Malacañang on Friday said many Filipinos may feel the same way as megastar Sharon Cuneta after she jokingly implied that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made the wrong choice in picking Vice President Sara Duterte as his running mate in the 2022 elections.
Palace press officer Claire Castro made the remark during a briefing when asked if Marcos agreed with Cuneta’s comment suggesting it was a mistake to choose Duterte.
“If that is the opinion of Ate Shawie, of Ms. Sharon Cuneta, then it is likely that many of our fellow Filipinos feel the same way. So that is Ms. Sharon Cuneta’s opinion, and we saw that the President merely smiled,” Castro responded in Filipino.
Castro said Marcos did not confirm whether he agreed or disagreed with Cuneta’s statement.
“He was only fascinated with the song, `Bituing Walang Ningning,’” she said.
Cuneta made the comment during an event in Manila on Thursday night where she performed for Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos. Before singing, she told the crowd that she “only has one vice president,” referring to her husband, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, who accompanied her as her date.
She then added, “Mali, your choice, no? Sorry, okay, okay, let’s move on,” prompting laughter from the audience.
Pangilinan previously ran for vice president alongside then-Vice President Leni Robredo but lost to Duterte, who ran with Marcos under the “UniTeam” banner. Both Marcos and Duterte won by a landslide in the 2022 polls.
The alliance later faced tensions, with their relationship showing signs of strain after an exchange of heated words linked to allegations of drug use. Duterte later resigned from her Cabinet post in June.
