Sara says she has no plans to run for president
VICE President Sara Duterte on Tuesday said she has no plans to run for president in 2028 and does not care if the House of Representatives would impeach her.
Duterte made the remark in a briefing after she defended the budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2025, amounting to P2.037 billion, an 8.05 percent increase from 2024, before the Senate.
«We still have friends inside [the House] who have no courage to speak because they are afraid. They said that the [planned] impeachment [against me] was being openly discussed,» Duterte said in Filipino.
BUDGET Q&A Vice President Sara Duterte answers questions from senators during the deliberations of the proposed 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President on Aug. 20, 2024. PHOTO BY MIKE ALQUINTO«I won't lose anything if they impeach me. I ran for [vice president in 2022] because I needed to continue the development projects in Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon. I thought that these projects would be given priority if I became the vice president,» she said.
But House Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Erwin Tulfo said Speaker Martin Romualdez had confirmed that there we no moves to impeach the vice president.
Tulfo said House leaders met to discuss the administration lineup for the 2025 elections and did not mention impeachment at all.
AdvertisementTulfo said that it is «up to her» if she wants to run for president in 2028.
«Anyone can run. It's her decision,» Tulfo said.
Duterte's critic, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, said Duterte's name «had no letter 'H' for honesty,» referring to a previous Duterte quote that «bets are not required to be honest.»
Gabriela Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas said Duterte's announcement should be taken with a grain of salt as she could be like her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who initially said he did not want to run, then did so anyway.
Advertisement«But if Vice President Duterte indeed refrains from running, it would be her greatest contribution to the country, as it spares our nation from a continuation of governance that prioritizes personal interests over public welfare,» Brosas said.
Vice President Sara Duterte gestures as she answers questions from the senators
