Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte Announces 2028 Presidential Bid

Sara Duterte, daughter of the imprisoned former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, has announced she will run in the country’s 2028 presidential election, setting the stage for a potential showdown with former ally Ferdinand Marcos Jr..

Speaking on Wednesday, the 47-year-old vice president said she was offering her “life, strength and future” in service of the Philippines, while accusing President Marcos of overseeing an administration plagued by corruption.

Her declaration escalated a bitter feud between two of the country’s most powerful political dynasties.

“I am sorry if there is blatant abuse of our institutions for the personal interests of politicians,” she said, also apologising for having run on a joint ticket with Marcos in 2022.

Framing her decision as a personal calling, Sara Duterte said it had taken her 47 years to understand that her life “was never meant to be only mine.”

She declared that she had accepted the weight of responsibility to her family and country as she prepares to seek the presidency.

Sara Duterte and Marcos Jr. were once political partners, winning a landslide victory on a joint ticket in the 2022 elections that consolidated support for both families. However, their alliance fell apart two years later when Duterte resigned from the cabinet amid rising tensions.

Relations deteriorated further last year after Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in Manila and flown to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court over his controversial anti-drug campaign. Sara Duterte condemned the arrest at the time, calling it “oppression and persecution.”

Her father’s detention is widely seen as a turning point in the Duterte-Marcos feud, intensifying political divisions ahead of the 2028 election. With her entry into the race, Sara Duterte positions herself at the centre of what is expected to be a highly charged contest shaped by personal rivalry, dynastic politics, and the lingering fallout from her father’s legal battle abroad.