Questions arose about the timing of Vice President Sara Duterte‘s announcement that she will run in the elections amid issues she is facing and those involving her father.
The second-highest government official on Wednesday, February 18, declared that she will run for president in the 2028 national elections, confirming plans she had been hinting at for nearly two years.
READ: VP Sara to run for president in 2028 elections
As recently as November 2025, she told reporters that she expected to announce her plans only in the “last quarter of 2026.”
The timing of her declaration has intrigued some Filipinos, who are wondering why she chose to make the decision so early.
Political scientist Cleve Arguelles wondered whether the move was truly a “launch of a presidential bid or damage control” as the Dutertes get embroiled in issues, with Sara facing impeachment complaints and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, facing charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“The recent ICC developments raise the stakes for key Duterte allies (or the co-perpetrators) — and when legal risk rises, so does the temptation to defect early to save one’s own skin,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“When the boat starts taking in water, some passengers look for lifeboats; others start pushing people overboard. So the captain steps forward with a ‘no-announcement announcement’: we’re still heading to shore, stay calm. It’s meant to freeze panic inside the faction before it prematurely unravels,” Arguelles added.
Global affairs columnist and academic Richard Heydarian suggested the move could be a “projection strength amid major setbacks for her camp.”
“Most dramatically, her dad’s upcoming ICC trial and potential arrest of Senators Go and dela Rosa for related charges,” he wrote, referring to Sens. Bong Go and Bato dela Rosa being named as “co-perpretators” by the ICC in the Duterte drug war case.
“A new impeachment against her is also not improbable, so she feels the pressure to display defiance and determinism to win the MALACAÑANG back for her dynasty…” Heydarian added.
Rodrigo is set to take part in the pre-trial proceedings of the ICC on February 23 to 27 for his three counts of crime against humanity of murder concerning his campaign against illegal drugs.
The killings in question involve the so-called “Davao Death Squad” during Rodrigo’s time as Davao City mayor, murders of “high-value” targets during his presidency, and killings and attempted killings during barangay clearance operations nationwide under his administration.
Sara previously described her father’s transfer to the ICC as a “kidnapping.”
Meanwhile, some Filipinos speculated that her presidential bid announcement was a strategic move amid the impeachment complaints she is facing.
Three new impeachment complaints against the vice president were filed in the House of Representatives earlier this month.
“Just in time for her upcoming impeachment trial. Para may excuse na si sayad na pinupolitika lang daw siya. And to warn those lawmakers that would vote yes to her conviction,” an online user commented on Sara’s presidential bid announcement.
“This move reads less like a vision launch and more like pressing the panic button. For months, unresolved questions have hovered over the confidential and intelligence funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President — and previously during her tenure at the Department of Education. Congress exercised its constitutional power of oversight. Hearings were held. Documentation was sought. The issue was not ideology. It was accountability,” another said.
“The intention? Gain sympathy from the public, avoid accountability and preserve her political image. The strategy? Announce as early as now para lahat ng issue, impeachment, etc na ibabato sa kanya mula ngayon, maging politically-motivated just because,” a different X user wrote.
Sara has been accused of misusing millions in confidential funds during her tenure as vice president and as education secretary, making threats against top officials, engaging in bribery and corruption within the Department of Education, and possessing undeclared wealth and anomalies in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), among other allegations.
Meanwhile, the vice president said that, if elected president, she would pursue an independent foreign policy that is neither dependent on the United States nor China, and has indicated she may take a tougher approach to crime and drugs.
— with reports from Philstar.com/Cristina Chi
