Sara endorsement catches Imee by surprise

National

SEN. Imee Marcos said she was caught off guard by Vice President Sara Duterte’s endorsement of her reelection bid and the choice of black as the campaign’s theme color.

Marcos, who was in Cebu on Tuesday, April 15, for the 50th anniversary of the Kabataan Barangay, acknowledged that Duterte’s backing, especially with her strong support in Cebu and Mindanao, boosts her candidacy.

Still, she said their long-standing friendship matters more, recalling that Duterte also supported her 2019 run.

The senator shared that Duterte insisted on a campaign video fully themed in black, an idea Marcos initially found grim. But Duterte, she said, framed black as reflective of the country’s current state.

“Black is the color of the country today, and I suppose she’s right,” Marcos recalled her saying.

“Itim. Ipaglaban ang tama, itama ang mali” (Black. Fight for what is right, correct what is wrong), she said aims to echo that sentiment.

Marcos said the video, filmed with both of them wearing black, carried symbolic and political weight.

The endorsement, she added, reaffirmed their alliance, one she vowed to honor.

Deja Vu?

Marcos admitted she hadn’t focused on her campaign in recent weeks following the arrest and extradition of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

She said the incident reminded her of her own father, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who went into exile in Hawaii after being ousted in 1986.

Duterte, now 80, was arrested on March 30 and flown to The Hague to face trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged crimes against humanity during his war on drugs.

Marcos described the arrest as an “extraordinary rendition” that violated Philippine sovereignty.

She questioned the treatment of an ailing former leader and criticized the operation as “humiliating” and insulting to the country’s legal system.

“It was a huge insult to our excellent judges and capable lawyers,” she said in Filipino.

Relationship with brother

In response, Marcos launched a Senate investigation in her capacity as chair of the foreign relations committee.

She said the probe, though necessary, displeased her brother, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“I thought they would be able to explain things clearly,” she said. “Instead, we heard inconsistent answers, conflicting procedures, and laws that didn’t match.”

Marcos also addressed her campaign stance after distancing herself from the administration-backed Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas in October 2024.

She said she foresaw a bitter 2025 election season and chose to align only with local allies, citing the increasingly toxic political atmosphere.(MyTVCebu)