'No description': Sara Duterte says she and Marcos no longer talk, see each other
Amid airing out her frustrations against the government, Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday, Aug. 8, admitted that she hasn’t spoken or seen President Marcos.

(From left) President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte during the Brigada Eskwela in Manila last Aug. 14, 2023. (Ali Vicoy/MANILA BULLETIN)
In an interview on Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), the Vice President defended her recent comments when she voiced out her comments on the state of the country.
Duterte also refused to describe her relationship with the President.
“Wala akong description sa relationship namin ngayon ni President Marcos. Hindi na kami nagkakausap, hindi na rin kami nagkikita (I don’t have a description of my relationship now with President Marcos. We don’t talk anymore, we don’t see each other anymore),” she said.
In a statement on Wednesday, Aug. 7, the Vice President criticized the state of security, health care, infrastructure, and democracy in the Philippines, lamenting that Filipinos “deserve better” and not leaders who are traitors to their sworn duty.
But on Thursday, she justified her comments and said she’s neither pro-administration nor pro-opposition.
“Hindi ako gumagalaw para sa administrasyon, hindi ako gumagalaw para sa oposisyon, hindi politika kundi para sa bayan (I don’t act for the administration, I don’t act for the opposition),” Duterte said, adding that all government officials swore to serve the country.
“So, kung ano 'yung sa tingin ko ay tama para sa bayan, iyon 'yung sinasabi ko. So, 'yung frustration ko as a Vice President and as a Filipino, sa mga nangyayari o naririnig natin sa ating gobyerno, nilabas ko doon sa statement (So, whatever I think is right for the country, that’s what I’m saying. So, my frustration as a Vice President and as a Filipino, in what’s happening and what I’m hearing in our government, I put it out there in the statement),” the official stressed.
Duterte, who was Marcos’ running mate in the Uniteam tandem of the 2022 elections, never admitted to a falling out with the President, but she claimed personal and work issues led to her resignation from his Cabinet.
She officially left the Marcos Cabinet as Department of Education (DepEd) secretary in July.