Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte listens to successor President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr after the departure honors at the Malacanang Palace on June 30, 2022. King Rodriguez, Presidential Photo/File 

WASHINGTON — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday said there was “no need to pay attention” to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s “ad hominem attacks,” adding that personal jabs have “no place” when discussing national issues.

Duterte had called Marcos Jr. a “cry baby” earlier this week as the former president scorned his successor for revitalizing the Philippines’ close ties with the United States in the face of China’s growing aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

“To be a cry baby you have to cry. Did you see me cry?” Marcos Jr. told reporters. 

“I don’t need to pay any attention to that… The former president is a highly experienced lawyer. He should know that ad hominem attacks have no place in these kinds of discussions,” he said.

Duterte in January had also described Marcos Jr. as a weak leader and accused the incumbent president of using illegal drugs, without offering any proof.

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The current president said Duterte’s tirades “mean absolutely nothing” to him.

“Sasabihin na e pangit ka. Eh so what? Walang lugar yang ad hominem attacks sa batas,” he said.

(You’ll be told you’re ugly. So what? Ad hominem attacks have no place in the law.)

Marcos Jr. instead urged Duterte to focus on explaining to the public why he forged “secret deals” with China over the Philippines’ movements and activities in the West Philippine Sea.

Duterte on Thursday admitted that he had agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping to  maintain the status quo in the West Philippine Sea.

He said the deal involved not bringing construction materials for the repair and upkeep of the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

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“With the confirmation of the Chinese Embassy, we now know that there is a secret agreement,” Marcos Jr. said.

“Mayroon talaga silang secret na patagong usapan. Malinaw sa akin na may usapan sila na tinago sa taong bayan,” he said.

“We need to know what did you agree to? What did you compromise? Ano yung pinamigay ninyo?”

(They really had secret talks. It’s clear to me that they had an agreement that they hid from the people... What did you give away?)

Duterte said that despite the verbal agreement, "We have not conceded anything to China."

While the Duterte administration established friendlier relations with China, Marcos Jr. pivoted away from Beijing after its coast guard repeatedly harassed Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea, and instead reinforced Manila’s alliances with the United States, Japan, and other nations. 

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