PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. faced a public attack from his estranged sister, Senator Imee Marcos, on Monday, who alleged that he has been a longstanding drug user, specifically dependent on cocaine.
She claimed the addiction has contributed to corruption, poor governance, and questionable decisions, allegations that his spokesperson swiftly rejected as recycled and disproven.
Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro suggested that the senator’s accusations were a distraction from ongoing investigations into a corruption scandal surrounding flood-control projects, which could implicate her allies in the Senate.
“Sen. Imee, I hope you’ll be a patriot and help in the investigation that your own brother has been doing and condemn all the corrupt,” AP reported Castro saying. “Don’t side with them, don’t hide them. Let President Marcos work to stop all the corruption.”
Investigations are underway by an independent fact-finding commission, a Senate committee, and other government agencies into allegations that members of Congress and the Senate received substantial kickbacks from construction companies awarded contracts for flood-control projects.
Many of these projects were found to be incomplete, substandard, or never constructed, triggering public outrage in a country prone to deadly typhoons and floods.
Senator Imee Marcos, speaking at a rally in Manila, alleged without presenting evidence that her brother’s drug use began during their father’s presidency and continues today, affecting his ability to govern.
She further claimed that the president’s wife and children also used drugs, and that she and her brother have rarely communicated since his inauguration in 2022.
The president’s family responded, with his son, Representative Sandro Marcos, denouncing the allegations as “baseless and dangerously irresponsible.” He said: “It pains me to see how low she has gone to the point that she resorts to a web of lies aimed at destabilizing this government to advance her own political ambitions.”
Senator Marcos called on the military, police, and officials to intervene in her brother’s “condition,” adding: “I’m not his enemy. His enemy is himself.”
Castro criticised the senator for failing to target former President Rodrigo Duterte, who has acknowledged past use of fentanyl and whose family, including Vice President Sara Duterte, has also faced corruption accusations. Historical records indicate that during his 2021 presidential campaign, Marcos tested negative for cocaine and methamphetamine, according to reports from a private hospital and the national police laboratory. - November 18, 2025
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