A public allegation by Senator Aimee Marcos, the estranged older sister of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has sparked a political controversy in the country. The president’s office and other family members have dismissed her allegations as “baseless” and “irresponsible,” following Aimee’s statement.
The UK-based Independent reported on Tuesday (November 18) that Aimee Marcos claimed at a public rally in Manila on Monday night that her brother had been using drugs since childhood and that his addiction had worsened after marriage. Aimee blamed Marcos Jr.’s current regime, known as Bongbong, for corruption, policy chaos, and lack of accountability.
Aimee and Bongbong are both children of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
The rally was organized by an influential church group and was to protest allegations of widespread corruption in a flood-control project. About half a million people attended. In her speech, Aimee said, “I was not responsible for taking care of my father when he was alive. As he got older, the problem got worse. I knew he was using drugs.”
She urged her brother to seek treatment, saying, “I don’t want to lose my brother. It’s very important to be drug-free now.”
Meanwhile, Claire Castro, the undersecretary for communications in the presidential office, directly rejected Aimee’s allegations, calling them “completely false” and likely intended to divert attention from the ongoing Senate corruption investigation. She urged Aimee to cooperate with the investigation and not take sides with the corrupt.
This is not the first time that Bongbong Marcos has been accused of drug use. However, before he ran for president in 2021, he released two medical reports showing he tested negative for cocaine and methamphetamine.
The allegations also include the president’s wife and his son and House of Representatives majority leader Sandro Marcos. Sandro called the allegations “dangerously irresponsible” and “a web of lies.”
The wave of allegations against the Philippine president comes at a time when former President Rodrigo Duterte is being held by the International Criminal Court for at least 76 murders in the name of the war on drugs. Duterte’s son and Davao City representative Paulo Duterte has called on President Bongbong Marcos to undergo hair follicle testing in the interest of transparency.
