Malacañang on Tuesday slammed Vice President Sara Duterte following her public apology for helping elect President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and her remarks linking persistent flooding in the country to alleged corruption in the current administration.
During a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the Vice President still has several issues to explain and apologize for before the Filipino people.
Castro presented screenshots of news reports showing widespread flooding in Davao City during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte, the Vice President’s father.
The Palace official made the statement after Duterte claimed that many Filipinos have been severely affected by flooding, supposedly due to large-scale corruption under the Marcos administration.
“Ilan po bang flood control projects merong itinatag diumano ang kanyang ama, 13,917 na flood control projects na mukhang hindi naman naramdaman. Dahil kung mayroong 13,917 flood control projects, dapat naramdaman natin at medyo humupa ang pagbaha sa Pilipinas,” Castro said.
Castro stressed that the Vice President should not “pretend that no flooding occurred” during her father’s administration.
She pointed out: “So, hindi po pwedeng magmalinis na wala nangyaring pagbabaha sa panahon ng kanyang ama.”
“Kaya huwag niyang ipahid lamang sa Pangulo [ang] sinasabing pagbabaha. Dahil kung meron pong naganap na mga Build Build Build at kung talagang walang ghost projects ang dating nakaraang administrasyon, hindi natin mararanasan ang ganitong klaseng pagbabaha,” Castro added.
The Palace also enumerated other matters it believes Duterte should address, including alleged victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the Duterte administration.
“Marami pa po siyang dapat na hingi ng tawad. Aking pong i-enumerate at mukhang nakalimutan niya itong hilingin ng tawad. Una po, mas dapat niyang inunang humingi ng tawad sa taumbayan, lalong-lalo na sa mga biktima ng EJK,” Castro said.
Castro also cited Duterte’s past statement claiming she knew an assassin and had supposedly instructed that President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez be killed should anything happen to her.
In addition, the Palace mentioned alleged issues involving the spread of fake news, personal overseas trips, and expenses for staff and security related to those travels.
“Dapat ihingi niya rin ng tawad ang mga fake news na ibinandera niya sa taumbayan. Ipaghingi rin niya po ng tawad ang mga pagbabakasyon, personal trip at itong taon na 2025 ay gumastos ng 7 million, if I'm not mistaken, 2025, gumastos ng 7 million for the staff and the security for her personal trips,” she noted.
The Palace further questioned Duterte’s acceptance of the position of Education Secretary at the Department of Education (DepEd), despite her previous admission that she lacked sufficient expertise for the role.
Castro also accused the Vice President of undermining the administration, citing Duterte’s earlier statement that she knew how to lower rice prices but chose not to share the solution because she did not want to help the President.
Other controversies raised by the Palace included alleged issues involving fake student vouchers, spoiled food distributed to some schools, and undelivered educational materials.
