Former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson, once a key political ally of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., has announced he will no longer support the Marcos family in future elections.
In a Tuesday interview with BNC’s At the Forefront, Singson, considered a kingmaker, expressed disappointment over being “forgotten” by Marcos after his landslide win, along with Vice President Sara Duterte, during the 2022 elections.
“I’m close to them (the Marcoses) because I help them during elections. However, this is probably the last time I’ll support the Marcoses because they no longer recognize us,” he said in the online interview.
According to him, Marcos originally planned to run for vice president again in 2022, believing the younger Duterte was the stronger presidential contender to replace her father, then President Rodrigo Duterte.
Singson revealed that the strategy was for Marcos to file his candidacy for president, but step aside if Duterte chose to follow her father’s path to Malacañang.
“We’ll file for president, but if Sara runs, you have to slide down [to vice president],” Singson recalled telling Marcos. “Then I’ll talk to Sara — [tell her] you’ll be the VP so you’ll be protected.”
Singson believed that Duterte was unbeatable in a presidential race back then, describing her as “very popular.”
Despite his early involvement and strategic support, Singson said things changed after the election.
“After the election, it’s like Bongbong had Alzheimer’s—he didn’t even recognize me anymore,” he said.
The alliance between the Marcos and Duterte families also crumbled just two years after winning the country’s top posts—leading to an ultimate political showdown between the two clans.
Duterte left the Marcos Cabinet when she resigned as the secretary of the Department of Education last year after leading the agency upon their assumption to office on 30 June 2022.
Apart from resigning from the Cabinet, Duterte also vacated her position as vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, the anti-insurgency body created by her father.
While distancing himself from the Marcos family, Singson signaled a possible political shift by expressing support for Vice President Sara Duterte should she decide to run for president in 2028.
“I will support her,” he said.
Duterte is facing an impeachment complaint after she was impeached by the House of Representatives in February.
If convicted by the Senate, Duterte would be removed from office and barred from holding any future public position.