Former Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos defended President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. from accusations of illegal drug use, saying the chief executive could not have taken illegal drugs because he once donated one of his kidneys to his father, the late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

According to Abalos, many years have passed but he still recalls what happened clearly, as he was often with the Marcos family during that time.

Abalos, former mayor of Mandaluyong City, served as campaign manager for Marcos when he ran for vice president in 2016 and president in 2022.

In an interview on the sidelines of the Department of Education National Employees’ Union’s 17th National Congress at Crown Legacy Hotel in Baguio City on Thursday night, 27 November, Abalos said Marcos Sr. needed a kidney transplant and Marcos Jr. gave him one of his kidneys.

He emphasized that donating an organ in the 1980s carried significant danger due to limited medical technology.

“The technology back then was not yet advanced. If you were to give your kidney, you might not know, you might not be successful. You might lose your life,” he said.

Abalos added that Marcos Jr. reportedly did not consider the risks to his own life in order to save his father.

“He gave his kidney wholeheartedly. And secondly, he is asthmatic. I know this because I was always with him,” he said.

The former DILG chief strongly denied the allegations that the President uses illegal drugs.

“For me, what the President said is right. If there is a problem in the family, we will talk about it. But the most important thing here, and I want to emphasize, as a son, he became a good son to his father. And now, he is the father of our country,” Abalos said.

“Whatever he did to his father, I know what he did to our country. That is true love. There is no other way,” he added.

Senator Imee Marcos earlier accused her brother, the First Lady, and some of the President’s friends of using illegal drugs.

Malacañang rejected the allegations, describing them as a “desperate move.”