VP Sara slams PBBM anew: Filipinos paying the price for picking the wrong leader

Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday night aired fresh tirades against President Ferdinand Marcos, claiming he has no understanding of the real situation of the Filipino people. 

Speaking before thousands of supporters at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, Duterte did not mince her words against Marcos, her former running mate. 

“I am grateful that you are still here and listening to me despite the relentless attacks from all sides. In the past months, my name and my family's name have been dragged through the mud,” she said in a mix of Filipino and English at PDP-Laban’s miting de avance.   

“I have said this before, and I will say it again now—I am not the problem of this country. I am not the problem of the Philippines. Duterte is not the problem of the Philippines,” she added. 

She described the impeachment complaint against her and the arrest of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, as a “systematic demolition job against political opponents who once dared to put the country first.” 

“Unfortunately, we elected a leader who is incapable of understanding the true condition of the Filipino people, and more importantly, who cannot make decisions for the welfare of the nation,” she said.

She continued: "We are now paying the price for choosing the wrong leader."

President Marcos and Vice President Duterte ran together under the “UniTeam” coalition that won by a landslide in the 2022 elections. 

The Vice President also slammed Marcos for allegedly refusing to undergo a hair follicle drug test and for failing to deliver on his campaign promise of lowering rice prices to P20 per kilo. 

“What’s worse, they managed to kidnap the former president and hastily threw him out of the country to be tried by foreigners,” she said, referring to her father’s arrest. 

Marcos has long been accused of abusing illegal drugs, particularly heroin. No less than his predecessor accused him of being a drug addict—a claim he responded to with a counter-accusation against the elder Duterte. 

Marcos accused Duterte of using fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid primarily prescribed as an analgesic. 

‘Dole out as an insult’

Vice President Duterte also accused the Marcos administration of insulting the Filipino people by offering aid in exchange for votes in the upcoming elections. 

"They insult the Filipino people by using aid to buy your votes. Aid is not inherently bad. In fact, it helped many during the pandemic," she said. 

"But when it is used to manipulate you and exploit your poverty just so they can stay in power—it becomes a weapon of abuse. Again, Filipinos deserve better,” she added. 

She continued: “We must return to long-term, concrete programs—not short-term dole-outs that are being abused by those in power.” 

The Vice President also criticized the administration’s lack of an effective food security program, calling it a gut issue for most Filipinos. 

She also called for a modern hybrid education system focused on teaching discipline, patriotism, and a truly universal healthcare system. 

"What the Filipino people need is strong infrastructure. Let us build, build, build into the future," she said.

"What the Filipino people need are opportunities for livelihood and jobs here in our own country," she added.

She continued: "It is heartbreaking to see the condition of many of our OFWs who are far from their loved ones." 

Vice President Duterte also took an apparent swipe at the country’s law enforcement agencies, which she earlier criticized for "standing idly [by]" during her father’s arrest. 

"And above all, what the Filipino people need is peace and order. We must completely eliminate criminality, illegal drugs, terrorism, and insurgency—through a credible, non-partisan Philippine National Police, supported by our armed forces," she said. 

Duterte was arrested on 11 March at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon his return to the country from Hong Kong. On the same day, he was transferred to The Hague, Netherlands, where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is based. 

Duterte is suspected of murder qualified as a crime against humanity, allegedly committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019. 

According to government data, at least 7,000 people were killed under Duterte's drug war. However, both local and international human rights groups dispute the figure, asserting the real death toll could be as high as 30,000.