VICE President Sara Duterte’s alleged assassination threat against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. could undermine political stability and dampen investor confidence in the Philippines, a journalist warned on Friday.
In a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Manny Mogato said disagreements between the President and Vice President are not unusual in Philippine politics.
He noted that Duterte’s public threats against President Marcos could amplify the destabilizing effects of the political feud.
“Lalo ngayon na mayroon ngang pagbabanta sa buhay ng ating Pangulo ay talagang nakakaapekto ito sa political stability at maaaring maapektuhan ang investment climate sa ating bansa,” Mogato said.
In contrast, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan expressed confidence that the country’s current political environment will not significantly affect the positive economic outlook in the Philippines, citing the Marcos administration’s sound economic policies.
Balisacan said the administration remains focused on achieving the targets set in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.
He said that historically, the Philippine economy was undeterred by political tensions in the past as economic policies are “broadly sustained.”
In an online briefing on Nov. 23, Duterte said she has contracted an assassin to target President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez if the supposed plot to kill her were to succeed. (PNA)
