MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday rejected former executive secretary Victor Rodriguez’s challenge for him to undergo a hair follicle drug test, saying it’s irrelevant.
Rodriguez based his call on the constitutional principle that public office is a public trust.
Article continues after this advertisement“No, no. Why should I do that? What is a public trust, public office, or public? It has nothing to do with a follicle test. Please. Wala namang koneksyon ‘yung sinasabi niya (What he’s saying has connection),” Marcos responded in an ambush interview in Pasay City.
Based on the latest data, inflation eased to 1.9 percent in September, falling short of market forecasts and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) projected range of 2 to 2.8 percent for the month.
FEATURED STORIES NEWSINFO Magnitude 4.1 earthquake hits waters off Ilocos Norte NEWSINFO Marcos on Rodriguez's dare for hair follicle drug test: Why should I? NEWSINFO Sen. Mark Villar leads charge vs online scammers with new billMarcos also asked, “He’s always had that weakness every time he was still working for me. If you believe in what he was saying, why did he work for me?”
Last April, Rodriguez had also urged Marcos to undergo a follicle test amid allegations that the latter was a drug user.
Article continues after this advertisementREAD: ‘It’s the fentanyl,’ Marcos says after former president Duterte tags him ‘drug addict’
Article continues after this advertisementMeanwhile, last January, former President Rodrigo Duterte also made strong allegations against Marcos, accusing him of being a “drug addict then and a drug addict now as president.”
Article continues after this advertisementDuterte added that Marcos was allegedly once on the watchlist of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
READ: PNP, NBI share similar findings: Man in drug video not Marcos
Article continues after this advertisementYears before that, or during the 2022 presidential campaign, Duterte had claimed that one of the candidates was taking drugs.
Marcos, after Duterte’s statement, released a medical certification proving there is no trace of drug abuse from his examination.
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