Malacañang: Filipinos, not Duterte, made Marcos president

FILE: Duterte and President Bongbong Marcos meet in Malacañang Palace on August 2, 2023. (PCO Photo)

By Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – Malacañang on Monday refuted claims being peddled on social media that detained former president Rodrigo Duterte gave the Marcos family the dignity to return to power, while President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. supposedly gave his Duterte a “death sentence” in a foreign land.

In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer and Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro stressed that it was the Filipino people, not just a single individual, who made Marcos president of the country.

“Ang nagpabalik po kay Pangulo Marcos ay ang taumbayan po, hindi po iisang tao. Pinakita po ni Pangulong Marcos kung ano ang kakayanan niya (Filipinos made President Marcos their leader, not just a single individual. President Marcos has shown what he is capable of),” Castro said.

She also pointed out that the former president had previously expressed doubts about Marcos’ leadership.

“Kung inyo pong matatandaan, hindi po ba mismo ang dating Pangulong Duterte ang hindi naniniwala kay Pangulong Marcos, he even said that PBBM is a weak leader (If you can remember, none other than former president Duterte himself did not believe in President Marcos),” Castro added.

Duterte is currently detained in The Hague, Netherlands to face crimes against humanity charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC). He was arrested by the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol and local police on March 11, 2025.