Marcos on Senator Imee’s drug use claims: That’s not my sister on TV

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was asked about allegations of drug use — made by older sister Imee, no less — in a press conference on Monday, November 24.

An uncharacteristically emotional Marcos told media that he “hopes she feels better soon” because “the lady that you see talking on TV is not my sister.”

“For a while now, we’ve been very worried about my sister. When I say we, I’m talking about friends and family. And the reason that is — is because the lady you see talking on TV is not my sister. That view shared by our cousins, friends, na hindi siya ‘yan [that’s not her]. So that’s why we are worried; we are very worried about her. I hope she feels better soon,” Marcos said.

Before a crowd of over half a million during an Iglesia ni Cristo rally the previous week, Senator Imee Marcos accused the First Family of being drug addicts. The event was livestreamed and broadcast by media.

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The President’s son, Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos, earlier denied his aunt’s allegations, calling them “not only false, but dangerously irresponsible.”

“Hindi ito asal ng isang tunay na kapatid (This is not the behavior of a true sibling),” the younger Marcos said — a play on both how INC members address each other and, more cheekily, long-time rumors and talk that the senator is not a Marcos by blood.

It’s an open secret that Imee, the eldest of child of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos and Imelda Marcos, has long been out of her brother’s inner circle. She barely played a direct role in his 2022 presidential run and was hardly seen in Malacañang Palace in the first years of her brother’s presidency, only showing up for events where fellow legislators were also in attendance.

Imee was included in the Senate slate of her ading (younger brother) in the 2025 midterms, but shortly announced her withdrawal from the slate. Come campaign period, however, she decided to join select administration sorties. Unsurprisingly, she bolted out of that coalition in March after the Marcos administration sent former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court, where he now awaits trial over his bloody drug war.

Imee has since fully established herself as an opposition figure to her brother.

As he addressed his manang’s allegations at the Monday press conference, President Marcos let out a deep sigh. His voice softened, and his expression darkened. “It’s anathema to talk about family matters generally in public. I do not like — we do not like to show our dirty linen in public,” he said.

Has he spoken to his sister? “We don’t really…. We no longer travel in the same circles, political or otherwise. So, no.”

Senator Marcos quickly posted a reply on social media: “Bongbong, ako ‘to, kung anu-ano na nakikita mo ading. Patunayan mong mali ako — gusto kong mali ako.” (Bongbong, this is me. You’re hallucinating. Prove me wrong — I want to be wrong.)

The very public spat between the two Marcos siblings happens just as President Marcos faces his toughest political upheaval yet, triggered by revelations of widespread corruption related to flood control projects. It was Marcos himself who opened a Pandora’s box of exposés after he called out corrupt officials and contractors during his 2025 State of the Nation Address.

And yet amid the tempest, there seems to still be time for family drama, too. – Rappler.com