PCO claps back at Duterte’s Marcos dictatorship allegation
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former President Rodrigo Duterte. Photos from the Presidential Communications Office.
MANILA, Philippines — A Presidential Communications Office (PCO) official on Monday clapped back at former President Rodrigo Duterte’s accusation that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration is veering towards dictatorship.
READ: Duterte ‘one-man fake news factory’ – Palace
“What evidence? How can it be proven? As I said, we cannot believe mere intrigues without evidence,” PCO Undersecretary and Palace press officer Claire Castro told reporters in Filipino.
“You probably remember that during the time of former President Duterte, he admitted that even when he was just a fiscal, he was already an expert in fabricating intrigues and planting evidence. We have surely seen proof of this during the case of Senator Leila de Lima,” she added. “So what else can we expect from former President Duterte? Creating intrigue, planting evidence.”
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Duterte made the allegation during an indignation rally in Mandaue City last Saturday.
He said that Marcos would no longer come as a surprise if he also declared martial law, just like his late father and namesake did when he was the chief executive.
“Mr. Marcos is veering towards a dictatorship. I will place my bet, he will not step down when his term ends. He is like his father. We will again have chaos when he declares martial law just like what his father did,” Duterte said in a mix of English and Bisaya.
