Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr traded accusations of drug use with his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte in his first public rebuke of the former leader as the rift between the country’s two most powerful political clans deepens.
“I think it’s the fentanyl,” Marcos told reporters on Monday, when asked to respond to Duterte’s accusations on Sunday that the president is a “drug addict” and that he was on the country’s drug watch-list.
Durterte’s allegation against Marcos was swiftly denied by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
“Fentanyl is the strongest painkiller that you can buy. It is highly addictive and it has very serious side effects,” Marcos said before leaving for a two-day state visit to Vietnam. Duterte “has been taking the drug for a very long time now. I hope his doctors take better care of him,” he said.
Early into Duterte’s term in 2016, the firebrand leader who oversaw a deadly drug war that killed thousands admitted that he took Fentanyl — a potent opioid medication — to relieve his daily migraines and spinal pains. He denied being addicted to the painkiller.
Marcos and Duterte drew thousands of their supporters in separate rallies on Sunday, underscoring a widening rift that may split the alliance that led to landslide victories in the 2022 election.