President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday broke his silence on his sister Senator Imee Marcos’ allegation that he and his family use illegal drugs, saying that he and their relatives are “very worried” about her and suggesting that the version of her seen in public is not the sister he knows.

Asked at a Palace press conference if he was hurt by Imee’s accusation, Marcos said he did not want to air family disagreements in public but acknowledged the deep concern within their clan.

“To talk about family matters in public… I do not like to. We do not like to show our dirty linen in public,” he said.

“I’ll just say this much. For a while now, we’ve been very worried about my sister. When I say we, I am talking about friends and family, and the reason is because the lady that you see talking on TV is not my sister, and that view is shared by our cousins, our friends. That is not her. So that’s why we worry. We are very worried about her. I hope she feels better soon.”

Pressed if they had spoken, Marcos replied that they “no longer travel in the same circles, political or otherwise,” and they have not talked.

The rare public remarks on his relationship with Imee came during a briefing called to roll out the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Transparency Portal and give updates on the government’s crackdown on anomalous flood control projects.

Palace distances from Pangandaman, Bersamin

Marcos also faced questions about the resignations of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, whose names came up in connection with the multibillion-peso infrastructure scandal.

The President declined to detail his private conversation with Bersamin, saying only that there was no falling out.

“The question about Chief Luke and myself, we talked and we understand each other and we decided to keep it between ourselves,” Marcos said, using Bersamin’s nickname. “There’s no bad blood. There is no acrimonious feeling there, so that’s fine.”

On Pangandaman, he said her departure was meant to avoid any perception that she might influence ongoing proceedings after her name was “dragged into the whole thing.”

“Whatever is going on, whatever will happen, we want to be sure that she’s not in a position where she might be suspected of influencing all that,” Marcos said. “Because when she is out of government, she no longer has influence, so you cannot say she fixed her case.”

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla had earlier said “conspiracy to commit plunder” charges are being studied against Pangandaman and former Presidential Legislative Liaison Office chief Adrian Bersamin, the former executive secretary’s grandnephew, as investigators look into what he described as a pattern of acts to defraud the government.

Marcos to Co: Come home, face cases

The President also responded to a new video from resigned Ako Bicol Representative Elizaldy Co, who claimed the President received more than P50 billion in kickbacks.

Marcos, who had previously said he did not want to “dignify” Co’s statements, urged the former lawmaker to return to the country and face the graft and malversation charges filed against him over a project in Oriental Mindoro.

“Look at the quality of his statements,” Marcos said. “We have talked a lot about fake news. Anyone can go online and make all kinds of claims and say all kinds of things, again and again, but it means nothing. For it to mean something, he should come home. He should face his cases. If he has something he wants to say, he can say it.”

“But come home. Come home. Why are you hiding far away?” he added. “I am not hiding. If you have accusations against me, I am here.”

‘Sunlight the best medicine’

Marcos framed Monday’s announcements as part of what he described as three phases in addressing the “flood control mess”: identifying ghost projects, holding those responsible to account, and instituting reforms to prevent a repeat.

One of those reforms, he said, is the DPWH Transparency Portal, an online platform where the public can search for specific projects and view the details such as the implementing office, contractor, project cost, completion date, status reports, location data, and even satellite images and geotagged photos.

“If you have questions or issues about a project, you can click ‘report’ and tag it as completed, defective, duplicate, unfinished or ghost,” Marcos said. The portal also contains procurement timelines and downloadable documents, including information on winning bidders, and will livestream ongoing bidding activities, he added.

“The transparency portal is not just a website, it is a promise. It is a digital wall against corruption,” he said. “This is one of the reforms that came from what we learned from this experience, from investigating and looking for these projects and seeing that there were many problems. In my view, you know, sunlight is the best medicine.”

He noted that the Department of Information and Communications Technology had reported to him that the Social Security System and PhilHealth have also launched portals.

“There is no more trust now from the people, and you cannot blame them,” he said. “So I hope we can bring back the confidence of our people in their government. We will keep going on this.”