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Philippines’ first lady Liza Marcos breaks 2-year silence on ties with vice-president Sara Duterte: ‘I felt hurt’

  • The first lady’s comments come after the president on Monday said his relationship with his vice-president was ‘complicated’ and ‘hasn’t really changed’
  • Her words may have brought Duterte-Marcos tensions to a head, analysts say

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First lady Louise Araneta-Marcos chats during the presidential proclamation at the House of Representatives. In an interview, the first lady says she was “always kind to [the vice-president]” but the vice-president was “now a bad shot with me”. Photo: AFP

A video of Philippine first lady Marie Louise “Liza” Araneta Marcos saying her relationship with Vice-President Sara Duterte has soured went viral on Thursday, likely pushing tensions between the president and his vice-president to a head, analysts said.

The comments are the latest escalation in the war of words between the Marcos and Duterte clans, two of the most powerful political families in the Philippines, following numerous insults traded between the vice-president’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr.

In a video of an interview with local broadcast journalist Anthony Taberna, the first lady said she was “always kind to [the vice-president]” but the vice-president was “now a bad shot with me”.

The first lady said the vice-president had hurt her emotionally, saying “I felt hurt”.

“[The vice-president] went to a rally where [Marcos Jnr] was mocked as ‘bangag’ (Tagalog for a drug-addled person),” she said, referring to the March 12 rally organised by supporters of the former president, where the vice-president “laughed”.

The 28-second video clip posted by Taberna is part of an extended interview in which the first lady broke two years of silence on her relationship with the vice-president since her husband took office.

The entire interview has yet to be released but supporters of the president expect more pushback by the first lady against her political enemies.

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