Palace to Sara Duterte: Every public servant should assess themselves

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Wednesday brushed off Vice President Sara Duterte’s recent tirades against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying the president is just focused on the direction of his leadership.

At a briefing, Palace press officer Claire Castro responded to Duterte’s advice to Marcos to “look in the mirror” after he urged newly sworn-in government officials to stop politicking and focus on public service.

READ: Sara tells Marcos to ‘stop politicking,’ denies attacks against gov’t

“It’s only right that every person, especially a public servant, reflect and assess themselves — whether they are truly working, engaging in politics, or simply on vacation,” Castro said.

She emphasized that the President is aware of his priorities and expects the same from officials under his leadership.

“President Marcos Jr. knows his direction and the work that needs to be done, and that is what he expects from all public servants, especially those under the Executive Department. His directive to us is to work and avoid engaging in politics,” she added.

Castro also addressed Duterte’s remark that she was merely defending herself from alleged attacks by the Marcos administration.

READ: Palace: Don’t call Sara Duterte impeachment trial a ‘witch-hunt’

“Perhaps it would be better for her to review her statements. Let us remember — when the P20 rice initiative was launched, was that really an attack on the vice president? Yet she criticized this project of the president, the P20 rice, along with many other things that are not even issues concerning the President or the government,” Castro said.

She further took a jab at Duterte, who is currently in The Hague, Netherlands, to visit former President Rodrigo Duterte in detention at the International Criminal Court.

“As of now, where was Vice President Sara Duterte when she made those statements? Where is she currently? The Hague. And based on what we know, she will be there until July 23. That’s all. Let’s remember — the president stands for action, not vacation,” Castro said.

In an interview in The Hague on July 7, Duterte told Marcos to look at himself in the mirror and assess who is really “politicking,” claiming it was the President who was doing so.

Duterte also confirmed that she would not attend Marcos’ fourth State of the Nation Address on July 28, as she would be in the Netherlands until July 23 before flying to South Korea for a “Free Duterte Rally.”

Meanwhile, Castro declined to comment on the elder Duterte’s expressed wish to be cremated in the event of his death in the Netherlands.

“Those are family matters so it is their decision,” the Palace official said. /das

(2025/07/09-13:17)

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