Malacañang on Monday accused Vice President Sara Duterte of spreading fake news after she alleged that First Lady Liza Marcos was linked to a drug-related death incident in the United States.
In a Palace briefing, Castro responded to VP Duterte’s recent remarks suggesting that the Marcos administration deflects scandals by targeting its political enemies.
The Vice President cited a supposed US police report claiming cocaine was found in a hotel room where the First Lady was allegedly present when a person died a statement Castro flatly denied.
“She is the source of fake news,” Castro said.
“Do we really need to believe these kinds of stories coming from the Vice President?” she added.
Castro said official records show First Lady Marcos was in the Philippines by March 10, 2025 contradicting any claim that she was in the US at the time of the alleged incident.
The following day, the First Lady reportedly attended an event with representatives of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. “She was here, meeting with Dr. Cristina Yuson, Mrs. Teresita Gonzales, and Mrs. Roselyn Davadilla from the Girl Scouts,” Castro noted.
“So how could she be involved in any incident abroad on March 11 when she was clearly in Manila?” she added.
She stated that March 11 also marked the day former President Rodrigo Duterte was taken into custody following the International Criminal Court’s warrant separate incident that VP Duterte implied was used to distract from the First Lady’s alleged controversy.
“For the Vice President to make such claims undermines not only the Office of the First Lady but also disrespects the Girl Scouts of the Philippines, whose event she effectively dismissed as fiction,” Castro said. She further questioned Duterte’s credibility, stating, “If the source of this disinformation is no less than the Vice President herself, how can the public continue to trust her statements?”