Malacañang and Senator Imee Marcos on Sunday intensified a very public rupture within the Marcos clan, as she blasted those around President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for allegedly failing to care for him during a recent illness.

In response, Palace officials accused her of playing politics with the Commander-in-Chief’s health.

In a video on her official Facebook page, Senator Marcos said she was dismayed by her brother’s hospitalization and questioned whether anyone surrounding the President truly cared for him.

“I told you so, Bongbong has gotten sick, this is really something. No one is taking care of him. Among all of you surrounding the Palace, who truly loves my brother?” she said in Filipino.

“That’s just my question. His health will really give in. You all have your own agendas there, and no one is attending to him. So as for him, he should take care of himself first. He should regain his strength,” she added.

She urged the President, whom she referred to in Ilocano as her ading (younger brother), to distance himself from those she described as troublemakers.

“He should turn his back on everyone around the Palace; they only cause trouble. None of them truly love him. And there, while he is sick, those acting like president are doing all sorts of things. Oh my!” she said.

Imee earlier said the President is into drugs, something she claimed worsened with his marriage.

Palace pushes back

Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro responded in a Viber message to reporters, saying the President’s health should not be treated as a joke. 

She also warned Senator Marcos against feigning concern.

“Let us not make a joke out of the President’s health. Do not be a comedian or clown in giving advice. A person who has gone through an illness needs a sincere heart and care. Do not be fake in the eyes of many,” Castro said.

The President was recently hospitalized for diverticulitis, a stress- and age-related gastrointestinal condition, and has since been discharged and resumed duties, reassuring the public that his condition was not serious or life-threatening.

“It’s not a life-threatening condition… Do not worry. The rumors of my death are highly exaggerated,” Marcos said in a recent statement.

Strained sibling ties

The sharp exchange reflects deeper fractures between President Marcos and his elder sister that have widened in recent months.

Once close political allies — the Marcos siblings campaigned together under the UniTeam alliance in the 2022 elections — their relationship has become strained amid shifting political alignments and positioning ahead of future elections.

Senator Marcos has at times taken positions seen as independent from the administration’s line. 

She has also maintained political ties with the Duterte camp, even as relations between President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte have cooled.

The alliance that brought Marcos and Sara Duterte to power in 2022 has shown visible cracks, with policy differences and political maneuvering reshaping blocs within the ruling coalition.

Political undertones

The senator’s remarks also came at a time of heightened political tensions, including renewed impeachment efforts against the President on separate issues, highlighting the increasingly contentious atmosphere in national politics.

The siblings’ late father, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., had been described in books as having favored Imee as a future leader, with one account saying he wrote marginal notes expressing disappointment with his son.