Philippine president rejects his sister’s accusation that he uses cocaine

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s estranged sister, a senator, publicly accused him Monday of a cocaine dependence that has led to problems in his governance, including corruption, allegations that his spokesperson said had long been disproven.

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s estranged sister, a senator, publicly accused him Monday of being a longtime drug addict whose alleged cocaine dependence has led to problems in his governance, including corruption, allegations that his spokesperson said were recycled and have long been disproven.

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said Sen. Imee Marcos’ baseless accusations against her own brother may have been a desperate attempt to distract ongoing investigations into a corruption scandal involving flood control projects that may implicate her allies in the Senate.

“Sen. Imee, I hope you’ll be a patriot and help in the investigation that your own brother has been doing and condemn all the corrupt,” Castro said. “Don’t side with them, don’t hide them. Let President Marcos work to stop all the corruption.”

An independent fact-finding commission created by Marcos, a Senate committee and government agencies has been investigating allegations that influential members of Congress and the Senate have pocketed huge kickbacks from construction companies, which had won lucrative contracts to build flood-control projects, which turned out to be substandard, incomplete or nonexistent. The scandal has drawn outrage in an Asian country long prone to deadly flooding and typhoons.

Sen. Imee Marcos in Manila in April.Lisa Marie David / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe senator is a high-profile ally of her brother’s harsh critic and predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.