Impeachment shadows 2028

Vice President Sara Duterte’s early declaration of her 2028 presidential bid has collided head-on with a fresh impeachment complaint filed against her, anchored on alleged unexplained wealth and omissions in her SALN.

Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V called the allegations “serious and disturbing.” The complaint seeks a forensic review of her bank records, property transactions, and cash movements tied to confidential and intelligence funds. 

Questionable sworn statements, duffel bags of cash, missing entries —these are not trivial accusations. They strike at the heart of constitutional accountability.

But the timing is explosive.

Duterte insists she is being vilified. Her allies frame the impeachment push as persecution. Others see something else: a calculated attempt to reframe the narrative, from an audit trail to a campaign trail.

History offers caution. Early frontrunners can quickly become targets.

The larger tragedy? Governance is drowning in political brinkmanship. The Marcos and Duterte camps are locked in a proxy war, trading barbs while inflation, crime and public distrust continue to simmer.

Impeachment is political, yes, but it is also constitutional. A presidential bid does not suspend scrutiny. If there is nothing to hide, transparency should not be feared.

— Jason Mago

The pivotal two years

The race for 2028 has not officially begun. But the pieces are already moving.

Vice President Sara Duterte has announced she will be running for president. The Palace, through Claire Castro, responded with a polite “good luck.” Translation: the chessboard is set.

Then comes Robin Padilla, floating the idea of “girl power,” a Sara-Imee tandem. Imee Marcos says she goes wherever Sara goes. Like a loyal lapdog.

On the other side, murmurs are growing of a Risa Hontiveros and Bam Aquino tandem. Bam, they say, is the wildcard. Meanwhile, Kiko Pangilinan insists 2028 is still far away. Let us all be Kiko for a second, focused on the present, not the throne.

And then there is the looming meeting between Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Leni Robredo over flood control in Naga, former rivals sharing a table.

What is interesting is that the Marcos administration has no clear standard-bearer yet. No obvious heir. Some say it could be Raffy Tulfo. Beyond that, no name dominates the conversation.

This is not yet campaign season. 2026 and 2027 are the battlegrounds where loyalties will be tested, alliances negotiated and narratives written.

The crown is not up for grabs yet. But the war has already begun. 

— Carl Magadia 

Not surprised

Vice President Sara Duterte thought she shook the political landscape with her announcement that she intends to run for president in two years. Really? On Ash Wednesday?

She made her declaration in the same week the lower chamber began preparing new impeachment complaints against her. It also came just days before her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, is set to face a pre-trial conference at the ICC over charges of crimes against humanity. 

In one move, she shifted the narrative — from a vice president facing impeachment to a presidential frontrunner.

No one is surprised. People always knew she would run.

What’s alarming is that many still want her in the highest office of the land.

This is a public official who was once an education secretary and oversaw more than P600 million in confidential funds, who was questioned about alleged ghost recipients. A politician who casually spoke about assassinating a former running mate, as if such words carried no weight. A leader who holds the second-highest position yet has little to show in terms of concrete, transformative, honest leadership.

Her silence has been deafening on crucial issues: China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea; the worsening classroom shortage; soaring food prices, and the persistent corruption. How can one speak against corruption when serious questions linger about one’s own use of public funds?

This is where we see politics for what it has become — not public service, but a strategic game of survival, alliances and personal ambition.

The frightening part is not her declaration to run for president, but the possibility that the Filipino people may once again hand over the nation’s future to someone who has yet to prove she knows the job — any job.          — Vivienne Angeles