Palace laughs off Duterte’s remark that Marcos must ‘stop politicking’

MANILA, Philippines — Palace Press Officer Claire Castro on Wednesday laughed off Vice President Sara Duterte’s call for the Marcos administration to “start working and stop politicking.”

Duterte had accused the government of attempting to bring her down by linking her to a business venture allegedly involving Chinese funding and a drug bust in Laos supposedly connected to a Mindanao-Davao conspiracy.

READ: Sara Duterte: Gov’t using Laos travel, China issues to ‘take me down’

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Duterte also questioned the circulation of a purported travel authority for her supposed trip to Laos on September 29 to 30, which the Office of the Executive Secretary had already denied issuing.

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“It is amusing because her statements contradict what she said in her statement dated October 20, 2026. Why is it amusing? Toward the end, it says, ‘Start working and stop politicking,’” said Castro at a briefing.

“The president and this administration have been working continuously since he assumed office,” she noted.

Castro said the government continued to work amid the conflict in the Middle East, the looming Super El Niño, and other calamities.

“The president is there not only to ensure that those who should be held accountable are held accountable, but also to work hard, carry out his duties,” she said.

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The Palace press officer also said the chief executive is around to “enforce the law, to hold those responsible accountable, including those who betray the country.”

READ: Palace: No travel request for Sara Duterte’s supposed Laos trip

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The Palace official also criticized Duterte’s frequent overseas trips, saying these travels contradicted her call for the government to “start working.”

“Regarding her supposed trip to Laos, she traveled extensively throughout 2025, making trips every month. And in 2026, it seemed to be every other month—in January, February, May, July and August,” Castro enumerated.

“The administration did not mention that she would be going to Laos, but it did mention a planned trip to Thailand,” she clarified.

“Given the huge number of trips she has made, she is the one telling the government that it should work,” Castro said.

“All her trips were personal trips. That is why her messages are utterly laughable. Let us not be misled,” she stressed.

Reiterating previous statements, Castro said the Palace will not interfere with the impeachment proceedings. 

In a statement on Tuesday, Duterte criticized the House prosecution team for its alleged failure to establish a convincing case of an impeachable offense against her.

The vice president said “all it could offer were wacky poses that were neither entertaining nor amusing.”

“Now, we are witnessing an apparent shift in the government’s narrative in taking me down, attempting to reframe the matter as a national security issue,” she remarked.

“Every thread seems to be stretched into a conspiracy—from a business venture allegedly linked to Chinese funding to a drug bust in Laos supposedly connected to a Mindanao-Davao conspiracy,” Duterte observed.

“But what evidence does the government have to substantiate these sweeping accusations? None that has been convincingly presented,” she said.

Duterte described the purported travel authority for Laos as an example of the government’s “desperation.”

She said the document appeared to have been fabricated to support a narrative “unsupported by credible evidence.”

“Government should start working and stop politicking. The people are impoverished, hungry and angry,” she added.

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Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV previously alleged that millions of pesos from Chinese sources had been funneled to entities linked to Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio. /apl