Philippine President Marcos Jr rejects drug use accusations by his sister

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s estranged sister, a senator, publicly accused him Monday of being a longtime drug addict whose alleged cocaine dependence has led to problems in his governance, including corruption, allegations that his spokesperson said was a recycled issue that has long been disproven.

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said Sen. Imee Marcos’ baseless accusations against his own brother may have been a desperate attempt to distract ongoing investigations into a corruption scandal involving flood control projects that may implicate her allies in the Senate.

“Sen. Imee, I hope you’ll be a patriot and help in the investigation that your own brother has been doing and condemn all the corrupt,” Castro said. “Don’t side with them, don’t hide them. Let President Marcos work to stop all the corruption.”

An independent fact-finding commission created by Marcos, a Senate committee and government agencies have been investigating allegations that influential members of Congress and the Senate have pocketed huge kickbacks from construction companies, which had won lucrative contracts to build flood-control projects, which turned out to be substandard, incomplete or nonexistent. The scandal has sparked outrage in an Asian country long prone to deadly flooding and typhoons.

The senator is a high-profile ally of her brother’s harsh critic and predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte was arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant in March and flown to and detained in the Netherlands for alleged crimes against humanity over his brutal anti-drug crackdowns that left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead. Duterte has denied any wrongdoing.

Duterte's family and allies have blamed Marcos and his administration for what they claim was the ex-president's illegal arrest and detention by the global court. His daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, is also one of the most vocal critics of the current president but is a close ally of the senator.

In a speech Monday night before a huge rally by a religious group in a Manila park, the senator said that her brother’s drug addiction started when their father, the namesake of the current leader, was still a president and has continued to this day. She claimed it has affected his health and ability to govern.

The president and his elder sister were children of a former dictator, who was ousted in an army-backed “people power” uprising in 1986.

She alleged that the president’s wife and children were also drug users and added that she and her brother mostly haven't talked since he rose to the presidency in 2022. Liza Marcos and her children, who include a key member of the House of Representatives, didn't immediately comment.

“His addiction became the cause of the flood of corruption, the lack of direction and very wrong decisions, the absence of accountability and justice,” the senator said without offering any evidence.

Addressing the military, police and other officials, she said that they should help her “improve his condition,” adding “I’m not his enemy. His enemy is himself.”

Castro blasted the senator for not calling out Rodrigo Duterte, who has acknowledged using fentanyl in the past and his being linked, along with his daughter, the vice president, by critics to alleged corruption. Both Duterte and his daughter have denied involvement in corruption, including her alleged misuse of confidential funds.

Early last year, Rodrigo Duterte said in a speech that his successor was a drug addict, who was once on a law enforcement list of suspected drug users. Marcos then laughed off Duterte’s allegations and said he wouldn't dignify the accusation with an answer, but claimed his predecessor was using fentanyl, a powerful opioid.

In 2016, Duterte said he had used fentanyl in the past to ease pain caused by injuries from a motorbike accident. His lawyer later said that Duterte has stopped taking fentanyl before he became president in 2016.

In 2021, when Marcos was a presidential aspirant, his spokesperson showed two reports from a private hospital and the national police laboratory that stated Marcos had tested negative for cocaine and methamphetamine.