Marcos sibling spat: a family curse that haunts legacy forever?

Manila: For about a century, the Marcoses – the country’s undeclared royal family – have played a big hand in writing the story of Filipinos.

In 1925, when Mariano Marcos, a lawyer from Ilocos Norte (born on April 21, 1897) started serving as a congressman representing the second district of Ilocos Norte (until 1931). 

Mariano, champion of the Ilocano language and cultural identity, also served as gobernadorcillo (equivalent to mayor) in Batac during the post-Philippine Revolution period.

For context, Ilocano is one of the eight major languages in the Philippines.

Mariano’s prominence helped set the foundation for the Marcos political dynasty. Mariano is the father of Ferdinand “Apo” Edralin Marcos Sr, who would become the 10th President of the Philippines. 

Marcos Sr himself served as congressman for the same district from 1949 to 1959 before ascending to national politics and was elected president in 1965, after ditching the Liberal Party and turn-coating to the Nacionalista, beating Diosdado Macapagal.

Known for his bold infrastructure and rural electrification drive, Marcos Sr ruled with an iron fist. 

In 1972, a year before his eight-year, two-term limit was due to end under the 1935 Charter, Marcos Sr introduced a Mickey Mouse constitution, perpetuating himself in power.

Amid the disquiet of the 1970s, about 70,000 people were jailed, 34,000 were tortured, and 3,240 were killed following Marcos Sr's declaration of the “Martial Law” (1972 to 1981), propped up by the Red scare.

Marcos Sr and his family were ousted in 1986 during the “People Power” revolution. He died in Hawaii in 1989. 

In 2022, Ferdinand “Bongbong” (BBM) Marcos Jr was elected 17th Philippine president. Over decades since their family's fall from grace post-EDSA Revolt, the President and his elder sister, Senator Imee Marcos, marched in near lockstep for one shared ambition — to restore the Marcos name to its former glory. 

Backed fiercely by the unwavering "Solid North," whose loyalty is vowed "right or wrong," they steadily built their political power.

As BBM rose to the presidency, Imee secured a Senate seat. Their bond seemed unbreakable.

Then came the "UniTeam," a partnership between BBM and Vice President Sara Duterte, who enjoys strong support in the country's South.

Imee once hailed the alliance as a “marriage made in heaven.”

But that bond has since dramatically unraveled.

Imee insists the siblings have no personal rift, though she admitted last March, “I have not talked to my brother in a long time... There are a lot of people preventing us from communicating.” 

When former President Rodrigo Duterte accused Bongbong of being "bangag", i.e. drug addict, it's an old yarn, and an open secret.

Imee retorted with frustration, “Nakakaloka. I am not involved there. Let them be, they can handle that themselves. It’s driving me crazy, that’s all I can say.”

Yet, in a shocking twist almost two years later, speaking before thousands at an Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) rally on Monday (November 17, 2025) demanding “transparency and accountability” amid the flood control scandal, Imee publicly accused her brother of drug addiction.

Even if true, Marcos Jr (who spent his younger years in the UK) seemed to have sobered up: When his Senatorial ticket got a beating in the mid-terms, he asked his entire Cabinet to resign, an unprecedented move.

More shockingly, BBM had Duterte arrested and sent him to the Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity following the controversial "war on drugs".

BBM also promoted the Nicholas Torres, the police officer who led the arrests of Duterte and controversial pastor Apollo Quiboloy, before sacking him due to reported frictions with the National Police Commission.

His boldest aim so far: cut electricity rates, among the highest in the region. Under BBM's watch, renewable energy rollout has been ramped, streamlined permitting, and sorted right-of-way issues for mass transport projects.

He visited flood control projects, especially the ones marked as "ghosts". He's met suppliers from South Korea to buy subs for the Philippine Navy, and has also expressed interest in small modular reactors, to bolster energy security.

He's also declared there will be no "holy cows" amid the on-going corruption probe.

Now, Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon has claimed that Imee Marcos is a beneficiary of the Discaya couple, known as the Philippines' "King and Queen" of scam flood control projects.

Gadon's revelation came amid Imee's bombastic claim made during the Iglesia ni Cristo rally at Quirino Grandstand in Manila on Monday.

Speaking before a massive crowd, Imee claimed, “Batid ko na na nagda-drugs siya. Nalaman ko at ng pamilya, nalaman ng pamilya, seryoso ito,” meaning, “I know he is using illegal drugs. I found out, and our family did too. This is serious.”

She alleged that the issue dated back to their youth and that the addiction worsened after Bongbong's marriage to First Lady Liza Araneta, who she also accused of drug use.

Imee even extended the allegations to Bongbong’s children, including House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Ferdinand Alexander "Sandro" Marcos.​

Sandro Marcos, the president's son, denied Imee’s claims on Tuesday, dismissing them as baseless.

