Bongbong Marcos to Sara Duterte: Never say never

MANILA, Philippines — “Never say never” was the response of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Vice President Sara Duterte, who previously remarked that their broken alliance has now reached “the point of no return.”

At Lucena City on Friday, Marcos was asked to react to Duterte’s pronouncement amid the ongoing feud in the once-united front under the “UniTeam.”

Duterte cried harassment as a House of Representatives panel continued to probe into her office’s spending of public money – specifically, the confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd), which she had helmed. She has been refusing to attend the hearings to shed light on the issues.

Eventually, during a late-night online press conference, Duterte disclosed hiring an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos, and cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez if she is killed.

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Malacañang considered this revelation an “active threat” against the country’s highest leader, triggering more investigations by concerned government agencies on Duterte.

“I really believe that we have reached the point of no return, and it is clear na parang (it appears) they are really going after me,” Duterte said in a press conference in Zamboanga City on Wednesday, Nov. 27.

“At gusto nila talaga akong tanggalin sa posisyon (And they really want to remove me from my position),” she further said.

Marcos and Duterte were running mates in the 2022 elections. But in June, Duterte resigned as secretary of DepEd, confirming reported cracks in their alliance.

For the past months, the political squabble grew, and recently, talks of an impeachment complaint against Duterte surfaced.

Marcos, however, said Friday that he ordered against it as it would not benefit the Filipino people.