PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday that Vice President Sara Duterte would stay as Department of Education secretary despite criticisms he received from some members of her family.

Amid the push by some Marcos allies for a people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution, former President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday slammed the Marcoses for allegedly trying to keep themselves in power and accused the chief executive of being a drug addict.

Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, the vice president’s brother, also dared Marcos to resign if he did not have love nor aspirations for the country.

Marcos just laughed off the drug allegations but said former President Duterte’s use of fentanyl, a powerful pain reliever, may have affected his judgment.

Speaking to reporters in Hanoi after wrapping up his state visit to Vietnam, he answered in the affirmative when asked if he would still keep Duterte as DepEd chief. 

“Wala naman siyang sinasabi na ganyang klase. So, hindi naman nagbabago,” said Marcos, who designated Vice President Duterte as the country’s caretaker while he was in Vietnam.

Marcos also stressed that his “Uniteam” with Vice President Duterte is still intact, amid concerns that there may be rifts in their political alliance.

“I believe so because, if you remember, ‘Uniteam’ is not just one party of two parties or three parties. It’s the unification of hopefully all political forces in the Philippines to come together for the good of the country,” he said. 

“And that is still there. It is still vibrant. It is still working,” he added.

Prior to this, Vice President Duterte declared that, “unless the President says otherwise,” she “will stay true to my work at the Department of Education.”

She made the statement after disclosing the ”despicable treatment” she claimed to be subjected to from ”some sectors within the circle of the President.”