Castro on VP Sara after Marcos tirade: Is she in her right mind?

MANILA, Philippines — Palace press officer Claire Castro on Friday asked Vice President Sara Duterte if she also called her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, an “addict” when he admitted to using illegal drugs.

The scathing remarks came as the younger Duterte once again hurled pointed attacks at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in front of her supporters following the postponement of her arraignment before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

READ: Sara Duterte calls on Marcos to resign: ‘You’re a liar, abusive’

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Duterte said, “He is ungrateful to the people. He is ungrateful to everyone who went to the polls to put him in office. He has no shame.”

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“That’s what happens when you’re an addict. You no longer think based on reality,” she added, echoing previous jabs at Marcos claiming he uses drugs.

Marcos’ former UniTeam partner also said: “Marcos bangag. Marcos sinungaling. Marcos korap (Marcos is high. Marcos is a liar. Marcos is corrupt),” prompting her supporters to chant in response.

But for Castro, the former administration ally may be barking up the wrong tree.

“The vice president should not forget that the people around her are the ones using illegal drugs. Former President Duterte himself admitted, while he was already president, that he used marijuana,” Castro alleged at a briefing in New Delhi, India.

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She further said, “And he also admitted that he abused fentanyl because, according to him, it felt good — the feeling was like being on cloud nine. When her father admitted to using illegal drugs, did she call her father an ‘addict?'”

READ: ‘Happy’ to kill: Rodrigo Duterte’s views on drug deaths

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Castro also questioned Duterte’s state of mind when she made her scathing remarks against Marcos.

“First question: Was she in a lucid interval at that time? Was she in her right mind? Was she thinking clearly? Perhaps this was brought on by sleepless nights and anxiety, which may have affected her ability to think clearly and communicate in a manner befitting a vice president,” she asked.

“The real vice president, Sara Duterte, is showing her true colors,” she continued.

The Palace official also dismissed Duterte’s call for Marcos to resign.

“Why? Do you want the vice president to take over immediately?” she asked.

 READ: ‘It’s the fentanyl,’ Marcos says after former president Duterte tags him ‘drug addict’

Castro agreed with Duterte when she said there was no drama in the filing of the grave threats case against her.

But the Palace official said that authorities follow due process and do not take shortcuts in the administration of justice.

“Everyone who is currently being investigated is alive, and no bloody violence is taking place. All of these cases are being heard through due process, not through EJK [extrajudicial killing],” she said.

While Duterte said there was no drama in her cases, she pointed to what she described as drama surrounding her impeachment case and the arrest of former Speaker Martin Romualdez.

In response, Castro only encouraged Duterte to personally deny at the Senate impeachment court the allegations thrown at her.

 READ: Rodrigo Duterte case, drugs top Marcos impeach raps

These were not the only statements made by the vice president that Castro countered.

She also turned the question back to Duterte, asking who was corrupt between Marcos and former President Duterte.

“He admitted that he [former President Duterte] stole from the government coffers. He said the money had already run out, so he stole from the government coffers—and he admitted it himself,” Castro said.

“I wonder who it went to. Who do you think benefited from it? How much do you think your father stole?” she also asked.

Additionally, Castro pressed Duterte about why the flooding problem in Davao City had not been resolved during her tenure as mayor.

“Perhaps it would have been better, since you were the one who raised the issue about flooding, if you had addressed the flooding problem in Davao City,” Castro said.

“I will say it again. We will keep repeating this because our fellow Filipinos in Davao City are suffering because of the recurring flooding problem. Perhaps you could be of greater help to the country if you prioritized addressing the flooding issue in Davao City,” she added.

READ: Marcos heads to New Delhi to attend BRICS Summit

Castro dismissed Duterte’s claim that Marcos was trying to silence her allies by filing cases against them.

“We actually want you to speak up. This is the only place where you come out and boldly speak against the president, but when it comes to your own case — or, let’s say, the Pax Silica issue — and even the matter of rainwater collection, you have nothing constructive to suggest,” she said.

Duterte was charged with grave threats before the Quezon City court for allegedly saying in November 2024 that she had asked someone to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos, and presidential cousin and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she was killed.

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She was set to be arraigned before the court on Friday morning, but upon a motion from her camp, the arraignment was postponed. /das