MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Sunday dismissed former President Rodrigo Duterte’s latest claims as nothing more than another “baseless and ridiculous statements,” calling him a “one-man fake news factory” bent on spreading hoaxes.

“We treat the former president’s baseless and ridiculous statements in the same way that Filipinos are dismissive of them: a tall tale from a man prone to lying and to inventing hoaxes,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said in a statement.

Bersamin likewise hit the stark contrast between the current administration’s governance and the repressive policies of Duterte’s tenure.

Duterte accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of planning to stay in power beyond 2028 by possibly imposing martial law, similar to his father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. 

Duterte made the claim during a rally in Mandaue City, Cebu.

“This hoax is another budol emerging from a one-man fake news factory,” Bersamin said, adding that the  Marcos government remains steadfast in upholding democracy and the rule of law.

 We treat the former president’s baseless and ridiculous statements in the same way that Filipinos are dismissive of them: a tall tale from a man prone to lying and to inventing hoaxes.

“We will not backslide into the oppressive ways of the previous administration, when critics were jailed upon trumped-up charges and when kill orders were publicly issued with glee and obeyed blindly,” he said.

Bersamin also took a jab at Duterte’s apparent hypocrisy, noting that the former president is now warning of a governance style that mirrors his own rule.

“It is the leader of that troubled past who is depicting us as veering toward a system where anyone can be deprived of life, liberty, and property without due process of law—as many had been on his mere say-so as a tyrant who did not respect the rights of the people.” he said.