Leni-like? Escudero comments on VP Sara’s diminished role

Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero at a Monday press briefing downplayed Vice President Sara Duterte’s exclusion from President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.’s Cabinet, emphasizing that her primary function is to be prepared to assume the presidency if necessary.

This comes in response to a question from media about Duterte's extended stay in the Netherlands in support of her father, detained former president Rodrigo Duterte. The vice president's presence at the Hague has sparked comments from a Malacañan Palace spokesperson reminding the VP about her constituents at home.

“The main duty of the vice president, in my view, is to be ready in case the time comes when they need to take over for the president," he said in Filipino.

Escudero also dismissed concerns that Duterte’s exclusion from the Cabinet signals an irreparable rift with the administration, saying that her responsibilities as VP remain unchanged.

“She is no longer a member of the Cabinet, so the duties she performs are solely as vice president, not as a member of President Marcos’ cabinet,” he said.

Escudero also responded to criticism regarding the absence of VP Duterte’s family members during her father’s ongoing legal troubles.

“If I had a loved one in another country going through something difficult, of course, I would want to be there with them. But right now, it seems that her siblings don’t have visas to join him,” he said in Filipino, referring to the former president's detention at The Hague.

'Sara come home'

On 19 March, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro urged Vice President Sara Duterte to return home to address mounting concerns over her office’s confidential funds and to fulfill her responsibilities to the Filipino people amid her continued stay in the Netherlands.

“For me, she needs to think that the Philippines also needs her as vice president. She should work not just for her father. But she should also remember that millions of Filipinos voted for her — and she must serve them all,” Castro said.

In response, Duterte, who left for the Netherlands on 12 March, defended her trip, asserting that it is part of her duty as vice president.

“I don’t even want to stay here since my children [and] my family are all there in the Philippines, and my job is also there in the Philippines,” she said in an online press briefing. “But as Vice President, I also have a duty to our fellow Filipinos, a Filipino citizen, who is held against his will in the ICC detention center.”

Duterte revealed that her travel authority, approved by Malacañang, is valid until 30 April and includes visits to Germany, France, and Belgium. She did not specify her return date, citing ongoing efforts to organize legal support for her father.

“Let’s not think that he is my father. Let’s put it in a way that I’m the Vice President looking for solutions on how we can bring back a Filipino citizen to our country,” she said.

A familiar pattern?

The recent developments involving Vice President Sara Duterte have drawn comparisons to the treatment of former Vice President Leni Robredo during the Duterte administration.

Robredo, initially appointed as chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), was later excluded from Cabinet meetings and eventually resigned from her post. Later on, she was assigned by Duterte to be the co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) before being fired by Duterte after 19 days. Her removal followed concerns from then-President Rodrigo Duterte regarding her alleged discussions with foreign entities.

A similar trajectory appears to be emerging in VP Duterte’s case. After being named Education Secretary and co-vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), she has since stepped down or been removed from both positions. No specific explanation has been provided by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. regarding her absence from recent Cabinet meetings.

VP Duterte’s office also saw a significant reduction in its budget, notably in confidential funds, drawing further attention to her status within the administration.