Malacañang pushed back strongly against Vice President Sara Duterte’s accusations that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is failing to act on corruption in the country’s flood control projects, even going so far as to suggest she may need “clearer vision and a hearing aid” to recognize what the administration is doing.
The Vice President earlier lashed out at Marcos after attending the Office of the Vice President’s budget deliberations in the House of Representatives on September 16, saying the President should simply act immediately instead of forming a commission. She claimed his response was not only “too little too late” but amounted to “doing nothingness.”
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro, however, rebuked Duterte during a September 17 briefing, saying the President has already formed the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to thoroughly investigate the long-running anomalies in flood control projects.
“Siguro po kakailanganin niya na po ng mataas na grado na salamin o kaya hearing aid para madinig niya kung anuman ang lahat ng ginagawa at mga inuutos ng Pangulo,” Castro said, stressing that Marcos has directed law enforcement and investigative bodies to pursue cases instead of resorting to what she described as an “EJK-style approach” where due process is ignored.
Castro also mocked Duterte, saying she had “a hidden talent for making people laugh” despite not being a comedian. She then pointed out that during the Duterte administration, corruption was not solved despite former president Rodrigo Duterte himself admitting in 2017: “Hindi ako nagmamalinis, marami rin akong nanakaw pero naubos na so wala na.”
“Kung mayroon naman pong sistema ang Bise Presidente kung paano agarang masusugpo ang korapsyon na ito, sana po ay hiniling niya na rin po ito at ibinigay sa kaniyang ama,” Castro said, questioning the Vice President’s moral ascendancy on the matter.
