VP Duterte defends visits to detained allies, accuses Marcos administration of pursuing critics

Vice President Sara Duterte defended her visits to detained political allies, saying persons deprived of liberty deserve compassion, and separately accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s administration of focusing on political battles and targeting those who oppose it.

Duterte spoke a day after visiting detained senators Rodante Marcoleta and Jinggoy Estrada, as well as former congressman Michael Defensor, at the Quezon City Jail in Payatas, where she spent about three hours meeting the three allies.

Asked about the visits following a thanksgiving mass for the Kadayawan Festival in Davao City, Duterte said she saw nothing wrong with spending time with detainees.

"I don't see anything wrong with visiting persons deprived of liberty," she told reporters.

Duterte said visiting inmates had long been part of her public service, recalling that she regularly went to detention facilities while serving as Davao City mayor.

She said she would bring gifts, ask detainees about their concerns and conduct outreach activities inside jails. The Office of the Vice President had also organized activities for inmates, she added.

"Wala akong nakikitang masama sa pagbisita sa mga tao. Dapat tayo magpakita ng empathy sa mga tao and sympathy sa mga tao."

Marcoleta, one of Duterte's most vocal allies in the Senate, was arrested in July after the anti-graft court found probable cause to try him on plunder charges related to alleged campaign donations during the 2025 elections.

Estrada is also being held while facing a separate plunder case linked to the alleged misuse of flood-control funds, which he has denied.

Asked in a separate question about reports of legal action involving figures aligned with her camp, Duterte broadened her remarks into a criticism of the Marcos administration.

"It shows kung ano 'yung pinagkakaabalahan ng administrasyon ngayon, ng gobyerno ngayon. Ang pinagkakaabalahan nila ay politika," she said.

"Hindi lang si dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, hindi lang ako, kundi lahat ng hindi sumunod sa Palasyo kay President Marcos ay hinahabol, tinitira, kinakasuhan, hina-harass, tine-threat."

The Marcos administration has repeatedly rejected accusations that government institutions are being used against political opponents, saying criminal complaints and investigations are handled independently by the courts and constitutional bodies.