Malacañang on Sunday rejected former president Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is “veering towards a dictatorship,” calling it a “hoax” and branding Duterte as a “one-man fake news factory.”
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin denounced the accusation, calling it “baseless” and “ridiculous.” He argued that it was Duterte who had undermined democracy during his presidency, not the current administration.
“This hoax is another budol (trick), emerging from a one-man fake-news factory,” Bersamin said.
He emphasized that the Marcos administration remains committed to upholding the Constitution, respecting human rights, and following the rule of law.
“We will not backslide into the oppressive ways of the previous administration, when critics were jailed upon trumped-up charges and when kill orders were publicly issued with glee and obeyed blindly,” he added.
Bersamin further pointed out that it was under Duterte’s leadership that due process and individual rights were frequently ignored.
“It is the leader of that troubled past who is depicting us as veering toward a system where anyone can be deprived of life, liberty, and property without due process of law, as many had been on his mere say-so as a tyrant who did not respect the rights of the people,” he said.
