Marcos on Sara 'thanking' him: Glad I could help

''Glad I could help.''

This was the response of President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. to Vice President Sara Duterte after she thanked him for her renewed relationship with her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said she asked Marcos for a response on the Vice President's recent statement for giving credit to the President  as there had been "forgiveness" between her and her father.

“This really is ironic, but I have to thank Bongbong Marcos because there was forgiveness between me and [former President Duterte] for all that has happened in our lives,” the vice president told reporters last week.

Meanwhile, Castro also responded to the Vice President's gratitude to Marcos, saying that she should have thanked her father instead. 

''Mas maganda po siguro kung magpasalamat muna si VP Sara sa kanyang ama mismo, kay dating Pangulong Duterte, dahil kung siya man po ay nagkaroon ng pagkakataon at nagkaroon ng oras kasama ang kanyang ama ay dahil po ito sa kasong EJK,'' Castro said.

(It's better if she will thank her father, former President Duterte, because she was given time to be with her father because of the latter's case in relation to the [alleged] EJK.)

''Kung hindi po naganap at nagawa ang sinasabing mga aksyon patungkol sa war on drugs at walang nag-complaint, hindi naman din sila magkakaroon ng pagkakataon na makapunta sa The Hague, so mas maganda pasalamatan niya muna po, dahil sa ginawa ng kanyang ama, sa mga inerereklamo sa kanya, iyon po ang naging cause kung bakit sila nasa The Hague,'' she added.

(If there had been no complaint as regards the war on drugs, they would not have the time to be together in The Hague, so it's better if she would thank her father.)

The former leader is facing trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged crimes against humanity. His arrest by the ICC came despite earlier pronouncements by the Marcos administration that it won't cooperate with the international body.

Sara added she has a “father-daughter relationship now” with the former president, and that she cannot speak with him about legal matters about his ICC case.

The Vice President also told the media and their family’s supporters that she feels “blessed” despite the ICC case her father is facing. —VAL, GMA Integrated News