On November 4, declared as the National Day of Mourning for the victims and those impacted by Typhoon Kristine, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. participated in a mass held at Ground Zero, located in Brgy. Sampaloc, Talisay, Batangas. via PCO | Facebook
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday, November 4, sidestepped reporters’ questions regarding former President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent revelations about his administration’s controversial anti-drug campaign in a Senate hearing.
In a chance interview in Batangas after distributing aid to Kristine-affected communities in the province, Palace reporters tried to ask Marcos about Duterte’s acknowledgment of the campaign’s violence and whether the Department of Justice should revisit the issue.
For context, Duterte claimed he has assumed “full, legal responsibility” for his administration’s drug campaign while acknowledging the existence of a death squad composed not of police officers but of individuals he referred to as”gangsters.”
Marcos quickly redirected the conversation towards the aftermath of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, which recently affected Batangas.
”I don’t want to talk about— I need to talk about what’s happened here. At nakita naman ninyo kung gaano kalaki ang naging sira sa infrastructure,” Marcos told reporters.
However, a transcript that the Presidential Communications Office’s Presidential News Desk (PCO-PND) sent to Palace reporters showed a missing phrase from the President’s remarks, specifically the “I don’t want to talk about…” which Marcos also said based on the raw audio clip shared to The City Post.
This is not the first instance of the PCO-PND omitting such details during the current administration. Marcos had also initially brushed aside media inquiries regarding the government’s flood control measures following the devastation caused by Typhoon Carina in Luzon.
“I don’t think we can – we need to talk about that now. What we need to talk about is how to bring help to the people who are in trouble,” an excerpt from the transcript read. A separate raw audio clip of Marcos’ interview revealed that he actually mentioned the word “DON’T” in the “we don’t need to talk about that now.”
Flood control
In the same media interview in Batangas, Marcos expressed his support for lawmakers’ intentions to conduct a deeper investigation into the government’s flood control projects in light of the significant flooding caused by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.
This, as Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero previously revealed that senators plan to question relevant agencies about their budget allocations for flood control projects.
“Oo, sige. Wala akong problema. But also they have to realize there are two sides to this. Sinasabi ‘yung flood control– talagang na-overwhelm ang flood control natin. May flood control tayo, hindi kaya,” he said.
Marcos, however, noted that the country’s flood control projects were “overwhelmed” by the heavy rainfall from Kristine, emphasizing that such severe flooding had not occurred in the past.
”Hindi talaga kaya dahil sa buong kasaysayan ng Pilipinas wala pang ganito, ngayon lang natin haharapin ito. Kaya dapat maunawaan talaga ng tao, hindi lamang ‘yung budget kung hindi kung ano ‘yung science, what’s the science, follow the science. See what’s happening,” Marcos said. (TCSP)
