After endorsing the presidential bid of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022, Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte is now calling for the president’s resignation.
STATEMENT
During a Hakbang ng Maisug Leaders Forum on Jan. 28, Duterte lamented that the illegal drug trade and insurgency have worsened under the Marcos administration. For this reason, he said, addressing the president:
“You are lazy and you lack compassion. […] All of these things that he is causing is [sic] oppressing the people. Mao man gyud kay giuna nila ilahang politika. Ilahang self-preservation sa ilang politika. Wa nila giuna ang trabaho. […] Mr. President, kung wala kay gugma, kung wala kay aspirations sa imohang nasud, resign.”
(You are lazy and you lack compassion. All of these things that he is causing [are] oppressing the people. It’s because they put politics first, self-preservation in politics. They did not put work first. Mr. President, if you do not have love and aspirations for your country, resign.).
Source: DZAR 1026 YouTube Channel, FULL SPEECH | Mayor Baste, may real talk kay PBBM sa “Hakbang ng Maisug Leaders Forum”, Jan. 28, 2024, watch from 18:36 to 19:13 and 21:20 to 21:33
FACT
Two years ago, when Marcos was seeking the presidency with then-Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte as his vice presidential running mate, the younger Duterte likened Marcos’ work ethic to that of his father, then-president Rodrigo Duterte.
Sebastian, who was then running for the mayoral post to be vacated by his sister, said:
“If you want consistency na katulad no’ng ginawa ni PRRD, then I cannot see any other candidate kundi si Bongbong Marcos lang talaga. Ambitious, but not for the individual. It is for the collective whole good. ‘Yon naman talaga ang nakita natin, naputol lang.”
Source: Ka Moment in Time Facebook Page, WATCH | Pakinggan ang Pahayag ni Sir BASTE DUTERTE sa kaniyang Adhikain…, Jan. 29, 2022, watch from 5:20 to 5:53
Under Section 8, Article VII of the Constitution, the vice president is the first in the line of succession to the presidency in case of death, resignation, permanent disability or removal from office. Should Marcos resign, Sara Duterte would serve as president for the remainder of his six-year term.
As election day was nearing in 2022, Sebastian said in a March 27 UniTeam rally that Marcos will raise the country’s status higher than how the Duterte administration left it.
“Kining tandem nila Inday Sara ug Bongbong Marcos kauban ang mga senador, usa ra akong ingnon sa inyuha. Kung kita, ni-a ta karon kung asa ta pagkahuman sa administrasyon ni PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte), si Bongbong Marcos isaka pa gyud na niya, ilupad pa ta padulong sa taas hantod sa dili na makab-ot.”
(I can say only one thing about Inday Sara and Bongbong Marcos’ tandem with the senators. If now, we’re here at the tailend of the Duterte administration, Bongbong Marcos will raise that [status] higher. He will lift us up to heights we cannot have dreamed of reaching.)
Source: UniTeam BBM-Sara Facebook Page, ‘We will fly, soar, fight, AND WIN!’, March 27, 2022
BACKSTORY
In a prayer rally later that day, former president Duterte made multiple allegations against Marcos, even tagging him as a “drug addict.” A day later, Marcos responded, attributing his predecessor’s tirades to his alleged use of fentanyl, an opioid deemed as an “emerging problem” in substance abuse by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
(Read VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Rodrigo Duterte calling President Marcos a “drug addict” needs context)
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Sources
Ka Moment in Time Facebook Page, WATCH | Pakinggan ang Pahayag ni Sir BASTE DUTERTE sa kaniyang Adhikain…, Jan. 29, 2022
UniTeam BBM-Sara Facebook Page, ‘We will fly, soar, fight, AND WIN!‘, March 27, 2022
Rody Duterte Official Facebook Page, PRAYER RALLY, Jan. 28, 2024
Presidential Communications Office, Media Interview by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during his Departure for his State Visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Jan. 29, 2024
Inquirer.net, Marcos shoots back: Ex-president Duterte takes fentanyl | INQToday, Jan. 29, 2024
ABS-CBN News, Marcos on Duterte tirades: ‘I think it’s the fentanyl’, Jan. 29, 2024
GMA News Online, Fentanyl an ‘emerging drug problem’ in Philippines —PDEA, July 3, 2023
The Manila Times, Fentanyl use emerging drug problem, July 5, 2023
The Star Malaysia, Philippines raises alarm over illicit fentanyl imports from Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, July 8, 2023
(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative and our methodology.)
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