First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos challenged longtime critics of her family to “extend your brain just a little bit” as she told them they would eventually get their karma.

In an interview on “Tune in Kay Tunying” that aired on Friday, Araneta-Marcos said she would not stoop down to the level of her family’s detractors.

“Me? Bring it on, honey. You’re the size of your enemy. You’re not my enemy like I said. I will never stoop to that level. I will never stoop (down) to that,” said the controversial First Lady, who has always been a favorite subject of criticism.

Her detractors first picked on her when she made a face by protruding her tongue out of her mouth during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s inauguration in June 2022

“However, every time they say that, they become uglier and uglier. So look at their faces. Diba tayo cute pa din tayo (Aren’t we still cute)? What a life. Bring it on. There’s such a thing as karma,” she added.

While she admitted being initially surprised and shocked by the amount of criticism thrown her way, she learned to ignore what she called “stupid” remarks along the way.

Araneta-Marcos, however, expressed her concern when the attacks were directed towards her children.

“I don’t get pikon (overly sensitive) in the sense that what they’re doing is stupid. It’s like they’re not even sophisticated, right? But I do get annoyed when they hurt my sons. Like for example, when President (Rodrigo) Duterte said, ‘Oh, Sandro Marcos wants to be prime minister,’” the First Lady said.

Husband not under the ‘saya’

In the interview, Araneta-Marcos said her husband is not “under the saya” or “under his wife’s skirt,” a dig at a Filipino’s manhood. This after she had given up her high position in a law firm.

She said she would not have dissolved her law firm, Marcos & Associates, if she had another agenda in becoming First Lady.

She said she had to divest from her law firm after her husband decided to run for president.

“You’re talking about ‘under the saya.’ I gave up my law firm. Do you know how painful that was for me? The original partners’ agreement was I’ll come back in six years because you have to divest. I was thinking I would be 70 in six years. So I told my associates (the law firm) was theirs,” the First Lady said.

“Now they are accusing me of smuggling or having certain deals. I gave up my law firm. If you’re going to do that, then I should have just kept my law firm.”

Also, the First Lady said she “never makes suntok (punches) her husband.”

On senatorial run, rift with Imee

She dismissed rumors she may run for senator in the future amid the tension with her sister-in-law, Senator Imee Marcos, and refuted claims her projects were aimed at landing her a Senate seat.

She was about to teach Law at West Visayas State University in Iloilo City when she decided to create the “Lab for All” project to give less fortunate Filipinos access to medical tests.

“My favorite (speculation) is, ‘Oh I’m doing Lab for All because I’m going to run for the Senate.’ Why would they even have to put malice in that?” she said.

She revealed that she was not a registered voter until 2022, when her husband ran for president.

“I teach election law. You know, I am not a registered voter. Think a little bit, right? That’s (the) rule… extend your brain just a little bit. If I’m not a registered voter, how can I run? So this one is chicken feed,” the First Lady said.

Things could get more complicated with Imee if Araneta-Marcos decides to run for senator in 2025, as her sister-in-law is running for reelection.

‘What line not to cross’

Asked why Imee didn’t help her brother, the President, amid the scandals, the First Lady said she knew “what line not to cross.”

The Marcos family has a weekly Sunday lunch together, which Imee has not attended recently, based on the First Lady’s social media posts.

“Well, every Sunday, we have a family lunch. Once, my mother-in-law (Imelda Marcos) said, ‘Hija, you don’t invite Imee to these things,’” Araneta-Marcos said.

“(I told her) we have a group chat. Everyone is there. (Imee is) always invited,” Araneta-Marcos added.

On ex-political allies

Meanwhile, the interview took a sharp turn when Glenn Chong, a former member of their election team, discussed allegations of cheating during the last elections.

At a prayer rally in Manila held by supporters of the troubled Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, Chong threatened to slap the First Lady.

“My first reaction was, ‘Aren’t you a court officer?’ And then he says we cheated. But he was there during the counting. He was there; he was part of our election team. So why do you wait one year to say we cheated?” the First Lady asked.

