Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 27) — Sen. Imee Marcos on Thursday said she is only being critical of the administration to “find solutions” to issues faced by the country, and to protect her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and their family’s name.
\”Hindi sa pagkokontra, we’re trying to hammer out the details,\” Marcos said in a forum on Thursday. \”Mahal ko yung kapatid ko at hindi talaga kami magkakahiwalay dahil sa simpleng dahilan na nanggaling kami sa iisang puno.\”
[Translation: It’s not that I’m always countering, we’re trying to hammer out the details. I love my brother and we will not be separated because of the simple fact that we came from one tree.]
When Congress reopened on July 24, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino \”Koko\” Pimentel III said Marcos was the \”logical\” recruit to the two-man opposition bloc. But he also said this might not happen as Imee was a sister of the president.
READ: Imee in Minority bloc? Pimentel, Hontiveros bare what’s next for opposition
\”Thirty-six years kami nag-antay. Eh papaano naman kung magiging bulilyaso pa [What if this fails]?\” Marcos said of her being critical of the administration.
\”I’m solid admin, there’s no ifs or buts,\” she added. \”I’m only here to protect the president and the family name. We fought hard and long for this and we are deeply invested in making certain that the Marcos administration should work.\”
The president and the senator are the children of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos. The elder Marcos held on to power for over 20 years, from December 1965 to February 1986. He put the country under martial law from September 1972 to January 1981 but retained his powers as dictator until he was ousted through the 1986 People Power Revolution.
At the end of his regime, the country was left with massive debt, extreme poverty incidence, and thousands of cases of human rights abuses.
‘My brother is not lying’
When asked about the criticisms of his brother’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) regarding inflation figures, Sen. Marcos said the president and government statistics are \”not lying.\” But she also said it is true that the prices of commodities are still high.
\”Bumaba nga ang inflation, pero nagsimula siya sa patong-patong [The inflation has decreased but it started with an already high figure],\” she added.
READ: Marcos: PH inflation ‘moving in right direction’
She also questioned the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for its definition of employment, which included unpaid household workers, self-employed, employers in their own family-operated farm or business, those without pay in their own family-operated farm or business, and those with one hour of work in the last month.
The president boasted about the increase in employment rate from 82.4% in April 2020 to 95.7% in May 2023. The latest figure translates to 48.26 million Filipinos, PSA said.
\”Hindi mali yong statiska, hindi nagsisinungaling sa SONA, pero tama ba itong pagkaintindi natin ng employed?\” she asked.
[Translation: The statistic is not wrong, there was no deception in the SONA, but did we define \”employed\” correctly?]
The senator said the chief executive’s second SONA was a \”great, bracing speech\” that is \”optimistic and encouraging.\”
\”But now the heavy lifting begins. Nakakataba nga ng puso, ngayon makakabusog ba ng tiyan?\” she also raised.
[Translation: It’s heartwarming but can it also fill hungry stomachs?]
She said she will be critical to carefully monitor government agencies on how they will make the promises and priorities set by the president into reality.
\”Matagal ako na nasa oposisyon at alam ko kung papaano magbatikos at pumansin pero ang mas mahalaga, bilang tulong sa aking kapatid na pangulo, ay maghanap ng solusyon,\” she added.
