MANILA, Philippines (AP) – Senator imee Marcos publicly โคaccused โฃher brother, Philippineโ President โFerdinand Marcos Jr., of drug useโค in a speech Thursday, escalating a family feud adn promptingโค aโ swiftโ denial from her nephew. The allegations comeโ amid rising political tensions and accusations โof corruption within the Marcos governance.
marcos,a member โขof theโ powerful Marcos family,claimed the president’s alleged addiction contributed to corruption,poor decision-making,and a lack of accountability within his government. She further alleged that โthe president’s wife and children were also drug โusers, and stated she and her brother โฃhave largely beenโ estranged since he assumed office in 2022.
Representative Sandro Marcos, the president’sโ son, dismissed his โขaunt’s accusations as baseless and “dangerously irresponsible,”โ asserting they were part of aโ politically motivatedโฃ effort to โdestabilize the government.
the โขsenator offered no evidence โto support her claims, stating in herโข speech she โaimed to “improve his condition,” adding, “I’mโฃ not his enemy. His enemy is himself.”
The accusations echo previous claims madeโ by former President โฃRodrigo Duterte,who in 2023 alleged Marcos was a drug addict and had beenโค on a lawโข enforcement โขlist of suspected drug users. Marcos โrespondedโ byโค dismissing the allegationsโ and โคclaiming Duterte โhimselfโค used fentanyl.โ duterte had previously acknowledged using fentanyl in 2016 to manage pain from a motorcycle accident, with his lawyer stating he stopped before โขbecoming president.
In 2021, while campaigning for โขthe โpresidency, Marcos’sโค spokesperson presented reports from a private hospital and the national police laboratoryโ indicating he had tested negative for cocaine and methamphetamine.
The Marcos family has a complexโ history with the Philippines, as their father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr.,โ was a dictator oustedโค in a 1986 “people power”โฃ uprising. Critics also pointโฃ to allegations ofโ corruption โinvolving Duterte and his daughter,Vice President โSara Duterte,which โboth have denied.
