President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte, Jan. 25, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File  

MANILA – “Ah, okay. That’s her position.”

This was what President Ferdinand Marcos Jr had to say when asked by reporters in Apayao on Friday on the decision of Vice President Sara Duterte not to rejoin his Cabinet. 

Duterte recently resigned from the Department of Education and the NTF-ELCAC, following months of tense relations between her clan and the President’s family. 

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Duterte, in a recent interview, told reporters that the reason behind her decision was personal to her and President Marcos Jr.

“Mayroong personal sa aming dalawa ni President Marcos, which stems from ‘yung napag-usapan namin bago ako tumakbong vice president, mayroon sa trabaho, mayroon sa bayan. Mahaba siyang kuwento,” she said.

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The Vice President added that she would not attend Marcos’ State of the Nation Address of Marcos on Monday, July 22. She said she was appointing herself the “Designated Survivor.” 

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Meanwhile, Marcos said his speech for the SONA was finished and being fine-tuned.

“Tuloy tuloy pero yung kabuuan ng speech ko, tapos na. Fine-tuning na lang ang ginagawa namin,” Marcos told reporters.

“Aayusin namin yan lahat bukas at saka hanggang Linggo para maging handa sa SONA sa Lunes. So, ang problema, napaka marami ang gusto kong pag usapan, baka humaba masyado, kaya hinahanapan namin, pina prioritize namin lahat, tapos baka pwede makapag explain ang ating mga secretary dun sa mga detalye ng iba. Kaya andun tayo ngayon, tapos na yan.”

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