Senator Imee Marcos on Friday set the record straight about the status of her relationship with her younger brother, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. or PBBM.

In an interview, Senator Marcos, who is campaigning for a second term in the upper chamber, dismissed speculations about a rift between her and the President.

“Of course, he’s still my sibling, but as I said we don’t really have any conflicts within the family. The ones causing trouble are those around the two sides,” she said, referring to the President and Vice President Sara Duterte.

Senator Marcos did not say whom she was referring to but she hinted that many people around the country’s two top leaders could not wait to further their ambitions in the 2028 presidential and vice presidential elections.

“You know, there are a lot of gossipers, a lot of jealous people, and ambitious ones [who are] rushing things for 2028. It’s still so far away,” she said.

She continued: “Let’s let Bongbong and [Vice President Sara Duterte] finish their terms first. I don’t want all this fighting. That’s why sometimes I distance myself.”

President Marcos and Vice President Duterte ran together under the “UniTeam” coalition that scored a landslide in the 2022 elections, which Senator Marcos claimed was her idea.

Earlier this week, Senator Marcos appeared during the kickoff of the administration-backed Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas campaign rally in Laoag City despite her initial decision to withdraw from the senatorial slate.

During the campaign rally, President Marcos took an apparent swipe at the senatorial candidates of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), which is currently chaired by Vice President Duterte’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

He said that none of his party’s senatorial candidates were pro-China and pro-Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, which he banned last year.

“None of them are applauding for China and rejoice when we are bombed with water, when our Coast Guard is hit, when our fishermen are blocked, when their catch is stolen, and on top of that, when our islands are being taken to become part of their country,” he said in Filipino, alluding to the purported stand of the candidates aligned with Duterte.

The bilateral ties between the United States and the Philippines have become stronger since Marcos took office in 2022. During the administration of his predecessor, Duterte, the Philippines veered away from its traditional ally and developed warmer ties with America’s rival, China.