While Sara Duterte’s declaration that she will run for president has had a huge impact on her supporters, the ripple effect on her political opponents should be more profound, considering they have practically done everything they could to ruin and bring her down.

What’s interesting is that despite pooling together their resources to launch a concerted attack, the trust and approval ratings of the Vice President have comparatively remained consistent, if not high and public opinion, for the most part, has not really gone sour.

The crucial question is why? To be honest, she is not necessarily eloquent, naturally charismatic, and in many public engagements has not exactly looked brilliant. Yet she remains the front-runner in 2028. So what could possibly explain this?

The simple answer is the so-called “Duterte Magic.” Whether her detractors like it or not, she has a solid political base expected to back her despite political storms and persecutions. These are people who would not shift allegiance or preference come hell or high water.

Unlike Jejomar Binay, who was a mere “preference” when he ran in 2016 — meaning, of the candidates, the public would most likely vote for him — the support given by the Diehard Duterte Supporters (DDS), which incidentally should be between 30 and 40 percent of the voting public, is so deeply rooted that there is nothing her opponents could do to change their minds.

They are so loyal to the former president that even if Congress successfully impeaches, convicts, and perpetually disqualifies her from office, they would still remain steadfast and could easily support whoever replaces her. And if her father dies before 2028, it’s game over.

This is why, if her political rivals want to win in the next election, they have to recalibrate their strategy. Instead of expending so much effort and resources discrediting her, which obviously has not worked, they should focus their attention on how to build the image of their own candidates so they can become more palatable to the “discerning” public.

In 2022, the “Kakampinks” wasted so much time campaigning against BBM, explaining why people should not vote for him, instead of highlighting the strong points of then Vice President Leni. This has to change.

They should also drop this good-versus-evil narrative, which only infuriates her supporters. Calling them dumb and stupid only drives them further away. Politics is complicated; it has never been black and white.

While forming alliances with the administration could boost their chances, they have to make sure they play their game well to convince the undecided to root for them.

Anyway, these are just my personal takes. I could be wrong. But history seems to be on my side.