Marcos open to any ‘good suggestion’ from Duterte
President Marcos has extended his hand anew for a possible mending of his strained relationship with Vice President Sara Duterte.
Amid complaints from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) that Duterte has become an outcast in the government, Malacañang said that President Marcos will be all ears to all of her ideas, so long as they will help improve the lives of Filipinos.
“We welcome any impactful and good suggestion from the [OVP],” Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said during a briefing on Thursday. “The President’s door is always open for the Vice President,” she added.
OVP spokesperson Ruth Castelo earlier said it was a “great disservice to the country” that Malacañang has been keeping Duterte out of the loop or not funding her office’s programs and projects.
But Castro said it was Duterte who cut ties with the President and has since not offered help to him.
She cited how the Vice President claimed she had the formula to lower the prices of rice to P20, a campaign promise of the President, but she has not shared that supposed formula with him.
“It is not President Marcos nor his administration that blocks the programs of Vice President Duterte,” Castro said. “In the first place, the President is always welcome to hear any impactful suggestion from her.”
Castro also denied the OVP’s allegations that the government was blocking an increase in its budget because the Department of Budget and Management even raised the OVP’s proposed budget for 2026 from P733 million to P903 million.
