Vice President Sara Duterte reignited tensions with Malacañang by lashing out at Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, urging the public to ignore her and describing her statements as nothing but “trash.”
In an Inquirer.net report, Duterte slammed Castro over her claim that the Vice President was spreading misinformation about First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos being allegedly detained by U.S. authorities. “Basura ang lumalabas lagi sa bibig nila,” Duterte said, lumping Castro together with ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, whom she again mistakenly identified as her cousin. Both Castros have repeatedly clarified they are not related.
The latest exchange adds to the intensifying back-and-forth between Duterte and the Marcos administration, as the Vice President doubled down on her assertion that diversion tactics are used to distract the public from real issues. She cited the timing of her father’s reported arrest coinciding with rumors surrounding the First Lady, and claimed that when budget anomalies surfaced, an impeachment complaint against her followed.
Earlier that day, Claire Castro addressed Duterte’s accusations in a press briefing, saying, “It turns out the fake news came from her,” referring to the First Lady issue.
The conflict escalated further when Duterte linked other political events to attempts to discredit her, including controversies involving her brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, which arose after the abrupt suspension of the P20-per-kilo rice rollout.
This is not the first time Duterte hurled the “garbage” label at Castro. Earlier this month, she used the phrase “garbage in, garbage out” to criticize the official’s past comments related to the PrimeWater probe.
