Marcos sees 'no reason' to replace Sara in Cabinet

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said he does not see any reason why Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte needs to be replaced in his cabinet amid her rift with First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.

''Why? I don't see the reason behind that,'' Marcos said in an ambush interview in Occidental Mindoro. 

''Any of the Cabinet secretaries will be replaced kapag hindi nila ginagawa 'yung trabaho nila. All the other things are not part of the discussion," added Marcos.

(They will be replaced if they are not doing their jobs.)

"Kapag hindi talaga marunong o corrupt, tatanggalin ka talaga namin. Hindi naman ganoon si Inday,'' emphasized the President. 

(If they are incompetent or corrupt, we will replace you. But Inday is not like that.)

Asked if he would talk to the Vice President, his runningmate in the Eleksyon 2022, to patch things up, Marcos said, ''I don’t think we need to patch anything up. I think she understands, as I said, as a wife herself, she understands the sentiments of the First Lady.''

''Our conversation will be precisely that, kasi you know, I am sure you understand how she feels because she – alam ninyo, ang First Lady hindi sanay sa pulitika ‘yan eh,'' he added.

Marcos explained that the First Lady is not used to these kinds of insults in the political realm. 

''Kami manhid na kami diyan sa mga insulto na kung ano-ano, personal na insulto, policy, lahat manhid. Siya, hindi siya galing sa political family kaya’t siguro si Liza still has to learn na magpalampas ng kaunti sa ibang masasakit at maiinit at maanghang na salita,'' he said. 

(We are used to those personal insults, Liza is not from a political family. She has to learn to let go of those hurtful words.)

The First Lady recently admitted having ill feelings toward the Vice President after her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, called her husband "bangag" or high on drugs.

She 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 to oppose efforts to amend the 1987 Constitution.

On Monday, the Vice President  acknowledged the resentment of the First Lady but said that the latter’s personal feelings have nothing to do with Duterte's mandate as the country’s second highest government official. —VAL, GMA Integrated News