Palace to VP Sara: Your father was also present during destruction of drugs

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro on Thursday hit back at Vice President Sara Duterte for saying that President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. was doing ''photo op'' when he witnessed the destruction of illegal drugs in Tarlac province. 

At a press briefing, Castro reminded the Vice President that her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, did the same when he was still the Chief Executive. 

''Baka po nakalimutan din po ng Vice Presidente na ang kanyang ama ay nagkaroon din po ng pagwi-witness sa incineration ng P7.51 billion dangerous drugs sa Cavite,'' Castro said.

(Maybe the Vice President forgot that even his father witnessed the incineration of the P7.51 billion dangerous drugs in Cavite.)

''Ito po, baka po nakalimutan niya po ito, baka puwede natin palakihan. Kailan po ba ito? Wait lang, 2020 lamang. So, baka nakalimutan po ito ni Bise Presidente,'' she added.

(Maybe she forgot about it, maybe we can enlarge it. When was this? It was just in 2020. So, maybe she forgot about this.) 

Castro showed the media a report, which stated that the former president witnessed the incineration of P7.51 billion worth of dangerous drugs in Cavite in 2020.

She stressed that what the President did was not for ''photo op'' but as a warning to criminals involved in illegal drugs.

On Wednesday, Marcos witnessed the destruction of P9,484,134,038.62 worth of dangerous drugs at the Clean Leaf International Corporation in Capas City. 

The President said it must be ensured that the recovered drugs will be immediately destroyed so that they won’t be sold.

Trips abroad

Meanwhile, Castro responded anew on the remarks of the Vice President as regards her trips abroad, defending that she never utilized any government funds.

Castro said Duterte has been emotional in making explanations. 

''Nakita po natin kung papaano po sumagot ang Vise Presidente, napaka-emotional. Sabi nga po natin, may kasabihan po na ‘when emotions are high, intelligence is low.' Never speak out of anger, dahil maliwanag po sa ulat na personal trip ang ginawa po niya,'' she said.

(We've seen how the Vice President responded, she's too emotional. We have a saying, 'when emotions are high, intelligence is low.' Never speak out of anger, because it's clear that what she did was a personal trip.)

''At hindi kinu-kwestyon, ang sabi po natin noong nakaraan ay it's her choice kung diyan po siya abala sa kanyang private or personal trips with her family. Pero, hindi po niya kasi ibinunyag na gagawa siya di umano ng official functions,'' she added.

(And we're not questioning, we previously said that it was her choice if she's busy with her private or personal trips with her family. But she didn't mention that she would have official functions.)

According to Castro, Duterte's explanation regarding her personal trips could result in ethical and accountability concerns. 

''Magiging magkaiba po iyon kung ang sinabi niya kahit po isa sa inyo, sa media na personal trip, pero mayroon po pala siyang gagawing official functions. Kasi, magkakaroon po dito ng ethical and accountability concerns,'' she said.

(That would be different if she said that it's a personal trip but she also had official functions. We will have ethical and accountability concerns.) 

Asked about the statement of the Vice President that she is a frontrunner in the presidential race in 2028, Castro said that was the narrative Duterte is creating to disregard the issue of accountability. 

Duterte has said she has not yet decided whether to run for president in 2028.

Relations between Marcos and Duterte, running mates in Eleksyon 2022, have turned frosty following House probes into the drug war under the administration of her father and the handling of confidential funds by offices under her leadership. —AOL, GMA Integrated News