Apat na araw bago maganap ang pambansang halalan sa Lunes, Mayo 9, 2022, gumawa ng sariling ingay si former Senator Nikki Coseteng dala ng kanyang mga rebelasyon tungkol kay presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Ito ay nangyari sa panayam kay Coseteng ni Karmina Constantino ng ANC News Channel noong May 5.
Bago nagsalita tungkol kay Marcos Jr., nagkomento muna si Coseteng tungkol kay Vice-President Leni Robredo, ang mahigpit na katunggali ni Marcos Jr. para sa pagka-presidente sa nalalapit na May 9 election.
"I don’t know Leni up-close," pahayag ng dating senador na naranasang maging aktres nang maging leading lady siya ni deposed President Joseph Estrada sa 1989 movie na Sa Kuko ng Agila.
"She’s not my barkada. She’s not my buddy... I'm not chummy-chummy with her. But, I would rather intelligently and emotionally cast my lot with her because I think she’s of a different stuff, and of a different mold," pagpapatuloy nito.
“I remember Mr. Marcos as candidate today. Before [he] never worked. All they did was go to the disco, and they were always high on drugs, and I know them.
“They’re the very same people supporting him today. But, I don’t condemn them. That’s their life. They have all the money. They have all the resources. They don’t have to drag their feet and work and show people even to pretend.
"So I’d rather cast my lot with somebody who I feel can give us a break.
"Just a respite. Even just the jargon. Even just a conversation. To change the conversation means a lot to many people,” ang may katiyakang pahayag ni Coseteng.
Ganoon pa man, walang ibinigay na tiyak na ebidensya si Coseteng sa akusasyon nito kay Marcos.
Tanong ni Karmina: “The statement that you said about drug use, were you also pertaining to Marcos Jr.?"
Sagot ni Coseteng: “Yes, they were always high! You can have a list of friends.”
“How do you know that?” ang follow-up question ng ANC host.
Sagot ni Coseteng: “Well, we grew up in the same era. We grew up in the same time. Everybody hears about it.
“You know, they go to Stargazer. They go to other discos etcetera, and everybody knows it, and it was just accepted. Why? Because he’s the son of the President.”
Ang Stargazer ay isa sa mga pinakasikat na disco noong late '70s hanggang '80s na matatagpuan sa Silahis International Hotel, Roxas Boulevard, Manila.
Sa kabila ng mabigat na paratang ni Coseteng, ang presidential bid ni Marcos ang headline ngayong Sabado, May 7, ng Bangkok Post, ang leading newspaper sa Thailand.
"Marcos Jr on verge of historic win in Philippines" ang pamagat ng headline at ito ang bahagi ng report ng Bangkok Post.
MANILA: The son of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos was set to address hundreds of thousands of supporters Saturday on the final day of presidential election campaigning, as polls showed him heading towards a landslide win.
Victory in Monday's election would cap a decades-long effort to rehabilitate the Marcos legacy after the patriarch was deposed and the disgraced clan chased into US exile.
But the prospect of Ferdinand Marcos Jr moving back into the presidential palace has alarmed rights activists, church leaders and political analysts who fear he could rule "without constraint."
The Marcoses' remarkable return from pariahs to the peak of political power has been fuelled by public anger over corruption and poverty that persisted under governments that followed the dictatorship.
Polls indicate Marcos Jr will win more than half the votes, which would make him the first presidential candidate to secure an absolute majority since his father was ousted in 1986.
Analysts warn such an outcome would lead to weaker democratic checks and balances, more corruption and a fresh attempt to overhaul the 1987 constitution — which could include scrapping the one-term limit for presidents.
"If he wins really big that could give him the kind of confidence and momentum to more radically alter the Philippines political system," analyst Richard Heydarian told AFP.