Sara Duterte announces 2028 presidential bid amid fresh impeachment complaint

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte announced on Wednesday, February 18, that she will run for president in 2028.

“I am Sara Duterte, and I will run for president of the Philippines,” she said in her speech streamed on her Facebook page. “I offer my life, my strength, and my future in the service of our nation.”

The announcement comes on the heels of the expected initiation of the House of Representatives of new impeachment proceedings against her.

While pro-impeachment advocates may find it more challenging to gather support this time, the possibility of impeachment will nonetheless cast a long shadow on Duterte’s candidacy. A successful impeachment in the House and a conviction at the Senate will bar her from public office.

The declaration also comes a week before the International Criminal Court holds the pre-trial hearing of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who has been detained in The Hague since March 2025 for alleged crimes against humanity in relation to the bloody drug war.

While the Vice President is not named a co-perpetrator in her father’s ICC case, at least one impeachment complaint against her seeks her removal from office for her alleged role in the extrajudicial killings in Davao City when she was its mayor.

Confessed Davao Death Squad member Arturo Lascañas, a retired cop, had named Sara Duterte in his affidavit submitted to the ICC in relation to former president Duterte’s case.

In her speech on Wednesday, Duterte said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.‘s supposed failure to fulfill his campaign promises prompted her to seek the country’s highest post two years from now.

Duterte was Marcos’ running mate in 2022, and together, they won the polls in a landslide victory.

“I’m sorry if I helped elect BBM as president of the country. I’m sorry that, even until now, many Filipinos are still drowning in floodwaters. I’m sorry that the abuse of our institutions for the personal interests of politicians is so blatant.”

Duterte herself is facing allegations of corruption, particularly her alleged misuse of confidential funds worth P612.5 million — accusations that she hasn’t properly answered since 2023. It’s the main alleged offense cited in the three impeachment complaints against her.

During the presidency of her father from 2016 to 2022, the Philippines saw a sharp pivot away from Washington and toward Beijing, a stance Marcos has since reversed by boosting US ties and taking a tougher, multilateral line against China in the South China Sea.

Another Duterte presidency could reverse Manila’s foreign‑policy alliances back toward Beijing.

Political analysts said the timing of Sara Duterte’s announcement appeared strategic, coming as she faces another round of impeachment complaints accusing her of betraying the public’s trust, corruption and other crimes. She survived similar efforts last year.

“With the possibility of a second impeachment and the possibility of her being impeached, she might as well shift the narrative and make the impeachment and the attacks on her, color it as a political ploy to knock her off the 2028 race,” said Julio Teehankee, political science professor at De La Salle University.

But the move also carries risks, said Ederson Tapia, professor of public administration at the University of Makati, as it could intensify political attacks against her and that could undermine her presidential ambition. – with a report from Reuters/Rappler.com