Vice President Sara Duterte on Sunday has expressed her gratitude to Senator Imee Marcos for supporting her family amid the reported strained relations with her cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The Vice President — in a message — stressed that her family is proud of their principles for the sake of the Filipino people.

“Thank you, Senator Imee Marcos for your support to me, our family, the Dabawenyos, and Davao City. We only have our principles and nothing else. We have one word for the sake of the nation, and we are proud of this. May the Señor Sto. Niño bless you,” Duterte said.

Duterte’s statements come after reports that the lady senator has implied that “she is not on good terms with Romualdez” because she sided with the Dutertes.

To recall, VP Sara’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte and Romualdez previously had a run-in over the issue of confidential funds, which saw the ex-chief executive alleging that the Lower House was the “most rotten institution” in the government.

Romualdez earlier said he expects the relationship between the House of Representatives and the Vice President to improve following the latter’s decision to let go of her confidential fund under the proposed 2024 national budget.