Communications undersecretary Claire Castro says claims from the president’s sister may be an attempt to distract from investigations into a corruption scandal
Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr has denied accusations made by his estranged sister that he is longtime drug addict, whose alleged cocaine dependence has led to governance issues, including corruption, a spokesperson for the president has said.
Communications undersecretary Claire Castro described the comments by the president’s sister, senator Imee Marcos’, as baseless, and suggested they may have been a desperate attempt to distract ongoing investigations into a corruption scandal involving flood control projects that may implicate her allies in the Senate.
“Senator Imee, I hope you’ll be a patriot and help in the investigation that your own brother has been doing and condemn all the corrupt,” Castro said. “Don’t side with them, don’t hide them. Let President Marcos work to stop all the corruption.”
An independent fact-finding commission created by Marcos, a Senate committee and government agencies have been investigating allegations that influential members of Congress and the Senate have pocketed huge kickbacks from construction companies, which had won lucrative contracts to build flood-control projects that turned out to be substandard, incomplete or nonexistent. The scandal has sparked outrage in a country long prone to deadly flooding and typhoons.
