MANILA — Sen. Imee Marcos on Thursday said she will fight for the unity of her brother President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte following the apparent fracturing of their coalition that intensified over the weekend.

"I am determined to salvage whatever shreds remain of that unity," Sen. Marcos said, referring to the Marcos-Duterte tandem or "UniTeam" that was formed during the 2022 national elections.

"It is good for our country, it’s good for development and for our future," she also said.

Sen. Marcos' statement came a day after she admitted that cracks in the UniTeam were already showing.

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UNRAVELING ALLIANCE

The alliance between the two families began to unravel soon after the 2022 election, with Marcos giving Duterte the problem-plagued education portfolio instead of her preferred post of defense secretary.

It has gathered pace since then with the powerful House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez, who is President Marcos' cousin and also widely expected to seek the presidency in 2028, demoting influential congresswoman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a former president and close ally of Sara Duterte.

Romualdez also spearheaded efforts to strip the Office of the Vice President and the education department of millions of pesos in confidential funds.

This week, former President Rodrigo Duterte and President Marcos traded drug accusations. 

Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte even called for the resignation of President Marcos if he does not have love and aspirations for the Philippines.

President Marcos on Tuesday said that his relationship with Sara Duterte remains "unchanged" despite her family’s attacks.

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—with Cecil Morella, Agence France-Presse