Announcement follows a number of impeachment complaints in opposition to the vice chairman over allegations of corruption.
Revealed On 18 Feb 2026
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has stated she intends to run for president within the upcoming 2028 election, following within the footsteps of her infamous father, ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, who’s at present on trial on the Worldwide Felony Courtroom (ICC) for crimes in opposition to humanity.
“It took me 47 years to grasp that my life was by no means meant to be solely mine,” Sara Duterte stated on Wednesday.
Really useful Tales
checklist of 4 objectsfinish of checklist
“For a very long time, I questioned the load of duty to my household, to my nation, to everybody who referred to as on me,” Duterte stated in a livestreamed handle.
“I’m Sara Duterte, and I’m working for president within the Philippines,” she stated.
Duterte additionally requested her followers for his or her “forgiveness” over her earlier help for incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr over the past presidential election.
The Philippines continues to battle with rampant issues, from corruption to poverty and a cost-of-living disaster, she stated.
“I can not kneel earlier than every Filipino to beg for forgiveness. As a substitute, I provide my life, my energy, and my future within the service of our nation,” she added.
Regardless of throwing her help behind Marcos’s election bid 5 years in the past, Duterte and the president have since develop into bitter rivals, notably following the launch of a corruption inquiry in 2024 into Duterte’s misuse of presidency funds.
Their relationship then soured additional final 12 months when Marcos signed off on the arrest of her father by the Philippine Nationwide Police and Interpol, performing on behalf of the ICC.
Duterte’s candidacy announcement comes throughout a troublesome week for the vice chairman and her household. She is dealing with a number of impeachment complaints within the Home of Representatives for alleged corruption and making a demise menace in opposition to President Marcos.
Her father can also be because of obtain the affirmation of prices in opposition to him in The Hague, the place he’s accused of committing crimes in opposition to humanity as a part of his so-called “war on drugs” whereas president of the Philippines between 2016 and 2022.
Cleve Arguelles, political scientist and CEO of the general public opinion firm WR Numero Analysis, stated her father’s trial in The Hague has raised the stakes for the vice chairman and her household.
Arguelles stated the announcement was doubtless designed to “freeze panic inside” her political faction “earlier than it prematurely unravels”.
“When authorized threat rises, so does the temptation to defect early to avoid wasting one’s personal pores and skin,” Arguelles stated.
“When the boat begins taking in water, some passengers search for lifeboats; others begin pushing folks overboard,” he stated.
