Malacañan Palace has pushed back against growing calls for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to take a hair follicle drug test, following renewed public attention on the so-called "polvoron video" — a digitally manipulated clip depicting someone resembling the President allegedly snorting cocaine.

In a Thursday press briefing, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro questioned the motive and legal basis behind the demand, particularly from netizens, bloggers, and former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

“What is the basis for demanding a hair follicle test from the President? Is it based on an accusation that he is allegedly using illegal drugs?” Castro said in Filipino. “If there’s an accusation, then the one making the accusation must be the one to prove it.”

“To those of you demanding a test from the President, you must first prove that he is doing something wrong,” she added.

The viral video, released during a 2024 Maisug rally in Los Angeles, was later confirmed by the Philippine National Police and independent fact-checkers to be AI-generated and altered to resemble President Marcos. Despite that, it resurfaced this week following testimony from vlogger Vincent “Pebbles” Cunanan at the House Tri-Committee hearing on fake news.

Cunanan accused Roque of being behind the video’s circulation, claiming the former Duterte spokesperson had boasted at a private dinner in Hong Kong that he was “good at bringing down governments.”

Roque vehemently denied the allegation, calling the hearing a “scripted show” and Cunanan’s affidavit “worthless.”

“It’s not in my power to bring down a government,” Roque said. “The fate of President Marcos lies in the hands of the Filipino people — not in mine.”

Roque also claimed the video could only have come from someone close to the President, noting inconsistencies in Cunanan’s account of where and how the video first appeared.