Vice President Sara Duterte spent the weekend in Japan, where she joined Filipino community-led rallies in Sumida, Tokyo, and Nagoya, urging Filipinos to unite against corruption and demanding the release of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, from detention.
Speaking before a crowd at Sumida Riverside Hall, Duterte criticized what she described as “non-stop pambubudol (scamming)” under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., even questioning his decision to return ₱60 billion to PhilHealth. She also gave a preview of the upcoming “Pray for the Philippines” rally in her hometown of Davao City, which she said will highlight calls for accountability and justice.
“Pagpiyestahan namin ang mga buwaya (We will feast on crocodiles),” she declared, noting that corrupt politicians—often likened to crocodiles for their greed—would be symbolically represented at the event. Duterte said Davao’s Crocodile Park offered to send a roasted crocodile, while a friend pledged a massive crocodile-shaped cake.
The rallies in Tokyo and Nagoya coincided with the “Trillion Peso March” in the Philippines, where thousands protested alleged anomalies in government flood control projects involving powerful political clans allied with both the Duterte and Marcos families.
In Nagoya, Duterte continued her message at the Miwa Cultural Center, stressing solidarity with Filipinos abroad who share frustrations over corruption and the treatment of her father. Both gatherings were organized by Filipino communities in Japan.
