After Duterte supporters chanted “Marcos, resign!” at a rally in The Hague, where Vice President Sara Duterte was present, Malacañang asked, “Who would benefit from this?”

During the rally, Vice President Duterte addressed the crowd, explaining why President Marcos should step down.

“Why should you resign? Because you are not showing the people that you are a good thinker and capable of leading,” she said.

Duterte later clarified that it was the crowd, not her, who called for Marcos’ resignation.

In response, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro asked who would gain from such a demand, stating, “If they ask the President to resign, who will benefit? Even if VP Sara says, ‘oh, you said that,’ she will still benefit from it.”

Castro defended Marcos’ leadership, highlighting that the administration upholds the rule of law and maintains transparency in government transactions. She criticized Vice President Duterte’s leadership, implying that a leader who keeps secrets cannot effectively govern.

“A person cannot lead with so much secrecy, so much hiding, and so much not showing any documents, especially about the funds,” Castro said.

The Vice President is currently embroiled in a political scandal, facing allegations of fabricating names of recipients of confidential funds. She has been impeached in the House of Representatives and is facing a trial in the Senate, which is set to begin once the upper chamber returns from its break.

Castro dismisses Sara’s fear

The Vice President is in the Netherlands to support her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained in The Hague to face trial at the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity related to his administration’s war on drugs.

Castro dismissed Vice President Duterte’s fear that her father might suffer the same fate as the late former senator Ninoy Aquino.

“Until now, the alleged threats to VP Sara have not been presented to the NBI or the PNP. So where did they get this? We need materials and evidence before making such statements. There is no truth to that,” Castro said.

Earlier, the Vice President said she heard that someone was out to kill her which prompted her to threaten retaliation by having the President, First Lady Liza Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated.

However, no evidence of the threat was submitted to law enforcement agencies.

Hitler, not Aquino

Castro questioned the Vice President’s assertion that her father might meet the same fate as Aquino, saying, “That’s what makes me wonder — where do you get stories like this? Where do you get comparisons to the former Ninoy Aquino? Where do you get those threats?”

Castro recalled that former president Duterte had previously likened himself to a different historical figure, not Aquino, but Hitler.

She quoted Duterte as saying, “Hitler massacred three million — actually, it’s supposed to be six million Jews. Now there are three million drug addicts in the Philippines — there are. I’d be happy to slaughter them. At least if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have me.”