Jamaine Punzalan

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte performs a duet with his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, during the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) Thanksgiving Night at the Peninsula Manila in Makati City on June 24, 2019. Richard Madelo, Presidential Photo

Article (news)

ELECTION-CANDIDATES

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div> </div>MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte’s remark that she is “ready” to lead the country should President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. resign is “definitely a form of political destabilization,” Malacañang said on Wednesday.Duterte gave the statement in a chance interview in Davao City earlier this week, saying that “there is no question” about her preparedness to replace Marcos Jr. should the need arise.“It is not acceptable for a vice president to anticipate the resignation of the president,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a Palace press briefing.“This is definitely a form of political destabilization. Pinapahina niya ang public confidence ng tao sa administrasyon. Those words contribute to the climate of uncertainty and crisis,” she said.“Kung handa siya, nag anticipate siya na mawawala ang pangulo, yan ang balak nila, yan ang ginagawa nila ngayon,” she added.Amid corruption issues and alleged irregularities hounding the administration, Castro said there should be no question on Marcos Jr.’s fitness to remain in power.“Nakikita natin ang trabaho ng Pangulo: hindi humihinto sa pagtratrabaho,” she said.“Ni hindi nga nakakapag bakasyon at hindi nakakapunta sa beach para makapag-swimming,” she added.Castro then asked the public if they were ready for a Sara Duterte presidency.“Handa na po siya maging pangulo kapag nawala o natanggal ang pangulo sa pwesto? Handa na po ba kayo sa mas marami pang Mary Grace Piattos?” she said.Marcos Jr. and Duterte ran as a tandem in the 2022 national elections with a promise to unite the country after decades of divisiveness, but in mid-2025 after the Vice President resigned from the Chief Executive’s Cabinet.After Duterte’s exit from the administration, Marcos Jr.’s allies in Congress questioned her allegedly excessive spending after documents showed that she depleted millions in confidential funds in just 11 days.The political bickering between the two dynasties worsened In March 2025 after the Marcos Jr. administration arrested Duterte’s father — former President Rodrigo Duterte — and turned him over to the International Criminal Court where he is facing charges of crimes against humanity.

Vice President Sara Duterte’s remark that she is “ready” to lead the country should President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. resign is “definitely a form of political destabilization,” Malacañang said on Wednesday.

Vice President Sara Duterte’s remark that she is “ready” to lead the country should President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. resign is “definitely a form of political destabilization,” Malacañang said on Wednesday.

Palace: Sara Duterte’s ‘ready’ to lead remark ‘a form of political destabilization’

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Palace: Sara Duterte’s ‘ready’ to lead remark ‘a form of political destabilization’

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 26, 2025 01:02 PM PHT

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Updated Nov 26, 2025 01:06 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

politics

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