- VP Sara Duterte rules out future alliance with PBBM
VICE PRESIDENT Sara Duterte has definitively ruled out any future political alliance with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. following the breakup of their UniTeam coalition.
In an impromptu interview with reporters at the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Sept. 18, Duterte was asked if she would consider collaborating with the Marcoses in the upcoming elections.
Duterte–who attended the committee on good governance hearing on her use of the Office of the Vice President’s confidential funds–responded with a firm “never again.”
Duterte further stated that reconciliation with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was impossible as they were never friends in the first place. Their alliance was merely politics and the last time they talked was when she tendered her resignation as Department of Education secretary in June.
However, she did acknowledge Senator Imee Marcos after knowing each other in 2012.
Duterte’s resignation from the Marcos Cabinet highlighted growing political tensions between her and the Marcos camp. She has also accused Marcos’ allies in the House of Representatives of planning a “political attack” to derail any potential presidential bid she might make in 2028.
However, she played coy when asked about her future political plans. The vice president said she would issue an official announcement about whether or not to run for the presidency in two year’s time.
“Sa ngayon, this very minute, magsasabi ako na tatakbo ako sa fourth quarter ng 2026,” she said.
The phrase “never again” was associated with the former strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. who declared martial law, followed by more than two decades of deaths, disappearances, corruption, and excesses by the family’s cronies and friends.
Photo from Inday Sara Duterte Facebook page
