Palace run not (yet) on VP’s thoughts

Vice President Sara Duterte reiterated on Monday that she had no plans — at the moment — of running for president in the 2028 national elections.

“That’s not in my plans,” Duterte said in a press briefing at the Office of the Vice President Panay-Negros Island Satellite Office in Bacolod City.

“December 2026 will be the best time to decide kung tatakbo ako sa (if I will run in) 2028,” she added.

Duterte, however, said the time will come when she will no longer be in politics.

“There will come a time when I will no longer be involved in politics. I also want that. The problem is that I need to answer to 32.2 million Filipinos who gave their confidence and trust to me to be the vice president of everyone,” she said.

“But because life is uncertain, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. We can only plan, but it’s always God’s purpose that shall prevail. So, we keep planning but also trust in God,” the Vice President said.

This was Duterte’s response to the call of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to leave politics and just live a peaceful life.

“After he told me to run, I ran for mayor, I ran for vice mayor, and then he tells me that,” Duterte said.

She also wondered about the reasons why First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos was mad at her.

“I don’t know what Liza Marcos is upset about. She said she got angry when I laughed at President Duterte’s statement that President Marcos was ‘high.’ And that’s what she said was the reason she was upset with me, so there’s nothing we can do about it, that’s her personal feeling,” she said.

The Vice President also said House Speaker Martin Romualdez will seek the presidency in 2028.

“Martin really wants to run for president. And if he cannot make it through the popular vote, he’ll do it through Charter change where he can run for prime minister,” she said.