POT, KETTLE

Ex-Philippines Leader Duterte Calls New Prez a Drug-Addicted ‘Son of a Whore’

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who was elected on a ticket with Duterte’s daughter, hit back by calling the former president a fentanyl addict.

Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte slammed his successor as a drug addict during an expletive-riddled screed on Sunday and accused him of trying to hang on to power like his dictator father. “Bongbong Marcos was high back then. Now that he’s the president, he’s still high … We have a drug addict for a president! That son of a whore!” Duterte reportedly said. His comments elicited a clapback from Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who told reporters, “I think it’s the fentanyl” influencing Duterte’s vulgar diatribe. Duterte, who publicly took credit for killing drug dealers while president, has in the past admitted to using the opioid while recovering from a motorbike accident. The barbs demonstrated the escalating tensions between two ruling political families in the island nation. Marcos’ vice president is Duterte’s daughter Sara, who on Monday alluded to further strife within the “presidential circle,” appearing to side with her family. She is expected to launch a bid for the 2028 presidential election, which could bring the political families’ feud to a head.