Bongbong Marcos, other presidential bets, take drug tests after Duterte's cocaine blind item
Following President Duterte's claims that there's a cocaine-using presidential candidate from a known family and father, former senator Bongbong Marcos said he had tested negative for the illegal drug.
Marcos said that he took a drug test even though he thinks he wasn't the one the president was alluding to.
“I really don’t feel that I am the one being alluded to. In spite of that, I believe it is my inherent duty as an aspiring public official to assure my fellow Filipinos that I am against illegal drugs,” the presidential aspirant said in a statement.
‘I REALLY DON’T FEEL THAT I AM THE ONE BEING ALLUDED TO’
Presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. took a drug test following President Duterte’s allegations that a presidential candidate in the upcoming national elections is using cocaine. pic.twitter.com/azUVBX35GN— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) November 23, 2021
He submitted his drug test results on Tuesday, Nov. 23 to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Philippine National Police, and the National Bureau of Investigation.
Aside from Marcos, presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson and his running mate Senate president Vicente Sotto III also took voluntary drug testing. They also tested negative for using cocaine and other illegal drugs.
Meanwhile, Duterte's former aide Sen. Bong Go also said he was willing to undergo drug testing.
Sen. Manny Pacquiao also presented his drug test results, taken in July and September this year, which he took before his fight with Yordenis Ugas in August.
The boxer admitted he used crystal meth in his teens and said it was "naive" of him to do so.
Other candidates including Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and labor leader Ka Leody De Guzman have said they are willing to undergo the test.
Presidential blind item
On Nov. 18, Duterte gave clues about his cocaine blind item, saying that the candidate he was referring to is a "weak leader" and comes from a rich and well-known family.
Aside from these statements, the president called Marcos a "weak leader" and said that he's not impressed by the former senator, who is his daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio's running mate.
"Talagang weak kasi spoiled child, only son," Duterte said on Nov. 19. "He can talk, he delivers English pero sabihin mo may crisis ganun, he's a weak leader at saka may bagahe siya."