MANILA, Philippines – Senator Imee Marcos has accused her own brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., of being a longtime cocaine user – a claim that, if true, raises a disturbing question: Was Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war only a bloody campaign against the poor, sparing the rich and powerful?

The allegation came Monday night, November 17, during a rally in Manila led by a religious group pushing for transparency in government. Imee claimed, without presenting evidence, that the President’s supposed “drug addiction” dates back to their father’s dictatorship and continues today, allegedly affecting his governance, decision-making, and enabling corruption.

The Palace swiftly dismissed the accusation as a “recycled and disproven” narrative.

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the senator’s remarks may be a “desperate attempt” to divert attention from ongoing corruption investigations into allegedly substandard flood-control projects that may involve her allies in the Senate.

“Senator Imee, I hope you will be a patriot and help the investigation instead of defending the corrupt,” Castro said. “Let President Marcos work to stop corruption.”

The explosive implication

While the senator offered no evidence to support her claim, the allegation – coming from within the Marcos family – carries political weight.

It also lands in a country still grappling with the legacy of Duterte’s so-called war on drugs, which killed thousands of mostly poor Filipinos, many in police operations that human rights groups describe as extrajudicial executions.

Duterte, now detained in The Netherlands under an International Criminal Court warrant for crimes against humanity, repeatedly claimed the anti-illegal drug campaign spared no one.

But if Marcos Jr. – the sitting President – is indeed a drug user, as his own sister alleges, critics say this furthers the argument that Duterte’s drug war was never truly a war against drugs, but a war against the powerless, while the wealthy and the politically connected remained untouched.

A political civil war inside Marcos-Duterte alliance

Senator Marcos is now a high-profile ally of former president Duterte, whose family blames the Marcos administration for what they insist was Duterte’s “illegal arrest” by the ICC. Vice President Sara Duterte, also a Marcos critic, remains close to the senator.

This widening rift threatens what once appeared to be a stable political coalition.

In her speech, Imee went further, accusing the First Lady and their children of drug use. The First Lady has not responded, but presidential son and Ilocos Norte Representative Sandro Marcos condemned his aunt’s statements as “dangerously irresponsible,” saying they were meant to destabilize the administration.

“It pains me to see how low she has gone,” Sandro said. “This is a web of lies to advance her political ambitions.”

A familiar exchange of accusations

This is not the first time drug allegations were hurled between Duterte and Marcos Jr.

In early 2023, Duterte publicly claimed Marcos was a drug addict once listed by law enforcement. Marcos laughed off the allegation, saying he would not dignify it, and countered that Duterte himself had used fentanyl, a powerful opioid. Duterte earlier confirmed taking fentanyl to manage pain related to a motorbike accident.

During the 2022 campaign, Marcos’ camp released medical documents showing he tested negative for cocaine and methamphetamine.

The bigger picture: Accountability still missing

The President has created an independent fact-finding body to investigate allegations that lawmakers earned kickbacks from flood-control contracts for projects that were substandard, incomplete, or nonexistent, triggering public outrage in a country long battered by deadly floods.

For rights advocates, however, the Marcos-Duterte feud is revealing something deeper about how power works in the Philippines.

If the President’s own sister claims he is a drug user and yet he was never subjected to Duterte’s bloody drug war, it reinforces what families of victims have said for years:

Justice in the Philippines is selective. The drug war was never about eliminating drugs – it was about eliminating a social class.

Timeline: The Marcos-Duterte Political Breakup

2022: A powerful alliance wins

• May 9, 2022 – Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte win a historic landslide as a unity ticket, merging two dominant political forces.

• The alliance is seen as a continuation of Rodrigo Duterte’s populist support, combined with Marcos’ political machinery.

2023: First cracks appear

• January–March 2023 – Rodrigo Duterte publicly calls Marcos Jr. a drug addict, triggering the first major public rift.

• Marcos counters by pointing out Duterte’s admitted fentanyl use.

• Late 2023 – Tensions rise as Marcos shifts foreign policy back toward closer ties with the U.S., away from Duterte’s Beijing-friendly stance.

2024: Alliance collapses

• Early 2024 – Marcos allies block Vice President Sara Duterte’s bid for confidential funds, prompting a public backlash from the Duterte camp.

• Mid–2024 – Sara resigns as DepEd Secretary, signaling the formal end of the Uniteam partnership.

• Duterte allies accuse the Marcos administration of trying to prosecute them and weaken their local power bases.

March 2025: Duterte arrested under ICC warrant

• March 2025 – Former president Duterte is reportedly arrested abroad under an International Criminal Court warrant for crimes against humanity linked to the drug war.

• Duterte allies blame the Marcos administration for “betrayal” and failing to protect him.

• Relations between the two camps reach a point of no return.

November 2025: Imee Marcos drops a political bombshell

• November 2025 – Senator Imee Marcos publicly accuses her brother, President Marcos Jr., of being a longtime drug user.

• Palace officials dismiss the allegation as “recycled, baseless, and politically motivated.”

• The accusation fuels debate that Duterte’s drug war targeted only the poor, while the rich and powerful were spared.

What the breakup reveals

Analysts and rights groups say the feud exposes:

• The selective nature of the drug war, now that the allegation targets someone at the top of government.

• A struggle between two political dynasties for control of the 2028 elections.

• A battle between foreign policy directions — Duterte’s China pivot versus Marcos’ U.S.-aligned stance.

• The Philippines’ unresolved crisis of accountability for drug war killings.

Where this is headed

The Marcos-Duterte split now shapes:

• 2025 midterm Senate and local races

• 2028 presidential realignments

• ICC prosecution and historical judgment of the drug war era

• The future of political dynasties in the Philippines

Political observers warn that the feud is no longer a mere family dispute—it is now a struggle for the soul and direction of the Philippine state.

About The Author

Daily Sun Chronicle Research

Daily Sun Chronicle Research is a dynamic pool of writers, analysts, and field correspondents with diverse professional backgrounds and wide-ranging interests. Our team brings together seasoned journalists, emerging storytellers, subject-matter specialists, and community-based researchers who share a common commitment to truth-telling and public service.

See author's posts