Make way for ‘Duter3‘

Vice President Sara Z. Duterte dropped a bombshell during Tuesday’s Pride Month event in Cagayan de Oro City.

She said her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and siblings Sebastian and Paolo are joining the Senate race in the midterm elections next year.

“They are all ready to run. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for senator, my brother Paolo Duterte, who is now a congressman, for senator. Also, Sebastian Duterte,” said the Vice President during an ambush interview.

“Yes, three Dutertes are running for senator next year. That’s confirmed.”

The former Education secretary disclosed that their mother wants Baste, the younger brother, to run for president in 2028.

For her part, she said she will return to Davao after her term as Vice President to run for mayor, a position she formerly held.

The announcement is expected to shake up the political landscape, setting the stage for a showdown between the Dutertes and the Marcoses.

The Duterte patriarch has been critical of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., attacking his administration at every opportunity.

Last week, the Vice President quit the Cabinet, a move seen as the formal breakup of the UniTeam coalition that swept the 2022 election.

President Marcos has refrained from commenting on his running mate’s stepping down as Education secretary.

Despite being away from the spotlight, the elder Duterte remains popular among the masses.

In a senatorial survey by Oculum Research and Analytics early this year, the former President and ex-Senate President Tito Sotto emerged as the top choices for senator.

Paolo, the eldest child, represents the first district of Davao City in the House.

Baste, the youngest, is the current Davao mayor who has been very vocal against the Marcos administration and its allies.

The Duterte clan wields significant influence in politically crucial Mindanao, where Marcos’ approval ratings suffered after a public dispute with his predecessor involving accusations of drug use. Despite this, Marcos retains several presidential advantages that could bolster his prospects in the upcoming election.

Duterte’s former spokesperson, lawyer Salvador Panelo, described the announcement as a “political storm that their detractors and those undeservingly clinging to power will not be able to contain and survive.”

He said the Dutertes would be the demolition team that would dismantle the vested political structures built by those who turned their backs on the people’s welfare and interest and who focused on enriching themselves in office and transgressing the constitutional rights of individuals and entities.

“The exciting new political ballgame spawned by the departure of VP Sara from the Marcos Cabinet has been expanded by the entry of the Dutertes in the Senate race and adds luster to it,” he said in a statement.

Panelo said the majority of the Filipino people who have been orphaned by the exit of Duterte from the presidency and who have been lusting and praying for the return of the Duterte brand of leadership have been buoyed, resurrecting their dead hopes of having another Duterte presidency.

“We are in exciting times. The countdown has begun,” he said.