A video of First Lady Liza Marcos from an April 2024 interview with Anthony “Tunying” Taberna has been edited and shared on social media, falsely suggesting that she threatened Vice President Sara Duterte. The altered clip circulated on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), with captions claiming Marcos said she could have Duterte assassinated anytime.
In the clip, Marcos is heard saying, “If you’re the President of the Philippines and I’m the ‘fierce’ lady, fierce ha, sa palagay mo ba hindi ko kayang gawin ‘yan? Ay Diyos ko, tawagin mo lang yung unintelligible dyan kayang-kaya.” However, the statement was cut out of context to imply a malicious intent.
The original conversation, as aired on Taberna’s Tune In Kay Tunying on YouTube, addressed alleged efforts by pro-Duterte vloggers to damage the Marcos family’s reputation. The First Lady and Taberna discussed the activities of vloggers Sass Rogando Sasot, RJ Nieto, and Maharlika Boldyakera. Marcos described their actions as a “concerted effort” but emphasized that such tactics do not reflect Filipino values.
Responding to Taberna’s question on whether the vloggers’ actions were financially motivated, Marcos elaborated, “This cannot be, hindi gano’n ‘yung Pinoy. Let them do their thing. Sa palagay mo ba hindi namin kayang gawin ‘yan? You’re the president of the country.”
The controversy gained traction following Vice President Duterte’s early morning statement on November 23, 2024. Speaking via Zoom, Duterte alleged that she had spoken to someone about assassinating President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the First Lady, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself were killed.
Duterte’s remarks came after her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, was ordered transferred from the House detention facility to the Correctional Institute for Women. Lopez had been detained on November 20 for contempt during a House investigation into confidential funds. She was reportedly hospitalized after collapsing on November 23.
