Sara: ‘I never said I’ll be resigning’

VICE President Sara Duterte yesterday said she never said anything about resigning from her posts as Vice President and Education secretary to seek another position in the 2025 midterm elections.

“No, wala akong sinabing ganyan sa aking speech. Kaya pag may nagtatanong sinasabi ko klaro naman pagkalatag ko sa aking speech. (No, I did not say anything like that in my speech. So when someone asks me, I tell them that what I said in my speech was clear),” Duterte told reporters in an event in Pasig City.

“Baka ang confusion lang is piecemeal ‘yung understanding and appreciation ng mga tao. (Maybe there’s confusion because by people’s understanding and appreciation is piecemeal),” she added.

Duterte on Monday declared her intention to run in “the next elections” but did not say if she was referring to the 2025 midterm elections or the 2028 national polls.

She said she made the decision since her brothers, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, have both said they will not seek public posts in the next elections.

While Duterte’s term as Vice President will end in 2028 and she is expected to seek the presidency, she also has the option to resign and run for mayor again in the May 2025 midterm polls.

The Vice President said she has not yet discussed her future political plans with President Marcos Jr. who earlier said she might just be “testing the waters.”

Asked if her declaration is connected to her rift with Speaker Martin Romualdez, Duterte said: “Hindi ako maka-speculate kung ano iniisip ni Speaker (I can’t speculate about what the Speaker is thinking).”

“Hindi ko siya kilala nang malalim. Hindi malalim ang pagkakaibigan namin para mag-speculate ako (I don’t know him that well. Our friendship is not that deep for me to speculate).” she said.

Duterte also tried to evade giving a direct answer when asked to describe her relationship with the Speaker, who was her and President Marcos Jr’s campaign manager in the 2022 national elections.

“The very best description and comment kung ano ang relasyon namin ni Speaker Martin Romualdez ay galing kay Senator Imee Marcos. Marami ang hindi nakakaintindi, bakit inaatake mo ang kaalyado ng