MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte announced on Wednesday at the Office of the Vice President that she will run for president in the 2028 elections, ending months of speculation about her political plans as the House of Representatives prepares to consider multiple impeachment complaints against her.
Duterte made the declaration during a press conference at the OVP. Before delivering her statement, she directed staff to remove the OVP seal from the backdrop. She did not take questions from the media after reading a shortened version of her speech. The OVP later posted both the recorded and delivered versions on its Facebook page.
“I am Sara Duterte. I will run for president of the Philippines,” she said in Filipino.
Her announcement came with only three session days left for the House to refer two of three impeachment complaints against her to the plenary. The House has until March 2 to include the complaints in its order of business. A fourth impeachment complaint was filed on Wednesday afternoon by lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera and endorsed by Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V and Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr.
The complaints accuse Duterte of betrayal of public trust, bribery, graft and corruption, including the alleged misuse of P612 million in confidential funds.
Her declaration also came less than a week before former President Rodrigo Duterte, her father, is scheduled to face a confirmation of charges hearing before the International Criminal Court on Feb. 23 over allegations of crimes against humanity linked to his anti-drug campaign.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., through Palace press officer Claire Castro, responded to Duterte’s announcement by saying, “Good luck.”
Marcos and Duterte ran together under the UniTeam alliance in the 2022 elections. Duterte won the vice presidency with 32,208,417 votes, or 62 percent of the total votes cast. She resigned from the Cabinet in June 2024 as education secretary and as vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
In her speech, Duterte said she left the Cabinet after observing what she described as a lack of honesty in fulfilling campaign promises and concerns over the 2025 national budget. She said she knew as early as 2023 that her decision could lead to impeachment.
Duterte also apologized for supporting Marcos in the 2022 elections. “My fellow countrymen, I apologize. I apologize if I helped elect BBM as president of our country,” she said.
Castro responded that the UniTeam victory was a joint effort and said Duterte should not claim sole credit for Marcos’ win. She added that the president has no regrets about choosing Duterte as his running mate.
In her speech, Duterte also apologized for what she described as corruption in infrastructure projects, rising prices of basic commodities and weaknesses in food security and health care. She said she would offer her life and future in service to the nation.
Political analyst Richard Heydarian said Duterte’s announcement signals a decisive political break. Law lecturer Michael Henry Yusingco said recent surveys place Duterte among the leading potential candidates for 2028.
