President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte lead the Basic Education Report 2024 at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City on January 25, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/FileMANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday chose not to comment when asked about Vice President Sara Duterte's criticism that "he does not know how to be president."

The President stopped to listen to questions during a chance interview, but simply smiled and walked away upon hearing that it was about Duterte's recent tirades against him and his family.

Last week, the Vice President said that the Philippines is "on the road to hell" because Marcos Jr. "does not know how to be president."

WRAP: Political discourse feared to hit gutter as Marcos-Duterte rivalry escalates

The second-in-command earlier said she wanted to pull off Marcos Jr.'s head after after he refused to give his wristwatch to a graduate who asked for it during an earlier ceremony, and also threatened to exhume the remains of Marcos Jr.'s father — former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. — from the Libingan ng mga Bayani and throw it into the West Philippine Sea as the feud between the Marcoses and the Dutertes continue to worsen in the run-up to the 2025 midterm elections.

Duterte's disdain for the Marcos family resurfaced last week after President Marcos said in a press conference that he may have been "deceived" by his second in command.

Marcos Jr. gave that reply when asked to comment on Duterte's statement that she does not consider her 2022 elections ally as her friend.

READ: 'Mental clarity seems to be eluding' Sara Duterte, says Sandro Marcos

While the president chose not to respond, his son on Tuesday broke his silence on Duterte's comments.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander "Sandro" Marcos, in a statement, said that "mental clarity seems to be eluding" the country's second highest elected official.

"Going ballistic was perhaps the self-therapy she prescribed for herself. But she crossed the line, leaving the civic and civil space in which disagreements can be rationally argued," said Rep. Marcos. "As such, I still wish the Vice President well. Ultimately, her success, like the President's, will be the success of our nation as a whole."

"May she find the peace of mind and mental clarity that seems to be eluding her."

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