Former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo has again raised the prospect of fielding Senator Robin Padilla as a presidential candidate in 2028 should Vice President Sara Duterte not seek the country’s highest office.
“‘Pag si Inday Sara hindi tumakbo… papatakbuhin natin si Robin Padilla,” Panelo said in remarks circulated by Daily Tribune.
The scenario is not new. Panelo first floated the idea in a livestream in September 2024, saying that Padilla would be the fallback candidate if Duterte declined to run. He returned to it in December of that year, telling Politiko Live that the plan already carried the approval of former President Rodrigo Duterte, with whom Padilla shares party affiliation under PDP-Laban. Panelo said at the time that Padilla was “speechless” when informed of the arrangement.
The fallback framing has since been overtaken by events. Duterte formally announced her presidential campaign on February 18, 2026, removing the central condition attached to Panelo’s proposal. Two days later, Panelo told Bilyonaryo News Channel that he saw Padilla and Senator Christopher “Bong” Go as the two strongest options for the Vice President’s running mate, describing either pairing as decisive.
Padilla has said he would consider a bid for higher office only on the instruction of the former president, telling reporters in a virtual briefing that no one else could direct him. He has also maintained that other figures in the Duterte-allied bloc rank ahead of him in seniority, naming Senators Imee Marcos, Alan Peter Cayetano, Go and Ronald dela Rosa.
Recent polling puts Go, not Padilla, in front for the second-highest post. A Pulse Asia survey conducted from June 28 to July 6, 2026, found Go leading the vice presidential field with 27 percent, followed by Padilla at 21 percent. The same survey placed Duterte at 49 percent in the presidential race, ahead of Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo at 26 percent.
Padilla currently sits as a senator-judge in the impeachment trial of the Vice President, which opened on July 6, 2026, before an impeachment court presided over by Senator Francis Escudero. His conduct in the proceedings has drawn scrutiny, including a July 22 exchange in which he accused the House prosecution panel of being one-sided — a characterization lead prosecutor Representative Gerville Luistro rejected, telling a press conference that the trial is adversarial by design and that the panel’s role is not to defend the Vice President.
Whether the Padilla option carries weight beyond Panelo’s own advocacy remains untested. Duterte said in a February 2026 interview that she had already settled on a running mate but would not name the person, and in March said the individual had yet to commit.
