MANILA — Malacañang dismissed Vice President Sara Duterte’s claim that she has stopped talking to her senator allies due to alleged threats or harassment from the Marcos administration.

Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said Duterte has a “talent” for spreading falsehoods, citing the Vice President’s previous statement that government-provided cheap rice is only fit for pigs.

Castro also addressed Duterte’s claim involving First Lady Liza Marcos, who was allegedly mentioned in a Beverly Hills police report about a drug-related death. The Philippine consulate in Los Angeles clarified that the circulating report had been altered.

“It’s another storytelling lie… We do not know when their talent for spreading fake news originated,” Castro said at a press briefing.

“There’s the fake police blotter, altered police blotter from Beverly Hills. There are also fake videos, not just one but two, that were used against the President and the First Lady. All of them are fake. So who has the capability to commit violence? Who issued a threat to life? With regard to these statements, just tell it to the Marines,” she added.

Duterte, once a close ally of President Marcos, told reporters last Monday in Zamboanga that she no longer speaks to people to protect them from potential repercussions from the administration. She resigned as education secretary and vice chairperson of the government’s anti-insurgency task force in June 2024 after her relationship with the Marcoses deteriorated.

Castro also criticized Duterte ally and former presidential spokesman Harry Roque for a social media post suggesting that President Marcos might be wearing a colostomy bag, fueling rumors that he has colon cancer.

“These are rumors, gossips that are not true and are meant to malign the government, malign the President and affect the economy,” Castro said.