Jamaine Punzalan

Vice President Sara Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., January 25, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

Harlene Delgado

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175092076018520240125-bbm-sara-duterte-educ-report-JC-17.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Vice President Sara Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., January 25, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File </div>MANILA (UPDATED) — Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of wanting “to perpetuate himself or his family in power,” claiming that an impeachment case as been filed against her because the ruling administration wants “to eliminate the frontrunner” in the next presidential elections.Duterte gave the statement in a live television interview on RT, Russia’s state-owned international news channel.“It&#x27;s all about the refusal or the intent of President Marcos. It is the intent of President Marcos not to step down,” Duterte said.“He wants to perpetuate himself or his family in power. It is clear from the moves of his administration against political opponents,” she said.Duterte continued that one of the President’s relatives “has expressed that he wants to run for president.” The Vice President did not name particular personalities, but in previous interviews with Philippine media, Duterte repeatedly said that House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez — Marcos Jr.’s cousin — told her that he is gunning for the presidency in the future.“This all started with the People&#x27;s Initiative, wherein they wanted to amend the constitution to shift into a parliamentary form of government where the prime minister is not voted by popular choice. When they failed in this, they started the impeachment,” she said.“One particular member of the House of Representatives already said publicly that there was money in exchange for the signatures in the Articles of Impeachment because I am the frontrunner in the presidential race in 2028, the survey shows that,” she said.“I think they want to eliminate the frontrunner.”Marcos Jr. and Duterte ran as a tandem in the 2022 national elections, but the Vice President bolted from the President’s Cabinet in mid-2024, citing “toxic” relations with the Chief Executive and his allies.Last year, lawmakers also probed the Office of the Vice President’s alleged questionable spending of confidential funds after an investigating panel found that Duterte’s office spent over a hundred million pesos in just 11 days.In December, Duterte said that she has contracted someone to assassinate the President and some of his family members should an alleged kill plot against her succeed.The House of Representatives voted to impeach Duterte in February over corruption allegations and for supposedly threatening to kill the President. But her impeachment has remained in limbo in as the Senate cited technicalities, including the constitutionality of allowing the incoming 20th Congress to tackle an ouster trial from the previous Congress.Meantime, Duterte answered in the affirmative when asked if former President Rodrigo Duterte’s case before the International Criminal Court is also politically motivated.“They think that if they take out a former president Duterte, they will weaken me because it&#x27;s one brand, it&#x27;s one family,” she said.Duterte has repeatedly said that she has yet to decide if she would vie for the presidency in 2028, underscoring that she will announce her political plans by the last quarter of 2026.<div>‘DIVERSIONARY TACTIC’</div>Malacañang, meanwhile, dismissed Duterte’s remark that Marcos supposedly wanted to stay in power by eliminating the “frontrunner” in the 2028 presidential elections.Palace Press Officer Claire Castro called Duterte’s statement a “diversionary tactic” and urged the Vice President not to obscure the issues concerning her alleged misuse of confidential funds and impending impeachment trial.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/24/sara-duterte-calls-impeachment-case-scrap-of-paper-pleads-not-guilty-2321">Sara Duterte calls impeachment case &#x27;scrap of paper&#x27;, pleads not guilty</a></div>“Siguro iyan po ang nais niyang maging naratibo, ipakita sa taumbayan pero nawawala po iyong issue patungkol sa kaniyang accountability tungkol sa confidential funds at iba’t iba pang mga complaints na napapaloob sa articles of impeachment,” Castro said in a press briefing.“Siguro po, nais din po nating malaman ang katotohanan at huwag lamang pong magtago sa naratibo na siya iyong frontrunner para sa 2028 presidential election,” she added.The Palace official reminded Duterte of her obligations as a public official.“At sabi nga natin, kapag ikaw ay taong-gobyerno at public servant ka, obligasyon mo na ipakita lahat at sagutin ang mga isyu na kakapalooban o na kakasangkutan mo. So, ini-expect po natin iyan kay VP Sara dahil talagang mukhang diversionary tactic po ito,” Castro said.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/25/house-prosecutors-file-certification-vp-duterte-s-impeachment-followed-constitution-1725">House prosecutors file certification VP Duterte&#x27;s impeachment followed Constitution</a></div>

Vice President Sara Duterte has accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of wanting “to perpetuate himself or his family in power”.

Vice President Sara Duterte has accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of wanting “to perpetuate himself or his family in power”.

Sara Duterte tells Russian media: Marcos Jr. ‘wants to perpetuate himself, family in power’

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Sara Duterte tells Russian media: Marcos Jr. ‘wants to perpetuate himself, family in power’

Katrina Domingo,

Harlene Delgado,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 26, 2025 02:56 PM PHT

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Updated Jun 26, 2025 07:41 PM PHT

Read More:

ABSNews

Palace

Claire Castro

Sara Duterte

Bongbong Marcos

2028 elections

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