Senator Imee Marcos on Wednesday expressed full backing for Vice President Sara Duterte, following her early announcement that she would enter the presidential race in the 2028 elections, potentially succeeding the lawmaker’s estranged brother, President Marcos Jr. 

Senator Marcos, who had a bitter fallout with the President and allied herself with the Dutertes and the so-called opposition, is certain that the VP is the “solution” to the country’s pressing problems, which the current administration has allegedly failed to resolve.

“She is the embodiment of the opposite of this administration; she will provide direction to the country’s lack of direction,” Senator Marcos said in Filipino.

“She has the courage and compassion of her father, carrying with her the experience of helping the poor, the needy, and the oppressed. She is the one with the solution,” she added.

Senator Marcos also commended the VP for heeding the clamor of her supporters to run for the highest office—a move, she averred, as a threat to her political opponents. 

Meanwhile, Senate President Tito Sotto said the announcement no longer came as a surprise.

“It simply confirms what many knew all along. Although we still need to see by October of 2027 what transpires,” he told reporters in a message.

In a rare press briefing early Wednesday, Duterte officially bared plans to run for president in the next elections. 

She cited Marcos’ alleged failures to bring down the prices of basic goods and services, food security, an accessible and quality healthcare system, and to curb crimes, terrorism, and illegal drugs, as the reasons that prompted her to run for the highest office. 

Duterte was Marcos’ former ally turned staunchest critic. Both were products of the most prominent families in Philippine politics and formed the historic UniTeam alliance that won a landslide in the 2022 polls.

The so-called power duo was once formidable, but signs of fracture began to show less than two years later.

In June 2024, their strained ties became official when Duterte left the Marcos Cabinet as secretary of the Department of Education. 

Their broken alliance deepened after Marcos’ allies in Congress launched a probe into Duterte’s confidential funds alleged misused, initiated her impeachment cases, and the administration’s surrender of former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity tied to his bloody drug war. 

For the legitimate opposition, Senator Risa Hontiveros said they will likely announce their standard-bearer in the year-end or the first quarter of 2027, as preparations for the next polls are still ongoing. 

“All I can say is that, as of 2026, reform-minded and opposition forces are focused on building a stronger unity to choose our candidates, whether by the end of the year or first quarter of next year,” Hontiveros said in a media briefing.

Nevertheless, she maintained that the qualifications for the opposition’s bet remained the same. She added that it is pivotal that their standard-bearer shares “common values” with the opposition, including a strong commitment to fighting corruption, promoting good governance, and upholding national sovereignty, among others. 

Hontiveros herself has been floated as a potential candidate for the presidential polls, which she openly considers, though she added that the opposition has yet to officially reach a consensus on which individuals in their ranks they will endorse as their bet.