Marcos middle name unmentionable for VP Sara
Credit to Author: Elizabeth Marcelo| Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0800
MANILA, Philippines — Has “Romualdez” become an unmentionable name for Vice President Sara Duterte?
Amid reports of a rift between her and Speaker Martin Romualdez, Duterte expressed yesterday her “love” and gratitude to President Marcos, but refused to mention his middle initial.
“Hindi ko na banggitin ang middle initial niya… Mahal ko si apo BBM (I will not mention his middle initial… I love apo BBM),” Duterte said at the start of her speech for the Office of the Vice President (OVP)’s thanksgiving event for its partners dubbed Pasidungog (Tribute) held at a hotel in Manila yesterday.
Apo is an Ilocano term expressing high regard for an older person.
Marcos’ middle name is Romualdez. His mother, former first lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, is the aunt of the Speaker.
“Alam mo, apo, alam mo ‘yan na mahal kita (You know, apo, you know that I love you),” Duterte added, still addressing the President.
Duterte, who is also the education secretary, then went on to thank Marcos for his support for the projects of the OVP as well as the Department of Education (DepEd).
The Vice President also shared how she and Marcos became closer during the campaign period, saying they used to laugh about “private jokes.”
Duterte said she even made a joke to the President to be careful of women who might get attracted to him.
“And when the campaign season was about to end, I told him, ‘Apo, when you become president, be careful as there are certain segments of the female population that are attracted to power and men in power,’” Duterte said in English and Filipino.
“I told him, mag-ingat ka, baka madagdagan ang anak mo (be careful because you might have another child)… So, that’s how we know we developed our friendship. And I want you all to know, mahal na mahal ko si apong BBM (I love apong BBM so much),” she added.
The rumor about the rift between Duterte and Romualdez started when former president and incumbent Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a close political ally of the Duterte family, was demoted from being a senior deputy speaker to just deputy speaker.
A day after Arroyo’s demotion, Duterte announced her resignation from the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), saying that her stay in office “cannot be poisoned by political toxicity or undermined by execrable political powerplay.”
Arroyo is a stalwart of the Lakas-CMD, serving as its president emeritus, while Romualdez is its current president.
Duterte joined the Lakas-CMD in November 2021, as she announced her decision to run for vice president.
Rumors recently circulated that Arroyo was demoted for allegedly plotting to unseat Romualdez as Speaker.
Arroyo has denied the allegation, saying that “being speaker once more is no longer part of my political objectives.”
Just recently, Duterte also posted a cryptic message calling out someone to stop being a “tambaloslos,” a Visayan mythical creature with a large mouth and penis believed to confuse or mislead people.
Tambaloslos is also Visayan and Cebuano slang for someone who is all talk, inept or stupid, usually used as an insult against a male.
Fight vs poverty, insurgency, terrorism
During the same event, Duterte paid tribute to government agencies and private partners of the OVP, enjoining them to continue supporting her office’s fight against poverty, insurgency, terrorism, illegal drugs and criminality.
“The success of the Office of the Vice President’s programs is a win for every Filipino,” Duterte said in her speech.
“That is why we are looking forward to our continued unity – that we will be able to empower more Filipinos, especially those whose lives have been chronically cornered by the violence of poverty,” she added.