Philippine political rift widens as VP Duterte accuses Marcos of incompetence

By Mikhail Flores

Philippine vice-president Sara Duterte accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr of incompetence and a lack of leadership in a scathing attack on Friday that showed the deepening rift between the two powerful families ahead of midterm elections.

Duterte, the daughter of Marcos' predecessor, resigned from cabinet in June, signalling the collapse of a formidable political alliance that helped her and Marcos, son and namesake of the late strongman, secure their 2022 electoral victories.

"The sitting leader does not know how to become president," Duterte said during a two-hour, freewheeling press conference, where she attributed problems such as inflation and food security to what she called a lack of clear government policies.

"It's not my fault that we are in this road to hell," added Duterte, who had served as education secretary in cabinet, saying Marcos ran without a plan for his administration.

"I don't ever remember him discussing what he would do in government," she said.

Marcos would not be responding to Duterte's claims, presidential communications secretary Cesar Chavez told reporters.

Duterte's accusations come as the country gears up for mid-term elections in May 2025, seen as a litmus test of Marcos' popularity and a chance for him to consolidate power and groom a successor before his single six-year term ends in 2028.

Since their falling out, Duterte and Marcos' relationship has turned hostile, driven by policy differences and investigations into former president Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs and other scandals involving his associates.

The lower house of congress, led by House Speaker Martin Romualdez, a cousin of Marcos, has slashed funding for Duterte's office by nearly two-thirds in the proposed 2025 budget.

At one point in the press conference, Sara Duterte said she had told a Marcos family member that she would have the body of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr, whom Rodrigo Duterte allowed to be buried in the heroes' cemetery, exhumed and thrown in the South China Sea if they did not relent in their attacks.