Marcos siblings' rift explodes in public

A dramatic family feud within the country’s most powerful political dynasty burst into public view this week, as Senator Imee Marcos accused her brother, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., of illegal drug use during a major rally in Manila.

- 

The allegations, made before hundreds of thousands of people at the Iglesia Ni Cristo’s anti-corruption gathering at Quirino Grandstand, immediately drew sharp denials from Malacañang. Palace officials branded the remarks as “baseless” and “politically motivated,” stressing that the President tested negative for cocaine use in 2021 at St. Luke’s Medical Center.

Allegations from the stage

Senator Marcos told the crowd that her brother’s “problem” was known within the family since childhood, citing recollections from their late father, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. She claimed that the Presidential Guard and Metrocom once had to “clean up after his parties.”

Palace response