Sara warns to exhume, toss into WPS his father’s remains

Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday attacked the leadership of President Marcos, baring her fangs at his entire family with a threat to exhume the remains of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

“It is not my fault we are on this road to hell. Our sitting President is incompetent. How is that my fault?” she said during a two-hour press conference where she did most of the talking.

Duterte said she warned Senator Imee Marcos she will dig up and toss the remains of the late President into the West Philippine Sea if they keep on attacking her.

She also disclosed she once daydreamed of decapitating Mr. Marcos after the latter reportedly declined to give his watch to a cadet who asked for it as graduation gift.

“One of these days, I will go there. I will get the body of your father and throw it in the West Philippine Sea,” Duterte said.

The remains of the elder Marcos were laid to rest at the “Libingan ng mga Bayani” in 2016 during the term of then-president Rodrigo Duterte, Sara’s father.

Presidential spokesman Cesar Chavez, however, said Malacañan will not dignify the Vice President’s statements with a comment.

“No statement from the Office of the President. Thanks,” said Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cesar Chavez.

Duterte said she also felt used in the 2022 elections which she and Mr. Marcos won by landslide.

She said Senator Imee told her they needed to team up to prevent then Vice President Leni Robredo from winning the 2022 presidential polls.

“It is clear I was used. She (Imee) told me they will lose to Leni if they do not have the Bisaya vote,” she said.

“It was straightforward. ‘It was all about winning,’ she (Imee) told me,” she added.

Duterte said she initially had no interest in the vice presidency, but she has no regrets in gunning for the position.

“I don’t regret running for Vice President. Imagine if I was only a mayor and they are running after me. It would be so easy for them to have me suspended and removed as mayor. But now they cannot have me removed,” the Vice President said.

“They can drag me to hell. And when I get there, I will still be the President of hell,” she added.

The Duterte and Marcos families have had a very public falling out as both attempt to shore up their rival support bases and secure key positions ahead of the midterm elections next year and the presidential polls in 2028.

Duterte, who quit her Cabinet post as Education secretary in June, is facing questions over her use of confidential and intelligence funds, which have been flagged by Commission on Audit in 2023.

A COA report also showed that DepEd, under Duterte’s leadership in 2023, was only able to build 192 classrooms or just 3 percent of the 6,379 target. With AFP

Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Philippines’ VP Duterte threatens to dig up Marcos father’s remains.”