An ABC star has revealed that members of the Philippine president’s staff tried to end their interview after she asked a series of tough questions.
Sarah Ferguson, who hosts at 7:30, lifted the lid on her “extremely tense” interview with Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which aired in early March.
Ferguson recently discussed what happened behind the scenes after killing Marcos Jr. had asked about his family’s alleged corruption.
His dictator father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., plundered billions from the country while stripping away basic civil rights and ‘disappearing’ his political rivals.
The family’s extravagant wealth was infamous.
After being expelled in 1986, protesters stormed the Malacanang Palace and discovered that the First Lady, Imelda Marcos, had left nearly 3,000 pairs of shoes in her wardrobe.
Ferguson revealed that she met Marcos Jr. first asked about the Philippines’ relationship with China and the escalating tensions in the South China Sea.
But she always intended to inform him of the corruption in his family.
Marcos Jr., clearly surprised, laughed nervously and began to answer before Ferguson interrupted him.
“Can I ask you why that’s funny?” she asked during the interview.
The 7:30 host revealed that her questions drew an immediate off-screen response from the president’s press team, saying it made her “heart beat a little faster.”
“From the moment I mentioned his father, the first thing the babysitters do is start moving,” Ferguson said.
‘They start talking to each other. Then they start talking to the producer, trying to get her to close the interview.
“And then, as the questions continue, they get closer to Marcos and me.
In a TikTok video titled “What Happens When You Ask a President About Corruption?” 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson discussed what happened behind the scenes after she killed Marcos Jr. had asked about his family’s alleged corruption
Marcos Jr. clearly surprised, started laughing nervously and started to answer before Ferguson interrupted him (photo)
“They are right behind his chair and I want to push through to ask him what his responsibility is, what his relationship is with what his father did and his acceptance of that and what it means to him as president.
‘But I do that in this special room where the temperature in the room, depending on how you look at it, has either gone completely high or very low.’
The president claimed that ‘everything was taken from us’ and dismissed the findings that they were responsible for large-scale corruption as ‘propaganda’.
But the family’s fraud is well documented. Some estimate that they looted as much as $10 billion, while millions of Filipinos lived in extreme poverty.
“It’s extremely tense and I’m just trying to get to the end so I can get a ‘Thanks for talking to 7:30’ when I know at that moment he wishes he hadn’t,” Ferguson added.
Read the full transcript of Ferguson’s questions to Ferdinand Marcos Jr. overwhelmed
SARAH FERGUSON: There is a series of questions that come up regarding your father’s time, and that is of course the issue of corruption, which for a long time was completely associated with the Philippines. I think contemporary court decisions recognize the atrocities that were committed, but also the plunder of the country’s resources.
Why wouldn’t you want all that money back in the hands of the Filipino people?
FERDINAND MARCOS JR: Well, with the story…
SARAH FERGUSON: Can I ask you why that’s funny?
FERDINAND MARCOS JR: Why that?
SARAH FERGUSON: Why is that funny? I am asking you a question about the looting of large sums of money from the Filipino people…
FERDINAND MARCOS JR: No. I think that will hold up, that idea will hold up, because I take issue with a lot of the claims that have been made.
And I think that’s true, since the cases were filed, the government has fallen. Lawsuits have been filed against me, my family, the estate, etc. and so far the claims made have proven to be untrue.
SARAH FERGUSON: A lot of money, I think $5 billion has already been recovered. I guess the question is…
FERDINAND MARCOS JR: Again, again, again…
SARAH FERGUSON: Don’t you want all the money that was taken to be returned to the people?
FERDINAND MARCOS JR: Again, we signed, this family signed a quitclaim, we signed many quitclaims. Any money you find is yours and gone, and everything has been taken from us.
We went, we were taken to Hawaii. Everything. Everything has been taken from us with nothing, we have nothing left.
SARAH FERGUSON: Not the opinion of the presidential commission.
FERDINAND MARCOS JR: I am Sorry?
SARAH FERGUSON: Not the opinion of the presidential commission. This is my last question on this subject.
FERDINAND MARCOS JR: Which presidential commission?
SARAH FERGUSON: In the Philippines? They believe that there is a large amount of money outstanding.
FERDINAND MARCOS JR: I think after seeing the facts as they have slowly come to light, further real research, not propaganda, but actual true research, the lawsuits and investigations by all kinds of NGOs, different agencies, have changed and that people can see that it was propaganda.
SARAH FERGUSON: I guess the question is that other countries in the region, including Australia, want to know that the Philippines and you in particular as Marcos have come to terms with your family’s history?
FERDINAND MARCOS JR: There was a time when the problem was Marcos. That is no longer the case and that is why I think the best proof of that is my election.
SARAH FERGUSON: President Marcos, thank you very much for your speech at 7:30 PM.
FERDINAND MARCOS JR: Thank you.
