Sara Duterte on Marcos’ glad to help remark: Sarcasm was lost on him
Vice-President Sara Duterte arrives to address people gathering outside the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, on March 14, 2025, as former President Rodrigo Duterte appears for the first time before International Criminal Court to face crimes against humanity charges. The 79-year-old faces a charge of “the crime against humanity of murder”, according to the ICC, for a crackdown that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs. —Agence France-Presse
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong‚” R. Marcos Jr. may have missed the sarcasm in Vice President Sara Duterte’s “thank you” message for his role in helping mend her relationship with her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
This was Vice President Duterte’s reaction to Marcos saying he was “glad” to have helped the two Dutertes reconcile amid the elder Duterte’s detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.
READ: President Marcos to Sara Duterte: ‘Glad I could help’
“I think the sarcasm is lost on him. Hindi niya siguro ako naiintindihan,” the vice president told reporters in an interview on Friday (Manila time), referring to Marcos’ response.
“Hindi niya siguro naiintindihan na ang duty and obligation niya ay para sa bayan, hindi para ayusin ang mga problema ng — personal na mga problema ng mga pamilya. The sarcasm was lost on him,” she explained.
Vice President Duterte, in an interview last week, said: “This really is ironic, but I have to thank Bongbong Marcos because there was forgiveness between me and [former President Rodrigo Duterte] for all that has happened in our lives.”
“And we have a relationship now — a father-daughter relationship,” she continued.
The former president was arrested in Manila on March 11.
He was flown the same day to The Hague, Netherlands to face before the International Criminal Court charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during his administration’s drug war.Vice President Duterte followed shortly after.
He had his pretrial hearing on March 14, while the ICC set his confirmation of charges hearing for Sept. 23.
His administration’s drug war claimed at least 6,000 lives, according to official government data.
However, human rights watchdogs estimated the death toll from the drug war to be between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019.
