On SONA day, Cabinet officials refute video of Marcos allegedly using drugs

MANILA, Philippines – Members of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Cabinet came to his defense on Monday, July 22, after a circulating video showed the chief executive allegedly using drugs.

The Department of National Defense (DND) under Secretary Gibo Teodoro’s leadership said it was an “obviously fake video” that supposedly originated from a Maisug gathering in Los Angeles.

The agency is referring to Hakbang ng Maisug, a group linked with the Duterte family which has been staging anti-government protests across the Philippines.

“[It] is a maliciously crude attempt to destabilize the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. They will not succeed!” the DND statement read.

“Even the release of the contrived video in the USA is a cowardly attempt to escape Philippine criminal jurisdiction,” it added.

In a quick interview with reporters at the Batasang Pambansa hours before the start of the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin described the circulation of the video as “malicious.”

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, in a press conference earlier in the day, also instructed the Philippine National Police to form a task force that would probe the circulation of the supposedly fake video.

“I’ve long known the President, and his features are not like [those in the video],” Abalos was quoted as saying by state-run media PTV.

“It’s so unfair to the person. And why did they upload it in time for the SONA?” the interior chief added in a separate ambush interview.

Marcos’ alleged drug use has long been the subject of speculations, and is an accusation that former president Rodrigo Duterte amplified earlier this year.

In a rally in Davao, Duterte, without evidence, accused Marcos of being a drug addict. When asked to respond, the incumbent president said he “won’t dignify the question,” while blaming his predecessor’s erratic behavior on fentanyl. – Rappler.com