In response, Imee dared her brother and his family to submit to hair follicle drug tests to dispel her accusations, posting on Facebook, “Gustong paingayin ni Sandro ang usap-usapang hindi ako tunay na kapatid. Isa lamang ang solusyon: Magpapa-DNA test ako, magpa-hair follicle test sila.” ("Sandro wants to make rumors of me not being a true Marcos. There is only one solution: I will take a DNA test and they will take a hair follicle test").​

This explosive public spat marks a new and bitter chapter in the Marcos family saga, exposing deep personal and political animosities playing out in public sphere.

Imee linked this alleged drug use to corruption and poor governance, marking a break from the longstanding image of the Marcos family as a united entity able to deal with their own problems quiety.

Malacañang, the presidential palace, quickly dismissed the allegations. 

Now, as the fracture between the once-unified siblings unfolds openly, it echoes the divisions that has torn the country's economy and the hope of its young people.

The tension simmered long before.

In July 2022, Imee expressed bewilderment at Bongbong’s veto of a bill to create the Bulacan Airport City Ecozone, saying the proposal “may not have been reviewed well, or someone played smart.”

By December, she voiced doubts about her brother’s Maharlika Wealth Fund plan, warning about the Philippines’ precarious economic position.

On the 37th anniversary of the EDSA Revolution in February 2023, BBM called for reconciliation, yet Imee refused to celebrate, skipping the Tan-ok ni Ilocano Festival she once championed, stating the date her father was ousted is a day she will never be able to celebrate.

Political scientist Maria Ela Atienza observed: “It is a case of sibling rivalry playing out in public.”

Despite Imee's claims of neutrality in her brother’s feud with Sara Duterte, the Vice President, the fault lines deepened when former President Duterte was arrested in March 2025 by Philippine police, on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) related to Duterte’s war on drugs. 

Imee expressed disbelief: “I could not believe it... We haven’t learned a thing. This will only result in chaos.”

As Senate Foreign Relations chairperson, she spearheaded an investigation, alleging “glaring violations,” insisting the government should not have cooperated with the arrest.

During her 2025 re-election campaign, Imee notably distanced herself from BBM’s administration, skipping events and embracing Sara Duterte’s support. 

She wore black during her campaign, signalling dissent, and declared she would not attend Bongbong’s State of the Nation Address, saying she stood with the Duterte bloc in the Senate.

BBM, meanwhile, repeatedly omitted his sister’s name from administration slates, his frustration evident. 

Imee accused him of being angry over her investigation efforts.

Over time, what began as loyalty has frayed into open political opposition, with Imee accusing Bongbong of missteps and divergent views — from economic plans to diplomatic policies — marking a profound schism.

This unfolding saga, part of a century-old narrative, is not just a family feud; it forms a gripping political drama intricately woven into the narrative of 110 million Filipinos.

The Marcos siblings, once allies in restoring their dynasty, now stand divided on the public stage.

Would BBM retaliate, and expose Imee’s own foibles? Is Imee a real Marcos biologically? 

Or perhaps, by portraying herself as the exact opposite of BBM and her "Team Itim" alliance with the Dutertes, could Imee be laying the groundwork for her own shot at the presidency.

Would she write another chapter in a narrative that has kept Filipinos deeply divided along tribal lines? 

Or would BBM rise to the challenge and leave a legacy — one that turns what some dub as a "curse" into a blessing?

Amid shifting alliances, tribalism and fractured bonds within one of the Philippines’ most powerful families, recent events show the complexities of power in the Asian country.

The 1987 Constitution, which replaced the 1973 Charter pushed by Apo, has as its most sacred feature: a single-term, six-year limit for president and vice president.

The remaining three or so years of Bongbong Marcos’s presidency will be decisive in shaping the Philippines' place in the global community — if he can overcome the serious challenges currently undermining his administration.

Widespread corruption scandals linked to infrastructure projects, particularly in flood control, have severely damaged public trust and raised questions about governance.

The question arises: Is the Philippines cursed by the Marcos family's continued electoral dominance, even as critical national ambitions and growth seem to stagnate.

Despite appearances, the Philippines is no small country geographically.

Luzon alone is three times the size of the Netherlands, and Mindanao surpasses Belgium and Switzerland combined. And yes, CamSur province (with zero economic "free zones") is bigger than Dubai (which has more than 25 free "zones").

Thus, the potential of this highly mineralised East Asian country is vast.

Yet these sibling and family struggles, symbolised by the bitter feud within the Marcos family, and between the Duterte and Marcos clans, ties the country's future, and reflects the larger conflicts that define Philippine politics today.

These power battles are emblematic of a dynasty.

It's a family-driven narrative legacy shadowed by spite, ambition and betrayal, a frame fractured at a time the nation desperately needs unity, integrity, and visionary leadership to hit higher middle-income nation status (which it nearly cracked), in order to beat corruption and economic hardships.

The trajectory of the Philippines hinges on whether this administration, and the next, can break free from these afflictions and harness the country's vast potential.