She was also curious about the sudden change in attitude of another detractor, Sass Sasot, whom she began to represent for free in a cyber libel lawsuit.

“For example, I met Sass (Rogando Sasot) and RJ (Nieto) because they were sued for cyber libel. So they came to me pro bono. But I didn’t know that Sass was a guy. So my affidavit said, ‘She did, she did,’” Araneta-Marcos said.

In a Facebook post, Sasot called Araneta-Marcos the “Lying Lady” and denied being sued for cyber libel.

Sasot said she was facing a civil action brought by opposition blogger Jover Laurio for violating the Data Privacy Act, not cyber libel.

“At first, it was just RJ Nieto whom your law office handled because he had an ongoing cyber libel case filed by then Senator Antonio Trillanes. Yes, it was pro bono. But I believe it was mutual help. We were helping your family bring to the public details of your side of the electoral protest you filed against Vice “At first, it was just RJ Nieto whom your law office handled because he had an ongoing cyber libel case filed by then Senator Antonio Trillanes. Yes, it was pro bono. But I believe it was mutual help. We were helping your family bring to the public details of your side of the electoral protest you filed against Vice President Leni Robredo, which mainstream media wasn’t keen on covering,” said Sasot in the lengthy Facebook post.

“As for karma, Mrs. Araneta-Marcos, you are using this concept wrong. You are rich enough to pursue a more sophisticated education on world views, such as Hinduism, which is the source of the principle of karma,” the vlogger said.

Presidential appointees

Araneta-Marcos also dismissed claims of her involvement in the appointment process for key positions in the Office of the President and the suspension of Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib.

“Be careful what they wish for. I’ll go after them if I’m in charge. It’s me we’re talking about,” she said.

She reiterated that she does not engage in the administrative decisions of the presidency and that she is far from having such responsibilities.

When asked about the suspension of Davao del Norte Governor Jubahib, Araneta-Marcos denied involvement since she did not even know the governor.

“Do I even know that governor? I am the worst politician. Even Bong calls me the ‘ambassador of bad will,’” the First Lady said.

“I even get a mayor’s name wrong,” she added.

Meanwhile, the First Lady said she also has her countdown in the political sphere, revealing that she is marking the days focusing on completing significant projects like the proposed presidential museum.

“I count only because I want those projects to be finished. Hopefully, in 1,500 days, I will be remembered for these projects that will outlive ourselves instead of all this defamation,” she said.

“Pretend I have a case. You count the beginning, the middle, and the end of the case. You can’t be there forever. You should succeed for the client,” she added.

VP Sara: Bad shot

She said she felt sorry for her husband when Vice President Sara Duterte was observed giggling during a January rally in Davao City after her father called the President a drug addict.

“(What the Vice President did was) a bad shot for me. I mean, for me, I felt (that way) because my husband will do everything to protect you. You ran together, right? You’re supposed to rise together,” she said.

“You went to a rally where your President was called a drug addict, then you’re going to laugh? Is that the right thing to do? Even (former Vice President) Leni (Robredo) never did that,” the First Lady said.

DAILY TRIBUNE, however, could not confirm as of this writing if the Vice President had laughed at her father’s remark based on recordings of the event, as the former president’s social media profiles do not have any footage of her in that portion of the speech.

In a sharp response to the First Lady’s accusation about the Vice President, former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque wrote on social media Friday that Duterte never disparaged President Marcos.

“Is VP Sara worse than Leni (Mas malala daw si VP Sara kay Leni)? Ngek, she’s never said anything negative about PBBM, kahit ano pa ang nasa loobin nya (no matter what she feels inside)! Hello!” Roque said in a Facebook post.

“Kampanya pa lang bad shot na talaga si Inday sara Duterte kay Liza Marcos — eh ano naman ngaun, sino ka ba? Baket kailangan suyuin ka ng pangalawang pinakamataas na opisyal ng bayan? (She was already a bad shot to the First Lady even during the campaign. What’s up, who are you? Do you need to be coaxed by the second highest official of the land?” he added.