The UniTeam alliance of forces that swept President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte into power in 2022 has crumbled, Sen. Koko Pimentel said Tuesday. 

This was evident, Pimentel said, after former president Rodrigo Duterte, father of the sitting vice president, accused Marcos of being a drug addict and warned that he would suffer the same fate as his father, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., if he decides to revise the 1987 Constitution.

Duterte warns Marcos Jr. he might suffer same fate as father

Speaking to TeleRadyo Serbisyo, Pimentel said Marcos had several advantages coming in as President: an ally in the vice-president, 22 senators allied with the administration, a cousin as the Speaker of the House of Representatives and majority congressmen loyal to Malacanang. 

"Matagal nang walang Uniteam. Hindi naman ako member ng UniTeam. Kami nga ni Sen. Risa Hontiveros pinili namin na minority sa Senado. Ang majority sa Senado nag-identify sa administration...Nasasayangan ako kasi 'yung na-achieve ni President Bongbong Marcos, parang regalo sa kanya 'yun. Ano na sa kanya nang Diyos, for his administration. Nasayangan ako kasi hindi nila na-preserve. Hindi nila na-take advantage," he said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview. 

"Ano nangyari? Nag-away-away na sila. Kasi kami taga check lang sa minority."

Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives have clashed recently due to a people's initiative allegedly backed by Speaker Martin Romualdez, which seeks to revise the 1987 Constitution. 

Under the initiative, senators and congressmen will vote jointly on charter change proposals, instead of separately as two houses of Congress, which would dilute the Senate's vote of 24 members when combined with the House of Representatives' over 300 lawmakers.

Last Sunday, former president Duterte warned the people's initiative could lead to amendments in the Constitution that would allow the Marcoses to stay in power. 

In the interview, Pimentel said he was not surprised by Duterte's drug allegation against Marcos. 

When he was president, Duterte questioned the qualifications of one presidential contender, who he claimed is an "illegal drug user". He did not directly name Marcos Jr. at that time.

"Hindi na ako nagulat, kahit nung kumpanya, nung filing pa lang may sinasabi na siyang kandidato na gumagamit," Pimentel said, adding that Duterte has been consistent in his statements. 

"Baka he is talking abut the past. I am sure na isang tao na mahalal sa napakabigat na responsibility e tatalikuran mo na ang whatever nagawa mo sa past na hindi makakatulong sa present mong trabaho. Maybe in the past lalo na nung taon nang kabataan," he added. 

For his part, ex-Dangerous Drugs Board chairman Dionisio Santiago also refuted Duterte's claim that Marcos was included in the drug watchlist of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency while Duterte was still mayor. 

"Ang procedure diyan bago ka masama sa listahan, kung may information, dumadaan sa validation 'yan. Merong committee 'yan, ang mga member n'yan lahat ng enforcement agencies, nandiyan 'yung AFP, nandiyan 'yung NBI, nandiyan 'yung pulis, nandiyan 'yung PDEA. All law enforcement agencies. Kung may report, iba-validate y'an bago ka masama sa drug list. Maingat kami d'yan kasi ang hirap tanggalin pag nasama ka d'yan," he said.

"Sa verification namin, talagang wala kaming nakita," he added. 

The PDEA earlier said Marcos was never in the National Drug Information System, which refers to the intelligence database of all drug personalities in the country. 

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 'never in our watch list': PDEA