Former President Rodrigo Duterte has accused President Bongbong Marcos Jr. of planning to extend his stay in Malacañang beyond 2028 by declaring martial law and imposing a no-election situation, an allegation that the Palace dismissed as "baseless and ridiculous."

During a political rally in Cebu on Saturday, Duterte claimed that Marcos is "veering towards a dictatorship."

"Mupusta ko sa inyo, dili na munaog pagkahuman sa iyahang termino (I bet you, that man is not going to step down at the end of his term)," he said.

"Pareha na sa iyang tatay. Magkagubat na pud ta because ang iyahang buhaton mudeclare na pud martial law (He’s just like his father. We’re gonna have problems because what he’s going to do is declare martial law)," Duterte added.

The rally was organized by members of Hakbang ng Maisug, a group composed of pro-Duterte vloggers and supporters of the Duterte family, particularly Vice President Sara Duterte.

The Vice President and her brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, were not present during the Saturday event.

Reacting to the accusations, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Duterte’s claim was just a "tall tale."

"We treat the former president’s baseless and ridiculous statements in the same way that Filipinos are dismissive of them: a tall tale from a man prone to lying and to inventing hoaxes," Bersamin said.

"It is the leader of that troubled past who is depicting us as veering toward a system where anyone can be deprived of life, liberty, and property without due process of law, as many had been on his mere say-so as a tyrant who did not respect the rights of the people," he added.

The rift between the Marcos and Duterte families began amid mounting pressure on the government to allow an international investigation into Duterte’s drug war, which resulted in thousands of deaths.

The feud worsened when the House of Representatives launched an investigation into alleged budget misuse by the OVP's office. #