara Duterte to show her resentment after the latter's father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, called President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. "bangag" or high on drugs. 

According to Ivan Mayrina's report on "24 Oras," the First Lady said she took offense when she saw the Vice President laughing over the former President's remark at a rally in Davao City in late January.

The First Lady said the Vice President was a "bad shot" for her "unless she says sorry or whatever."

"I'm many things but I am not a hypocrite," the First Lady said in an interview on the "Tune in kay Tunying" online program posted Friday.

When the President was set to fly off to Vietnam for a state visit that same month, the First Lady crossed paths with the Vice President.

"Oh ayan, may departure time na. So nandito si Sara, nandito ako. Normally nag-uusap kami. So ayoko. Tapos sabi ni ano, somebody went to me and said, 'uy ang ganda mo today.' [Sabi ko,] 'hindi, mukha akong bangag.' Guman’un ako. No reactions. I said, bangag… bangag is the word of the day. Talagang no reaction. So ayun after that, I snubbed her," The First Lady said.

(The departure time was set. So Sara and I were at our places. Normally we would talk, but I didn't want to. Somebody went to me and said, 'hey you look beautiful today.' [I replied,] no, I look high on drugs.' No reactions. I said, bangag... bangag is the word of the day. Talagang no reaction. After that, I snubbed her.)

"I'd do it again. I mean, that's not right, you don't do that. That's entitled politics," she added.

The First Lady also recalled a similar instance in Prague, Czech Republic, where the President had a state visit last March.

"And then going down sa Prague, nakita ko siya ulit, di ba? Sabi ni Bong, 'behave.' Sabi ko, 'wrong person, honey,'" she said.

(And then going down at Prague, I saw her again, right? Bong said, 'behave.' I told him, 'wrong person, honey.)

As for the possibility of burying the hatchet, the First Lady said: "Unless she says sorry or whatever, maybe she will, maybe she, she crossed the line."

'Good people'

In the same interview, the First Lady was asked about her husband's erstwhile executive secretary Vic Rodriguez, who recently urged the President to undergo a "credible hair follicle drug test."

After serving as the President's spokesperson during the 2022 campaign, Rodriguez held the senior Cabinet post for only two months.

The First Lady said she received advice from a friend before her husband assumed the presidency.

"Basically, she said, your only purpose is to make sure your, your husband is surrounded by good people. And that's what I do. I mean, and it's not because I get pikon (miffed) or whatever. When I see people doing things wrong, illegal, or using their power, then I tell Bong. It’s up to him," the First Lady said.

Under de saya?

As for love and life behind closed doors for the First Couple, she denied that she figuratively whips her husband into submission. She likewise denied that their relationship is marred by physical abuse.

"Parang we'll agree to disagree. And then, we're friends. Kaya nu'ng meron kong, may nagsabi sa akin, sinuntok daw niya ako. Sabi ko, ha? Or, ako nagsuntok? Ay Diyos ko. Parang naman, parang namang Liwayway movie ‘yan, ha? Parang, hello, invent some more," she said.

(It's like, we'll agree to disagree. And then, we're friends. So when somebody told me about whispers that the President punched me, I said, 'ha?' Or was I the one who punched him? Oh my God. That's like a Liwayway movie. Hello, invent some more.)

'Bring it on'

Meanwhile, the First Lady also rejected allegations that her brother, Martin Araneta, was involved in onion smuggling.

"My brother and Michael, they're so rich. I mean, they basically bankrolled our election. So if they're, if they're doing that there, why would they need the money?" she said.

In the face of sneers, jeers, and allegations leveled against her husband and her family, the First Lady made it clear that she was not afraid of their critics.

"Bring it on, honey. You're the size of your enemy. You're not my enemy, like I said, I will never stoop to that level. I will never stoop to that," the First Lady said.

"There's such a thing as karma," she said. — VDV, GMA Integrated News