President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte lead the launch of Brigada Eskwela at the V. Mapa High School in Manila on August 14, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said he and his allies were not seeking the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, as he denied supposed cracks in their UniTeam alliance.
"Lahat naman kami merong ganyan (impeachment rumors). There will always be an element that will want to change the results of an election. Of course, binabantayan namin nang mabuti because we don’t want her to be impeached. She does not deserve to be impeached," Marcos said.
"It’s just a continuation of the thinking na, 'Basta ayaw namin dyan, tanggalin natin.' Wala naman sigurong dahilan kung hindi lang ayaw sa amin. That is not a reason to be impeached," he continued.
The President said he had "nothing but good things to say on the work that she (Duterte) has done on the Department of Education."
"On a very personal level, we get along very well," he added.
Marcos said he and Duterte "are very different in many ways, but we are also very similar in many ways."
"That makes for a good friendship," he said at the sidelines of his US visit.
Duterte on Sunday said her office was looking into alleged moves to impeach her at the House of Representatives, which Marcos' cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez earlier denied.
Duterte said on Monday, "I believe I still have the trust of President Marcos Jr."
"Why? Because before he left, I asked him about the impeachment and he told me the truth that he knows about the impeachment," she told reporters.
The impeachment rumors came after the House stripped Duterte's offices of 2024 confidential funds and removed her ally Pampanga Second District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as deputy speaker.
Addressing the supposed rift in the UniTeam coalition made up of the biggest political parties and most influential clans, Marcos said, "I don’t think so. Mas tumitibay nga."
"Dumadami ang pumupunta sa Lakas, dumadami ang pumupunta sa PFP (Partido Federal ng Pilipinas). We are consolidating the UniTeam. It’s actually become bigger and stronger than it was before," he added.
Partido Federal ng Pilipinas is the party of Marcos, Jr., while Lakas-CMD is the party of Romualdez.
— Report from Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News