Marcos worried about Sen. Imee

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said he and those close to him have grown increasingly concerned about his sister, Ma. Imelda Josefa Remedios “Imee” R. Marcos, after she publicly accused him of illegal drug use.

“It’s an anathema for me to talk about family matters in public — to show our dirty linen,” he told a briefing in Malacañang. “I’ll just say this much: for a while now, we’ve been very worried about my sister. When I say ‘we,’ I’m talking about friends and family.”

The senator made the accusation before a crowd of more than a million attendees of the Iglesia ni Cristo rally last week.

Mr. Marcos said the behavior of the senator, who recently accused the First Family of drug use, has alarmed those around her.

“The lady that you see talking on TV is not my sister,” he said. “That’s why we worry. We are very worried about her. I hope she feels better soon.”

In a Facebook post, the Senator urged the President to prove her wrong.

“Bongbong, it’s me. You’re seeing all sorts of things, ading (little brother). Prove me wrong — I want to be wrong,” she wrote in Filipino.

The rift between the siblings came as Ms. Marcos aligned herself with the Duterte faction, a once-allied political force that helped deliver a landslide victory for the Marcos-Duterte tandem in 2022.

Their alliance has since fractured amid escalating disputes over security policy, investigations into alleged corruption, and Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s increasingly hostile posture toward the President. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana