The public quickly turned to social media to react to Senator Imee Marcos’ accusations against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and the First Family, with netizens sharing mixed views over the unfolding political rift.
Before a crowd of around half a million people during an Iglesia ni Cristo rally in Manila, the senator alleged long-standing illegal drug use by President Marcos, along with First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and their children.
Sen. Imee claimed she had known about such issues since childhood, linking them to corruption and poor decision-making in government. While some raised concerns about the public’s right to know about the President’s health, many netizens questioned the timing, intent, and potential impact of the statements made by his sister.
A desperate move
The allegations and counter-statements quickly spread across social media, drawing sharp analysis from public figures and ordinary netizens.
On Facebook, lawyer Jesus Falcis III described the senator’s remarks as “desperation,” questioning why she campaigned for her brother in 2022 if she believed the allegations to be true.
“Imee Marcos is desperate. Mas maganda in Tagalog – desperada! Nuon pa alam ng mga tao yang akusasyon na drug user si BBM. But you and Sara ignored it and campaigned for him in 2022,” Falcis, who is known for his online commentary on current affairs, said in a post.
He also referenced Senator Imee’s claim that President Marcos’ name once appeared on former president Rodrigo Duterte’s 2016 drug-watch list—where she said she pleaded to “go after the pushers first”—to argue that such controversies show how those in power can be spared from the consequences of the drug war.
In 2024, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency denied that Marcos was ever included on any such list, noting he had “never been in the NDIS,” the agency’s database of drug personalities. Marcos had also submitted a cocaine drug-test result in November 2021, which came back negative, though that test did not cover other prohibited substances.
‘Selective truth-telling’
On X (formerly Twitter), netizen and development worker Deo Enalpe raised similar concerns, asking why the senator supported a candidate she now criticizes. He claimed the timing suggests “political convenience,” asserting that “selective truth-telling isn’t integrity.”
“If Imee Marcos is claiming to know the truth about the alleged drug issues of President Bongbong Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta, then a simple question must be asked: Why did she support and campaign for someone she now paints as a ‘drug addict’ in 2022?” he wrote.
If Imee Marcos is claiming to know the truth about the alleged drug issues of President Bongbong Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta, then a simple question must be asked:
Why did she support and campaign for someone she now paints as a “drug addict” in 2022?
Why the sudden…
— Deo Enalpe 𝕩 (@deeoenalpe) November 17, 2025
‘From black sheep to family willain’
Meanwhile, creative director Gerry Cacanindin focused on cultural implications, calling it “one of the most vile acts” in a family-centric society.
“It’s betrayal of the most depraved kind, one that will shake the core of any family-loving Filipino. Imee may have just actually done her brother a favor because a tell-all that’s this disgraceful is a virtual stab in the back of one’s own kin that won’t go down easy to most Filipinos who tend to value their family above everything else,” Cacanindin said in a Facebook post.
He suggested that while the senator may have thought she was doing her brother a favor, the move could backfire in unexpected ways.
“Filipinos are a strange lot. Things like these tend to shift sympathy to the accused rather than to the accuser just because it’s a blood sibling committing the character assassination. Not only has Imee transitioned from black sheep to family villain, she has also singlehandedly portrayed the Iglesia ni Cristo as a church that doesn’t value the family by allowing its rally to be the venue of a betrayal of this magnitude,” he added.
