By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD CITY — Vice President Sara Duterte said she would decide in December 2026 whether to run for president in the 2028 national elections.
“That is not in my plans yet. I was asked if I would run in 2028, and I answered the media colleagues in the National Capital Region that December 2026 would be the best time to decide,” Duterte told reporters in a press conference at the Office of the Vice President’s Negros Panay satellite office on Monday afternoon.
Duterte hinted at her intentions when reporters addressed her as “President” during the event.
“I am not the President, I am the Vice President, but we’re headed there,” she said, laughingly adding, “just kidding.”
When another reporter called her “President,” Duterte responded, “We’ll get there; let’s not rush.”
Duterte was in Bacolod to distribute additional capital for small businesses and to support a medical mission by Davao-based doctors.
She described the recent criticisms against her as politically motivated.
“It’s politically motivated. It started last year with the confidential funds issue, during a meeting between the Makabayan bloc and Speaker Martin Romualdez,” she said.
She added that critics began attacking the Office of the Vice President (OVP) budget, which was already included in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
“This means it was already approved by the President as part of his proposed 2025 budget submitted to Congress,” Duterte noted.
She accused her political opponents of colluding against her.
When she went to Congress for the budget hearing, she said, her “friends inside” warned her there would be no formal hearing and that she would be attacked over the confidential funds issue.
“That’s just how politics is—there’s always mudslinging,” Duterte lamented.
She expressed concern for her staff, saying, “They’re just doing their jobs, but they’re getting dragged into this.”
Duterte also addressed speculation about her relationship with First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, noting, “There’s nothing we can do if that’s her personal take and feelings.”
Regarding House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Duterte said, “I know he wants to run for President. If he can’t win through a popular vote, then maybe through Charter Change and running for Prime Minister.”
Asked whom she would support in Bacolod’s congressional race in the May 2025 midterm elections—between former Mayor Bing Leonardia and current Bacolod City Mayor Albee Benitez—Duterte stated she had decided not to endorse any candidate due to her “bad experience” with previous endorsements.
When questioned about her relationship with Senator Imee Marcos, Duterte clarified, “I didn’t say our relationship was cold. I said that when I messaged her, her reply seemed cold, but she told me there was no issue, and we regularly exchange messages.”
