Philippine election 2022: is Duterte’s cocaine claim a sign of a deeper feud with the Marcos family?
- The Philippine president claims one of the candidates to replace him is a drug user and ‘weak’ leader
- While he doesn’t name his target, he leaves enough clues to point to only one man – his former ally
In a rambling speech before an anti-insurgency task force, Duterte began criticising rich people who took drugs, saying there was “even a presidential candidate who takes cocaine”.
While he did not go so far as to name the candidate – though he has promised to do so when the presidential campaign starts in February – he left a variety of clues that to most political observers could point to only one person: Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr.
Marcos Jnr just happens to be in Duterte’s bad books right now, having convinced Duterte’s daughter Sara – apparently against her father’s wishes – to be his running mate for the May election.
The senior Duterte has made clear he felt his daughter should have been more ambitious and aimed for the top job. He has claimed that his daughter never told him about her move and that he had been expecting her to be the running mate of his crony, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go.
In a video interview that aired on YouTube on November 14, he referred to Marcos Jnr, 64, as “pro-communist” – a stinging criticism for a man once seen as an ally of the Duterte administration.