Palace: Sandro Marcos not lying over 2022 'power struggle' story

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vouched for his son's truthfulness after House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos claimed that officials linked to the previous administration sought control over key government posts in exchange for supporting his father's 2022 presidential bid.

"Actually tinanong ko rin si pangulo kanina, at ang sabi lamang sa akin ay he has raised his kids well, and his son, Cong. Sandro, will not lie," Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Monday, Aug. 10.

("I actually asked the president earlier, and all he told me was that he raised his children well, and his son, Congressman Sandro, will not lie.")

Castro said Marcos did not identify the people his son was referring to. She added that the Palace would respect Sandro's decision not to name them.

Conditions for support

In an August 8 interview on "Kwatro Alas," Sandro recalled accompanying his father to what was supposed to be a meeting with former President Rodrigo Duterte to seek support for his presidential bid.

Instead, Sandro said they met three people who offered support on the condition that they be allowed to choose who would occupy several key posts, including executive secretary, House speaker and Senate president.

Sandro said one of them has been a sitting official. He did not identify any of them.

"We were put in front of three people, and they essentially asked anpng magagawa mo para sa amin, etc etc, and there was one person who’s a sitting official now, hindi ko sasabihin but that’s a clue, and sinabi niya kay pangulo na sige suportahan ka namin on the condition that, kami mamimili ng ES, kami mamimili ng speaker, kami mamimili ng senate president, kami mamimili ng secretary, basta marami silang hiningi."

"There was a lot at play and there were many people who I guess were vying to take power away, I suppose," Sandro said.

Sandro also said he had anticipated the eventual collapse of UniTeam, the Marcos-Duterte electoral alliance, because of competing groups around the two camps.

"A part of me kind of saw it coming, not because of one person but because of different parties around them... It was a power struggle," Sandro said, in mixed Filipino and English.

'Power struggle'

Malacañang's mouthpiece concurred. Asked why the unnamed figures would have sought control over the posts, Castro stressed that she was giving the Presidential Communications Office's interpretation, not Marcos' own explanation.

"Ang nakikita ng PCO dito: power struggle, kontrolin ang Pangulo, maybe the plan to remove the president like what happened before," Castro said. "Dahil may mga grupo na gustong manatili sa posisyon at hawakan at kontrolin ang Pangulo at hindi iyon pinayagan ni Pangulong Marcos Jr."

("What the PCO sees here is a power struggle, an attempt to control the President, maybe even a plan to remove the President like what happened before... because there were groups that wanted to remain in position and control the president, and President Marcos Jr. did not allow that.")

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