MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. insisted he does not have a beef with Vice President Sara Duterte despite the tirades thrown against him by her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

In an interview with reporters in Vietnam on Tuesday, January 30, the President said their relationship has not changed.

“Well, it’s exactly the same,” Marcos said, adding he will keep the Vice President – who also heads the Department of Education – in the Cabinet.

The President and his predecessor engaged in an ugly word war in the past week, hurling allegations of drug use or involvement against each other.

The former president threw the first punch, alleging in a speech in Davao City that he once saw Marcos’ name on the government’s watch list.

Marcos retaliated by saying Duterte’s use of fentanyl – a  synthetic opioid – may have been the reason for his tantrum.

The rift between the two families has become more apparent in recent months, amid political developments that have been interpreted by observers as disadvantageous to the Duterte family.

These include Congress’ decision to junk Vice President Sara’s request for P650 million in confidential funds, and Marcos’ statement that the government was studying the possibility of joining the International Criminal Court, which is investigating Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody drug war.

Marcos and Sara ran as a tandem in the 2022 polls, and their alliance dubbed as “Uniteam” resulted in a landslide election victory.

On Tuesday, Marcos said the “Uniteam” he has with the Vice President was still “vibrant.”

“It is still working, and we will continue,” he said in press release of the Presidential Communications Office. – Rappler.com